Bingpian, a name for a traditional Chinese medicine. It is borneol synthesized from raw materials such as turpentine and camphor. It has the effects of clearing the orifices and reviving the mind, as well as clearing heat and relieving pain. It is primarily used to treat fever-induced mental confusion and convulsions, stroke-induced phlegm-induced syncope, sudden syncope due to qi stagnation, coma caused by sudden illness, chest pain due to bi syndrome, red eyes, mouth sores, sore throat, and purulent discharge from the ear canal.
Bingpian
Bingpian, a name for a traditional Chinese medicine. It is borneol synthesized from raw materials such as turpentine and camphor. It has the effects of clearing the orifices and reviving the mind, as well as clearing heat and relieving pain. It is primarily used to treat fever-induced mental confusion and convulsions, stroke-induced phlegm-induced syncope, sudden syncope due to qi stagnation, coma caused by sudden illness, chest pain due to bi syndrome, red eyes, mouth sores, sore throat, and purulent discharge from the ear canal.
Chinese Name : 冰片
Latin Name : Borneolum Syntheticum
Aliases : Synthetic Borneol, Borneol, and Old Borneol
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Taste: pungent and bitter; nature: slightly cold; enters the Heart, Spleen, and Lung meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Opens the orifices and revives the spirit; clears heat and relieves pain.
Indications
Used for fever-induced mental confusion and convulsions; stroke with phlegm-induced syncope; sudden syncope due to qi stagnation; coma from sudden illness; chest pain due to bi syndrome; red eyes; mouth sores; sore and swollen throat; and pus discharge from the ear canal.
Usage and Dosage
1. Internal use: Incorporate into pills or powders, 0.15–0.3 g. 2. External use: Apply an appropriate amount as a powder to the affected area.
Precautions
1. This product has a cold nature; therefore, it should not be taken long-term in cases of external invasion by wind-cold, internal injury from raw or cold foods, spleen-stomach yang deficiency, or kidney yang deficiency. 2. This product has a pungent nature and may deplete qi and restrict body fluids; it is contraindicated for syncope caused by blood deficiency leading to excessive yang rising. It should not be used in eye drops for individuals with blurred vision due to liver and kidney deficiency. 3. This product easily crosses the blood-brain barrier to enter the brain and has a certain effect on the central nervous system; therefore, infants, young children, and the elderly should not use it long-term. 4. This product has a marked stimulating effect on the uterus and may induce abortion; therefore, it is contraindicated for pregnant women. 5. When this product is used in combination with central nervous system depressants such as sedatives and anesthetics, the dosage must be reduced to avoid inducing or exacerbating neurotoxicity.
Chemical Constituents
The main ingredients are borneol and isoborneol, and it also contains a small amount of camphor.
Pharmacological Actions
This product exerts both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on the central nervous system; it protects nerve cells and counteracts ischemic damage to the heart and brain; it increases the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, promoting the absorption of concomitant medications through the skin, mucous membranes, and cornea, and affecting the distribution of such medications; it also possesses anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antimicrobial properties.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Newly Revised Materia Medica*: “Treats pathogenic factors in the heart and abdomen, rheumatic accumulations, deafness; improves vision; and removes redness and corneal opacities.”
2. *Compendium of Materia Medica*: “Treats sore throat, headache, nasal obstruction, toothache, protrusion of the tongue due to typhoid fever, and sunken smallpox lesions in children. Opens all orifices and disperses stagnant heat.”
3. *Compendium of Medical Essentials*: “Bingpian primarily disperses stagnant fire, penetrates bone heat, and treats convulsions, phlegm-induced confusion, sore throat, swollen tongue, toothache, deafness, nasal obstruction, red eyes with corneal opacities, internalized smallpox toxin, parasitic infections, hemorrhoids, and induces labor. Its nature is to move rather than remain; it can also promote tissue regeneration and relieve pain.However, because it disperses and is easily depleted, it ultimately belongs to the category of yin-cold.”
Applications
Clinical Applications
1. For treating heat-obstruction syndromes such as internal phlegm-heat obstruction, sudden syncope due to summer-heat, and infantile convulsions, it is often combined with ox bile, musk, and Coptis, as in the An Gong Niu Huang Pills (*Treatise on the Differentiation of Warm Diseases*); for treating cold-obstruction with mental confusion, it is often combined with Suhexiang, benzoin, cloves, and other warming and opening agents, as in the Suhexiang Pills (*Formulas of the Taiping Huimin Hujiju Bureau*).
2. For redness, swelling, and pain in the eyes, it is effective when applied directly to the eyes on its own; it can also be combined with zinc oxide, borax, and bear bile to make eye drops, such as the Eight-Treasure Eye Drops (from *Collection of Prescriptions for Traditional Chinese Medicinal Preparations*).; for treating sore and swollen throats and mouth and tongue ulcers, it is often ground into a fine powder together with borax, cinnabar, and pyrophosphate of iron, then applied to the affected area, such as in the Bingpeng Powder (from *Authentic Treatise on Surgery*); for treating wind-heat laryngitis, borneol is ground into a powder with lampwick, Phellodendron bark, and white alum, and applied to the affected area for relief (from *Selected Formulas from the Binhu Collection*).
3. To treat ulcers that have failed to heal for a prolonged period, it can be combined with ox bile, pearl, and zinc oxide, as in the Eight-Treasure Pill (Compendium of Surgical Medicine), or used with elephant skin, dragon’s blood, and frankincense, as in the Tissue-Regenerating Powder (Formulas from Clinical Experience); for burns from water or fire, this herb can be combined with silver vermilion and sesame oil to make an ointment for external application (*Selected Compilation of New Therapeutic Methods for Chinese Herbal Medicine*); to treat acute and chronic suppurative otitis media, dissolve this herb in walnut oil and instill it into the ear.
Related Compatibility
1. Borneol combined with Musk: Both herbs have the effect of opening the orifices and reviving the spirit; they are often used in combination to treat high fever, restlessness, mental confusion, and delirium caused by pathogenic heat invading the pericardium in febrile diseases, as well as stroke with phlegm-induced syncope and heat phlegm obscuring the heart orifices; they are also used for heat-induced mental confusion resulting from heat pathogens obstructing the orifices.
2. Borneol combined with Chuanxiong: Borneol excels at opening the orifices and relieving pain; Chuanxiong, with its pungent and aromatic nature, penetrates deeply and possesses strong effects in promoting blood circulation, regulating qi, and alleviating pain. When used together, they rapidly promote blood circulation, open the orifices, regulate qi, and relieve pain. This combination is frequently used for chest pain caused by blood stasis obstructing the meridians.
3. Borneol combined with Danshen: Borneol, with its pungent and aromatic properties, opens the orifices and relieves pain;Danshen promotes blood circulation and relieves pain. When combined, these two herbs work to promote blood circulation, open the orifices, and relieve pain, and are used for chest pain caused by blood stasis obstructing the meridians.
4. Borneol combined with Xuanming Powder: Borneol clears heat and relieves pain; Xuanming Powder clears fire and reduces swelling. When used together, they clear heat, reduce swelling, and relieve pain. They are primarily used topically to treat conditions such as sore throat and mouth and tongue ulcers.
Medicinal Identification
Bingpian and Musk: Both are agents that open the orifices and revive the spirit, and both can be used to treat closed-syndrome conditions such as mental confusion due to febrile diseases, stroke with phlegm-induced syncope, sudden syncope due to qi stagnation, and coma caused by sudden evil influences.However, musk is more potent in opening the orifices than borneol. Furthermore, borneol has a cold nature and excels at clearing heat and relieving pain; it is particularly effective for treating disorders of the mouth, teeth, throat, ears, and eyes. Musk, on the other hand, is pungent and warm, and is highly effective at promoting blood circulation, dispersing nodules, and relieving pain; it is particularly effective for treating amenorrhea due to blood stasis, masses and masses, sudden pain in the chest and abdomen, injuries from falls or blows, and difficult labor or stillbirth.
Related Medicines
Suoxiao Jiu Xin Wan, Compound Danshen Drops, Baofukang Suppositories, Pearl Eye-Brightening Eye Drops, Watermelon Frost Throat-Soothing Tablets, Bingpeng Powder.
Related Prescriptions
An Gong Niu Huang Pills (Niu Huang Pills) (*Treatise on Warm Diseases*), Zhi Bao Dan (*Su-Shen Effective Formulas*), Su He Xiang Pills (*Broad Remedies*, excerpted from *Secret Essentials from the Outer Pavilion*).
Notes
Patients requiring treatment with Chinese herbal medicine should first consult a licensed Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospital, where a TCM practitioner will conduct a professional pattern differentiation and prescribe an herbal formula.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
Using pinene obtained by distillation from pine resin, add the contact agent metaboric acid and react it with anhydrous oxalic acid to form borneol oxalate. Hydrolyze this with sodium hydroxide and hot water to produce crude borneol, which is then purified by recrystallization with gasoline to yield the final product.
Processing Methods
Take the raw herbal material, remove impurities, and grind into powder as needed.
Storage Methods
Store in a tightly sealed container in a cool, shaded place. Protect from volatilization.
Crude Drug Identification
Properties of Crude Drugs
This product is colorless, transparent, or white, translucent, flaky, and brittle crystals; it has a fresh, fragrant odor and a pungent, cool taste; it is volatile; when ignited, it produces thick smoke and a luminous flame.
Properties of Processed Slices
See “Characteristics of the Medicinal Material.”
