Bencao Gangmu Reference Library
百部 / 大百部 / 块根百部 / 婆妇草 / 药狗笋 / 蜜百部 — Stemona tuberosa Lour. (and Stemona curtisii Hook.f., Stemona japonica)
Pinyin: Bǎibù / Dà Bǎibù / Mì Bǎibù · Malay: Pokok Sulah / Sulah / Ubat Kutu / Akar Kemeng · Family: Stemonaceae (百部科)
Energetics
Neutral to slightly Warm (微温 / 平)
Flavor
Sweet, bitter, pungent (甘、苦、辛、微温)
Meridians
Lung (肺)
Traditional Edict
Tuberous Stemona (Pokok Sulah / Bai Bu / Ubat Kutu). Bundled fleshy spindle-shaped tubers. World-historic supreme monarch for chronic cough: Honey-fried (Mi Zhi Bai Bu) calms whooping cough and bronchitis; alcohol wash paralyzes head lice, pubic lice, scabies.
Cautions & Contraindications
- Paozhi Mandate: Raw Bai Bu is for lice/worms; Honey-Fried (Mi Zhi Bai Bu) is strictly for chronic dry cough. CONTRAINDICATED in Spleen-deficiency loose watery diarrhea.
Clinical Applications
- Acute and chronic intractable cough (whooping cough, post-viral bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis cough), pediculosis capitis/pubis (head and pubic lice eradication), scabies, and pediatric enterobiasis (pinworms).
Quality Markers
Mechanism & Phytochemistry
1. Tuberostemonine selectively depresses the medullary cough center, raising cough threshold and relaxing bronchial smooth muscle. 2. Stemonine neuro-paralyzes invertebrate GABA/ACh receptors in lice and scabies mites.
Preparation & Dosage
CRITICAL PAOZHI MANDATE: HONEY-FRIED STEMONA (Mi Zhi Bai Bu): 100 g dried tubers mixed with 15 g honey, stir-fried until golden non-sticky: 5 to 10 g boiled for chronic dry cough. NATURAL ANTI-LICE LOTION: 50 g tubers macerated in 250 mL 70% alcohol for 7 days.
Appended Prescriptions
- 1. Classical Cough-Calming Formula (Zhi Sou San Variant) with Platycodon and Aster tataricus (Zi Wan). 2. Natural Head Lice & Pubic Lice Eradication Wash with Melaleuca cajuputi.
Yemama Apothecary · Petaling Jaya, Malaysia · For educational and clinical reference only
