Chinese Herbs: Rhubarb / Dahuang

Rhubarb / Dahuang

Tangute Rhubarb /大黃, 5:1 Concentrated Granules

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Chinese Herb Rhubarb, known as Dahuang in Traditional Chinese Medicine, is a potent herb characterized by its bitter taste and cold properties. Renowned for its diverse therapeutic functions, Rhubarb effectively relieves stagnation, clears damp-heat, reduces excessive fire, cools the blood, and eliminates stasis while also detoxifying the body.

It is commonly applied in treating a variety of conditions, including constipation associated with sthenic fever, heat and distension in the chest, damp-heat diarrhea, jaundice, stranguria, edema, abdominal fullness, and difficulties in urination. Additionally, it can address conjunctival congestion, throat swelling and pain, mouth and tongue sores, vomiting from heat in the stomach, various bleeding conditions (such as epistaxis and hematochezia), amenorrhea, postpartum stasis and pain, abdominal masses, traumatic injuries, carbuncles, ulcers due to heat toxins, erysipelas, and empyrosis. Due to its broad range of applications, Rhubarb is a valuable component in herbal formulas aimed at promoting health and restoring balance in the body.

Chinese Name	大黃
Chinese Pinyin	Dahuang
English Name	Rhubarb Tangute Rhubarb
Latin Pharmaceutical Name	Rhei Radix et Rhizoma
Category	Roots and rhizomes
Origin	The dried root and rhizome of Rheum palmatum L. or Rheum tanguticum Maxim. ex Balf, or Rheum officinale Baill. (Polygonaceae).
Production Regions	Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan.
Macroscopic Features	Sub-cylindrical, conical, oval or irregular lumps, 3~17cm long, 3~10cm diameter. Peeled outer skin, surface is yellowish-brown to reddish-brown, some with off-white reticular striations or scattered star spots (specific vascular bundle); brown remnants of outer skin, with mostly rope-holes and rough wrinkles. Firm texture, sometimes with a slightly loose center; fractured surface is pale reddish-brown or yellowish-brown and granular. Rhizome has wide pith, with star spots arranged in whorls or scattered; xylem of root is well developed, with radial striations, cambium is obvious, without star spots. Delicately aromatic odor; bitter and slightly astringent taste, sticky and gritty when chewed.
Quality Requirements	Superior medicinal material is firm, with a delicate aromatic odor and a bitter and slightly astringent taste.
Properties	Bitter, cold.
Functions	Relieves stagnation, clears dampn-heat, reduces fire, cools blood, eliminates stasis, relieves toxin. Apply to constipation induced by sthenic fever, heat and distention and full of chest, damp-heat diarrhea, jaundice, strangury, edema and sbdominal fullness, difficulty of urination, conjunctival congestion, swelling pain of throat, sor of mouth and tongue, vomiting due to heat stomach, apostaxis, cough with blood, epistaxis, hematochezia, hematuria, blood stasis, amenorrhea, postpartum stasis and pain, abdominal mass accumulation, trsumatic injury, carbuncle and ulcer due to heat toxin, erysipelas, empyrosis.
Processed Form	Sheng da huang (also called sheng jun): Clean the crude drug, grades with different size, moistens to even inner and outer moisture; slice into flakes or lumps and dry. Jiu da huang: spry sliced da huang with yellow rice wine, moistens with a cover, fry with slow fire, take out and cool (100 jin of da huang slices with 14 jin of yellow rice wine). Da huang tan: da huang slices fried with fast fire till inner and outer surface is burnt brown (keep its nature), spray with seldom water, take out and dry.
Technical Terms	‘Brocade pattern’: This refers to brocade-like reticulations seen on the exterior or the horizontally cut surface of da huang medicinal materials that are formed by interconnected off-white parenchyma, reddish-brown rays, and star spots.