Platycodon Rhizome, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It is the rhizome of Platycodon grandiflorus (Jacq.) A.DC. [Campanula grandiflora Jacq.], a plant of the Campanulaceae family. It is distributed throughout China. It has the effects of clearing heat and resolving phlegm. It is primarily used to treat vomiting due to stomach heat, hot cough with thick phlegm, and coughing with chest tightness.
Platycodon rhizome
Platycodon Rhizome, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It is the rhizome of Platycodon grandiflorus (Jacq.) A.DC. [Campanula grandiflora Jacq.], a plant of the Campanulaceae family. It is distributed throughout China. It has the effects of clearing heat and resolving phlegm. It is primarily used to treat vomiting due to stomach heat, hot cough with thick phlegm, and coughing with chest tightness.
Chinese Name : 桔梗芦头
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Pungent in taste, cold in nature. Enters the Lung and Stomach meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Clears heat and resolves phlegm.
Indications
Vomiting due to stomach heat, hot cough with thick phlegm, and coughing with chest tightness.
Usage and Dosage
Oral use: Grind 1–3 grams of the raw herb into a powder and take it mixed with plain hot water.
Relevant Discussions
*Compendium of Materia Medica*: “For vomiting caused by wind-heat and phlegm-obstruction in the upper diaphragm, grind the raw herb into a powder, mix with plain hot water to make a dose of one qian, and induce vomiting.”
Applications
Processing & Preparation
Crude Drug Identification
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
Plant: Platycodon grandiflorus (family: Campanulaceae).
Morphological Characteristics
Platycodon grandiflorus, also known as Lingdanghua or Baofuhua (in Shandong). A perennial herb, 30–120 cm tall. The entire plant contains white latex. The taproot is long and spindle-shaped, with few branches. The stem is glabrous, usually unbranched or slightly branched toward the upper part.Leaves: 3–4, arranged in whorls, opposite, or alternate; sessile or with very short petioles; leaf blades ovate to lanceolate, 2–7 cm long, 0.5–3 cm wide, with an acute apex, a cuneate base, and sharply serrate margins; the underside is covered with a white powdery coating. Flowers: 1 to several, solitary at the stem apex or arranged in sparse racemes; calyx campanulate, with 5 lobes;the corolla is broadly bell-shaped, 4–6 cm in diameter, blue or bluish-purple, with 5 triangular lobes; there are 5 stamens, with filaments widened at the base and densely covered with fine hairs; the ovary is inferior, and the style is 5-lobed. The capsule is obovate and splits into 5 valves at the apex when ripe. Seeds are numerous and brown. Flowering occurs from July to September, and fruiting from August to October.
Distribution Area
Distributed throughout China.