Picrorhiza, Hu Huang Lian 胡黄连

Hu Huang Lian (TCM)
Katuki (Ayurveda)
Kadukurokini (Siddha)
Kutki (Unani)
Hong Len  ཧོང་ལེན  (Tibet)
Picture Picture Royle, Illustrations of the botany and other branches of the natural
history of the Himalayan Mountains and of the flora of Cashmere, 1839

Picture Picrorhiza kurroa
(Photo by Kenraiz) (Wikimedia)

Botanical name:


Picrorhiza spp. (sometimes spelled Picrorrhiza)
  1. P. kurroa (mainly Ayurveda, also TCM)
  2. P. scrophulariflora (syn. Neopicrorhiza scrophulariaeflora) (TCM, Tibetan)

Hong len, used in Tibetan Medicine, has several varieties:
  1. Hong len mchhog, Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora
  2. Hong ldman pa:
    1. ‘Female’ variety: Lagotis glauca
    2. ‘Male’ variety: Lagotis brevituba
  3. Hong len ser po: Scutellaria baicalensis

Parts used:


Rhizome

Temperature & Taste:


Cold, dry. Bitter

Classification:


B. Clears Deficient Heat

Uses:


1. Clears Liver Heat (Ayurveda, TCM, Unani, Tibetan):
-Headache, Red Eyes, Diarrhea, Gall Bladder disease
-Hypertension etc.
-Hepatitis; various Liver diseases with Heat or Heat and Damp
-especially useful for Bilious dyspepsia, and especially if with Fever (Unani)
-various Eye diseases associated with liver heat.
-potent Hepato-protective
-effective to lower Cholesterol
-‘It tonifies the Liver and the Gall Bladder, and improves the eyesight’ (Su Gong)
   
2. Clears Heat and Damp (Ayurveda, TCM, Tibetan, Unani):
-Diarrhea associated with Heat and Damp of the Stomach, Liver, Gall Bladder or Bowels.
-Urinary Tract Infections, Jaundice
-Gastritis and Intestinal Pain.
    
3. Clears Heat and Poison:
-Sore Throat, Cough, Cold and Lung Fever (Tibet); Sore Throat, Tonsillitis (Ayurveda)
-Allergies and Hay-fever.
-Inflammations, Swellings and Tumors from Heat or Heat and Toxin
-Skin diseases including Eczema and more obstinate diseases such as Psoriasis
-Sexually Transmitted Diseases including Syphilis (Ayurveda)
-neutralizes toxin of Croton seed (Su Gong)

4. Clears Deficient Heat:
-Heat from Yin deficiency; Tuberculosis; Hectic Fever; Fever associated with childhood malnutrition
-Wasting Disorders; Cachexia
-adjunct in Diabetes

5. Clears Heat, Stops Wheezing:
-Heat-type Cough and Wheezing
-Recently shown effective for Bronchial Asthma
   
6. Promotes Digestion:
-Small doses of the powder are used as a aperient, to stimulate digestion. (Unani)
-poor appetite in infants (Kai Bao Ben Cao)
–‘relieves indigestion due to overeating of fruit’. (Zhu Zhen Heng)
-considered useful for Obesity (Ayurveda)

7. Benefits Milk:
-Ayurveda considers Picrorhiza useful for increasing Milk quality.


Dose:


Powder: 500mg–3 grams
Decoction: 2–9 grams

Comment:


1. Hu in Chinese means ‘foreign’. It originated in ancient Persia, and is similar in function and use to Coptis Huang Lian, which is how it got its Chinese name (‘Foreign Coptis‘).
2. According to Tibetan texts, if taken with Ghee or butter, it sharpens Eyesight.

Correctives:
1. Mastic (Unani)
2. Almond oil (Unani)

Substitutes:  
1. Gentian. various Gentians have been used as substitutes including G. kurroo, G. decumbens, G. tenella (Ayurveda)
2. Lagotis glauca, L. brevituba (used in Tibet as varieties of Hong len and in Ayurveda as a substitute / adulterant)
3. Scutellaruia Huang Qin is an accepted substitute in Tibetan Medicine (used in Buryat region)
4. Picrorhiza is considered a cheaper substitute for Coptis Huang Lian in TCM and may also be used for Golden Seal.

Main Combinations:


Liver
1. Hepatitis:
i. Viral Hepatitis, Picrorhiza with Triphala, Bdellium, Plumbago (Ayurveda)
ii. Picrorhiza with Madder, Tinospora, Emblic Myrobalan, Phyllanthus amarus
iii. Picrorhiza with Triphala, Bdellium, Boerhaavia, Nux Vomica. Ayurveda)
2. Liver heat, Bile disease:
i. Picrorhiza with Tabasheer, Safflower, Bezoar, Swertia, White Sandalwood (Tibetan Medicine)
ii. with headache, inflammation, fever, bitter taste and yellowish complexion, Picrorhiza with Costus, Aconitum heterophyllum, Picrorhiza, Barberry (as in Swertia 8 of Tibetan Medicine)
iii. Picrorhiza with White Sandalwood, Tabsheer, Nutmeg, Clove, Black Cardamon, Green Cardamon, Safflower, Chebulic Myrobalan, Costus, Corydalis, Adhatoda vasica, Madder (as in Sandalwood 18 of Tibetan Medicine)

Heat/Bile Diseases
3. Fever:
i. Picrorhiza with Andrographis, Tinospora and Ginger (Ayurveda)
ii. Bilious Fever, Picrorhiza, Licorice, Raisins, Neem bark (equal parts) as a decopction. (Ayurveda)
iii. Typhoid Fever, Picrorhiza, Gardenia Zhi Zi, Pig Gall Bladder and Honey are form into pills (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
4. Allergies, Picrorhiza with Tylophora, Long Pepper, Ephedra, Licorice (Ayurveda)
5. Postpartum Fever, Picrorhiza with Ginger, Zedoary, Cyperus rotundus, Fumitory (Ayurveda)
6. Blood Heat, Chronic Fever, with Thirst, Picrorhiza with Tabasheer, Safflower, Swertia, White Sandalwood, Adhatoda (as in Principle 8 (Gtso bo brgyad pa) of Tibetan Medicine)
7. Deficient Heat, Hectic Fever (Yin-deficient Heat):
i. Picrorhiza with Anemarrhena Zhi Mu.
ii. Picrorhiza with Stellaria Yin Chai Hu, Lycium Root Bark (Di Gu Pi) (as in Qing Gu San from Zheng Zhi Zhun Sheng [Standard of Diagnosis and Treatments])
iii. Picrorhiza with Tabasheer, Tragacanth, Sandalwood, Four Cold Seeds
8. Chronic Diarrhea or Dysentery with blood in the stool:
i. Picrorhiza with dry Ginger.
ii. Picrorhiza with Prunus Wu Mei, and Zao Xin Tu (Terra Flava usta, ‘Oven Earth’)
iii. Picrorhiza with Emblic Myrobalan Safflower, Licorice, Pomegranate seed, Shilajit, Madder (as in Bezoar 13 (Gi wan 13) of Tibetan Medicine)
9. Skin diseases:
i. Picrorhiza with Fumitory
ii. Picrorhiza with Madder, Neem, Psoralea (Ayurveda)
iii. obstinate skin diseases, Picrorhiza with Emblic Myrobalan, Aconitum heterophyllum, Cyperus rotundus, Sandalwood, Barberry, Calamus, Asparagus, Tinospoa, Swertia, Licorice, Fumitory, Cassia fistula, as a medicinal Ghee (Ayurveda)
10. Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD’s)
i. Picrorhiza with Fumitory, Gentian
ii. Picrorhiza with Cyperus rotundus, Sandalwood and Ginger (Ayurveda)
11. Syphilitis:
i. Picrorhiza with Catechu (TCM)
ii. Picrorhiza with Sarsaparilla
iii. Hemidesmus (5 parts), Vetiver (4 parts), Cyperus (5 parts), Picrorhiza (6 parts), Ginger (4 parts). Dose: 5–10 grams (Ayurveda)

Childhood Diseases:
12. Childhood nutritional impairment with Fever and poor appetite:
i. in cases with Heat, Picrorhiza has been combined with Coptis Huang Lian
ii. Picrorhiza with Codonopsis Dang Shen, Atractylodes Bai Zhu Hawthorn fruit (Shan Zha) (as in Fei Er Wan from Wan Bing Hui Chun [Bring Spring Back to Myriad Diseases]),
iii. Picrorhiza with Withania, Asparagus, Triphala
iv. Picrorhiza, Flying Squirrel feces (Wu Ling Zhi), Pig Bile (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
13. Jaundice in a Newborn, Picrorhiza, Coptis Huang Lian
14. Excess Sweating in Infants, Picrorhiza, Bupleurum Chai Hu, Honey formed into pills (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
15. Diarrhea in infants, Picrorhiza and Ginger powders are taken with Licorice decoction (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
16. Sore and red eyes in Infants, Ointment of Picrorhiza and tea is applied to the palms (Ben Cao Gang Mu)

Other:
17. Hoarseness, Laryngitis, Tonsillitis, Picrorhiza with Cyperus rotunudus, Ginger, Raisin, Long Pepper, Barberry, Triphala (as in Drakshadi Churna, or Powder of Raisins, of Ayurveda).
18. Persistent Hiccups, Picrorhiza mixed with Honey cures the most persistent Hiccups. (The Bower Mauscript, Ayurveda)
19. Indigestion, Picrorhiza, Calamus, Plumbago, Chebulic Myrobalan (equal parts)
20. Constipation, Picrorhiza with Rhubarb, Fennel, Cardamon, Ginger
21. Diabetes, and to regulate Blood Sugar:
i. Picrorhiza with Tinospora, Tribulus, Gymnema (Ayurveda)
ii. Picrorhiza with Gymnema, Shilajit
22. To increase Milk quality:
i. Picrorhiza with Fennel, Aniseed
ii. Picrorhiza with Cyperus rotundus (Ayurveda)
23. To strengthen the Eyesight, dip the root in woman’s milk and drop into the eye (Su Gong)
24. To increase immunity, Picrorhiza with Withania, Swertia, Licorice (Ayurveda)
25. Hemorrhoids, Picrorhiza is mixed with Bile and applied topically (TCM)

Major Formulas:


Bezoar 13 (Tibetan)
Clove 35 (Li shi so lnga) (Tibetan).
Cowrie Ash 6 (Mgron thal drug pa) (Tibetan)
Great Black Combination (Sman nag chen mo) (Tibetan)
Great Decoction 25 (Thang chen nyer lnga) (Tibetan)
Life Holding Jewel (Srog ‘dzin nor bu) (Tibetan)
Lotus Stem White Pills (Ril dkar pad sdong) (Tibetan)
Minister 9 (Tibetan)
Principle 8 (Tibetan)
Swertia 8 (Tig ta brgyad pa) (Tibetan) 

Cautions:


1. Very Cold and Bitter, so use carefully in Cold and Weak Stomach.
2. Not suitable for use in Yin deficiency.

CITES listing:
Picrorhiza kurroa is listed as endangered on CITES. Picrorhiza scrophulariflora is not included on that listing, however.

Main Preparations used:



1. Cholagogue
2. Hepatoprotective
3. Anti-inflammatory
4. Anti-bacterial
5. Anti-fungal
6. Anti-oxidant
7. Lowers cholesterol
8. Anti-Tumor
9. Anti-Asthma
10. Anti-Ulcer