Dan Nanxing is the name of a traditional Chinese medicinal material. It is produced by processing fine powder of processed Tiannanxing with bile from cattle, sheep, or pigs, or by fermenting and processing fine powder of raw Tiannanxing with bile from cattle, sheep, or pigs. It has the effects of clearing heat, resolving phlegm, subduing wind, and calming convulsions. It is primarily used for coughs caused by phlegm-heat with thick, yellow sputum; stroke with phlegm-induced confusion; and mania, delirium, and epilepsy.
Bile-processed Pinellia
Dan Nanxing is the name of a traditional Chinese medicinal material. It is produced by processing fine powder of processed Tiannanxing with bile from cattle, sheep, or pigs, or by fermenting and processing fine powder of raw Tiannanxing with bile from cattle, sheep, or pigs. It has the effects of clearing heat, resolving phlegm, subduing wind, and calming convulsions. It is primarily used for coughs caused by phlegm-heat with thick, yellow sputum; stroke with phlegm-induced confusion; and mania, delirium, and epilepsy.
Chinese Name : 胆南星
Latin Name : Arisaema with Bile
Aliases : Bile Arisaema
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Bitter and slightly pungent in taste; cool in nature; enters the Lung, Liver, and Spleen meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Clears heat, resolves phlegm, subdues wind, and calms convulsions.
Indications
Cough due to phlegm-heat with thick, yellow sputum; stroke with phlegm-induced confusion; mania, delirium, and convulsions.
Usage and Dosage
Internal use: Decocted as a soup, 3–6 g; or incorporated into pills or powders.
Precautions
Contraindicated for those with qi and blood deficiency; use with caution in pregnant women.
Chemical Constituents
Dan Nanxing is a processed form of Tian Nanxing. Tian Nanxing primarily contains flavonoids, such as xafortoside, isoxafortoside, apigenin-6-C-arabinose-8-C-galactoside,apigenin-6-C-galactosyl-8-C-arabinoside, apigenin-6,8-di-C-glucopyranoside, and apigenin-6,8-di-C-galactoside; it also contains gallic acid, ethyl gallate, amino acids, and trace elements.The processed preparation, processed Pinellia tuber, also contains porcine deoxycholic acid, bilirubin, and other compounds.
Pharmacological Actions
This product has the effects of clearing heat, reducing inflammation, relieving pain, preventing convulsions, acting as an antioxidant, and eliminating phlegm.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Ben Cao Zheng*: “It is remarkably effective at resolving phlegm caused by fire; it is a must-know remedy for treating acute convulsions in children. In summary, it is essential for cases where solid phlegm and solid fire obstruct the upper jiao, leading to shortness of breath, restlessness, intense thirst, and abdominal distension.”
2. *Ben Cao Hui Yan*: “(Used to treat) convulsions and phlegm-induced convulsions in children, as well as limb spasms; in adults, it treats qi deficiency with internal heat and phlegm generated by stagnant heat.”
3. *Yao Pin Hua Yi*: “It is primarily used to treat all types of stroke, wind-epilepsy, infantile convulsions, headaches, dizziness, mental dullness in the elderly, infantile convulsions, and postpartum palpitations; it is a miraculous formula for harmonizing wind arising from the liver and gallbladder.”
Applications
Related Compatibility
1. Bile-processed Pinellia combined with Scutellaria: Bile-processed Pinellia is bitter, pungent, and cool, excelling at clearing and transforming phlegm-heat; Scutellaria is bitter and cold, excelling at clearing heat from the lungs. When combined, their ability to clear and resolve lung heat is enhanced, and they can also clear and transform turbid phlegm. This combination is suitable for phlegm-heat cough and wheezing characterized by copious, thick, yellow, and viscous phlegm, accompanied by chest fullness and oppression.
2. Bile-processed Pinellia combined with Cinnabar: Bile-processed Pinellia enters the Liver meridian, clearing and transforming phlegm-heat, subduing wind, and calming convulsions; Cinnabar enters the Heart meridian, clearing the Heart, subduing convulsions, calming the spirit, and stabilizing the mind.When combined, they not only clear the fire of the Heart and Liver but also resolve the phlegm-heat that obscures mental clarity; they also calm the spirit, subdue convulsions, quell wind, and stop spasms. This combination is suitable for conditions such as high fever with phlegm-induced confusion and convulsive spasms caused by excessive phlegm-heat or intense fire in the Heart and Liver.
Medicinal Identification
1. Bile-processed Pinellia, Prepared Pinellia, and Raw Pinellia: These three herbs are different processed forms of Pinellia. They have a bitter and pungent taste and are all commonly used to resolve phlegm.Processed Tiannanxing has a bitter and warm nature; it enters the Lung, Liver, and Spleen meridians. Pungent, drying, and potent, it is highly effective at drying dampness and resolving phlegm. With a dispersing and penetrating action, it can also dispel wind, relieve spasms, unblock meridians, and invigorate collaterals. It is commonly used for stubborn phlegm-induced coughs, wind-phlegm vertigo, stroke with phlegm obstruction, facial paralysis, hemiplegia,epilepsy, infantile convulsions, and tetanus. Raw Tiannanxing is the most pungent, warm, drying, and potent of the three; its pungent nature disperses and penetrates the blood, helping to reduce swelling and relieve pain. It is an excellent remedy for unblocking meridians and collaterals and warming to disperse cold stagnation. Due to its toxicity, it is primarily used externally in clinical practice and is particularly effective for treating sores, abscesses, swelling, pain, scrofula, and phlegm-nodules.Bile-processed Tiannanxing, prepared with ox bile, has its pungent, warm, and intensely drying nature significantly reduced, transforming its medicinal properties to cool; it can clear heat, resolve phlegm, subdue wind, and calm convulsions. It is frequently used for conditions such as heat-phlegm obstructing the lungs with thick, yellow sputum, as well as stroke-induced loss of consciousness and epilepsy caused by internal phlegm-fire.In summary, processed Tiannanxing is bitter, warm, pungent, and drying, and is particularly effective at expelling wind-phlegm and stubborn phlegm from the meridians; raw Tiannanxing is generally used externally as a poultice to reduce swelling and relieve pain; bile-processed Tiannanxing is cold and cool, capable of resolving phlegm-heat and calming convulsions and epilepsy.
2. Bile-Processed Tiannanxing and Tianzhuhuang: Both are herbs that clear heat and resolve phlegm, and both can calm convulsions.However, Bile-Processed Arisaema excels at subduing wind and calming convulsions, and is frequently used for pediatric conditions such as phlegm-heat-induced convulsions, spasms, coughing, and wheezing. Indian Yellow is sweet and cold in nature, excelling at clearing the heart, cooling the liver, and calming convulsions; it can be used for all cases of fever-induced mental confusion and delirium, stroke-induced aphasia, and pediatric convulsions and spasms caused by phlegm-heat.
Related Medicines
Qingqi Huatan Pills, Niuhuang Baolong Pills, Baoyou Huafeng Dan, and Xiaozhuanning Tablets.
Related Prescriptions
Qingqi Huatan Pills (from *Yifang Kao*), Tianzhuhuang Pills (from *Xiu Zhen Fang*), Danxing Pills (from *Zhizhi Xia’er Fang*), and Tiannanxing Pills (from *Shengji Zonglu*).
Notes
Patients requiring treatment with traditional Chinese medicine should first consult a licensed TCM hospital, where a TCM practitioner will conduct a professional pattern differentiation and issue a prescription.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
These should be manufactured by qualified herbal medicine processing enterprises.
Processing Methods
Take finely ground processed Tiannanxing powder, add purified bile (or bile paste powder and an appropriate amount of water), mix thoroughly, steam for 60 minutes until fully permeated, remove and allow to cool, shape into small pieces, and dry.Alternatively, take raw Tiannanxing powder, add purified bile (or bile paste powder and an appropriate amount of water), mix thoroughly, and place in a warm location. After fermenting for 7–15 days, simmer continuously or in a double boiler for 9 days and nights, stirring once every 2 hours to remove the fishy odor, until it becomes a black, paste-like substance that tastes free of numbing sensation upon tasting. Remove and air-dry.Steam again until soft, then shape into small pieces while still hot. For every 100 kg of finely ground Aconite, use 400 kg of bovine (or porcine, ovine) bile (or 40 kg of bile paste powder).
Storage Methods
Store in a dry container, seal tightly, and keep in a cool, dry place.
Crude Drug Identification
Properties of Crude Drugs
This product is in the form of squares or cylinders, ranging in color from brownish-yellow to grayish-brown or brownish-black. It is hard in texture. It has a faint fishy odor and a bitter taste.
Properties of Processed Slices
See “Characteristics of the Medicinal Material.”
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
Arisaema, a plant of the Araceae family.
Morphological Characteristics
Perennial herb. The tuber is nearly spherical, with a diameter of 2–6 cm. The lower part of the scale leaves is tubular, with purplish-brown patches. There is one leaf, rarely two; the petiole is up to 70 cm long; the leaf blade is radially lobed, with 7–20 lobes that are lanceolate or oblong, long-acuminate, or extended into a linear-caudate shape.Flowers are unisexual, with separate male and female plants; the spadix emerges from the sheath of the petiole, with the inflorescence stalk shorter than the petiole; the spathe varies in color; there is a club-shaped appendage; the upper part of the male inflorescence bears a few neutral flowers; male flowers are pale green to dark brown, with 2–4 stamens; the female inflorescence bears numerous neutral flowers; female flowers have an ovoid ovary and no style.The berries are red. There are 1–2 seeds, which are spherical and light brown. Flowering occurs from April to June, and fruiting from August to September.
Distribution Area
Distributed in Shaanxi, Gansu, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and other areas; it is also found in Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Hebei, and other regions.