{"id":159639,"date":"2025-08-15T10:43:53","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T09:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.herbalreality.com\/?post_type=herb&p=159639"},"modified":"2025-08-15T10:46:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T09:46:24","slug":"pinellia","status":"publish","type":"herb","link":"https:\/\/www.herbalreality.com\/herb\/pinellia\/","title":{"rendered":"Pinellia"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":159740,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","beyondwords_generate_audio":"1","beyondwords_project_id":"47224","beyondwords_content_id":"e8356a0d-235d-4955-8cfa-e7a19bb59e52","beyondwords_preview_token":"0d8f3fc2-35d1-4375-8e7a-68a313c16240","beyondwords_player_content":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_code":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_delete_content":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_status":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":""},"tags":[],"conditions":[685,696,695],"sustainability":[1576],"sense":[],"western_action":[1822,998,1010,1019],"chinese_action":[1042,1036,1043,1167,1040],"ayurvedic_action":[1074,1105,1079,1069],"energetics_action":[1510,1614,1546,1487,1534,1554,1523,1619,1497,1539,1618,1522,1529,1504,1380],"region":[1898],"class_list":["post-159639","herb","type-herb","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","conditions-digestive-system","conditions-nervous-system","conditions-respiratory-system","sustainability-green-sustainability-status","western_action-antiemetic","western_action-antitussive","western_action-expectorant","western_action-sedative","chinese_action-aromatically-transform-damp","chinese_action-drain-dampness","chinese_action-regulate-the-qi","chinese_action-treat-cough-stop-wheezing","chinese_action-warm-transform-phlegm-cold","ayurvedic_action-grahi","ayurvedic_action-swasahara","ayurvedic_action-kasahara","ayurvedic_action-chhardi-nigrahana","energetics_action-acrid","energetics_action-digestive","energetics_action-dry-quality","energetics_action-dry","energetics_action-heating","energetics_action-kapha-constitution-dosha","energetics_action-lung","energetics_action-nervous-channel-srotas","energetics_action-pungent","energetics_action-pungent-post-digestive-effect-vipaka","energetics_action-respiratory","energetics_action-spleen","energetics_action-stomach","energetics_action-warm-temperature-chinese","energetics_action-warm","region-traditional-chinese-herbs"],"acf":{"last_reviewed":"20250709","herb_author":1242,"banner_text":"Pinellia (ban xia) treats phlegm-damp cough, nausea and insomnia","latin_name":"Pinellia ternata<\/span><\/i>","pseudonym_name":"Ban xia","family_name":"Araceae","herb_summary":"Pinellia is a versatile herb used in Chinese medicine for treating phlegm and regulating fluids. Pinellia requires careful preparation to avoid toxic effects. Use under the guidance of a healthcare professional only.","key_benefits":"Alleviates cough and disperses phlegm\r\nCalms the stomach to stop nausea and vomiting\r\nReduces bloating and distention\r\nTreats nodules and swellings\r\nCalms the nervous system and aids sleep","how_does_it_feel":"Pinellia has a mild and fragrant aroma with spicy, woody notes due to the essential oil content. The taste is pungent with underlying bitter tones, upon tasting the astringent qualities come through in the mouth, felt as a drying effect.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nPinellia is an especially dispersing and drying herb, yet also slippery with a downward draining action (1). Pinellia\u2019s warming effect can be felt upon tasting, as the effect spreads downwards throughout the digestive tract.<\/span>","hdif_image_1":159744,"hdif_image_2":159743,"hdif_image_3":159742,"hdif_video":"","sense":[],"what_can_i_use_it_for":"Pinellia is primarily used for coughs with thin, watery sputum and a stifling sensation in the chest, or for epigastric and abdominal distention, nausea and vomiting (1). Its dispersing and warming properties can help dry fluids directly, and its slippery nature can help loosen stubborn phlegm and direct it downwards, where it can be eliminated through the urine or the stool.<\/span>\r\n\r\nOther traditional indications for pinella include nodules, swellings and subjective sensations of distention anywhere in the body, which are perceived as phlegm accumulations. It can also treat insomnia with racing thoughts, which can be understood as a manifestation of phlegm that obstructs the process of the <\/span>qi<\/span><\/i> turning inward at night (1).<\/span>\r\n\r\nIt can also be used topically on sores, skin ulcers, carbuncles and breast abscesses (2).<\/span>","into_the_heart_of":"[caption id=\"attachment_159743\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"478\"]\"Pinellia Pinellia (Pinellia ternata<\/em>)[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThe name <\/span>ban xia<\/span><\/i> (\u534a\u590f pronounced \u201cban-shah\u201d) means \u201chalf summer\u201d referring to the time of year around the summer solstice when pinellia tubers can first be harvested (3). This is also the time of year when nature\u2019s <\/span>qi<\/span><\/i> is moving downwards and inwards, just as the energetic actions of the herb are to direct <\/span>qi<\/span><\/i> downwards and inwards, countering the upwards and outwards movements of cough and vomiting. This action, along with its dispersing properties, has made pinellia one of the primary herbs for treating dampness and phlegm in Chinese medicine.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Chinese term for phlegm (\u75f0<\/span>tan<\/span><\/i>) is not a straightforward translation and can refer to much more than the sticky substance that is produced in the lungs during a respiratory infection. It is more closely related to the Ayurvedic concept of phlegm (<\/span>\u015ble\u1e63man<\/span><\/i>) as an imbalance or corruption of the <\/span>kapha dosha<\/span><\/i> and waste product of digestion. It was most likely carried into China with Buddhist teachings where it influenced existing concepts of fluid pathology (5). Once imported into Chinese medicine, phlegm was understood as the result of a disruption in fluid metabolism that may accumulate anywhere in the body, cooking until it thickens into something viscous, or even solid, that obstructs normal function, resulting in an array of complex symptoms (6). Phlegm can:\u00a0<\/span>\r\n