New to this? Read about Four Natures & Five Flavors and Channel Tropism

HerbPulsatillae Radix

白头翁

Bái Tóu Wēng

Pulsatilla Root

The dried root of Pulsatilla chinensis (Ranunculaceae). Cold and bitter, entering the Stomach and Large Intestine channels. Excels at clearing heat-toxin and cooling the blood to stop dysentery; the premier herb for heat-toxin bloody dysentery, most famously used in Bai Tou Weng Tang (Pulsatilla Decoction).

Actions · 功效

清热解毒Clear heat and resolve toxicity
凉血止痢Cool the blood and stop dysentery
燥湿杀虫Dry dampness and kill parasites

Indications · 主治

热毒血痢，腹痛里急后重Heat-toxin bloody dysentery with abdominal pain and tenesmus
阿米巴痢疾Amoebic dysentery
疮痈肿毒Sores, abscesses, and toxic swelling

Dosage · 用量

Per day · decoction · non-pregnant adult

9–15 g

Reference range for non-pregnant adults. Not a personalized prescription. Pregnancy, lactation, and pediatric use require specialist supervision.

Draft· 2026-04-16

Footnotes · 引用

[1]Shennong Bencao Jing (Divine Husbandman's Materia Medica)
[2]Mingyi Bielu (Supplementary Records of Famous Physicians)
[3]Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica)

Permalink · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cite this entry

@misc{bencaodian-bai-tou-weng,
  author       = {{Bencaodian Editorial}},
  title        = {Bái Tóu Wēng 白头翁 (Pulsatilla Root) — Pulsatillae Radix},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {Bencao Dian: A Bilingual Knowledge Graph of Traditional Chinese Medicine},
  url          = {https://bencaodian.org/en/herbs/bai-tou-weng},
  urldate      = {2026-04-16},
  note         = {CC BY-SA 4.0}
}

Permalink is fixed

@misc{bencaodian-bai-tou-weng, author = {{Bencaodian Editorial}}, title = {Bái Tóu Wēng 白头翁 (Pulsatilla Root) — Pulsatillae Radix}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {Bencao Dian: A Bilingual Knowledge Graph of Traditional Chinese Medicine}, url = {https://bencaodian.org/en/herbs/bai-tou-weng}, urldate = {2026-04-16}, note = {CC BY-SA 4.0} }