http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jean-Pol_GRANDMONTPhellodendron chinense. P. amurense, P. wilsoni 黄 柏  Huáng bǎi, Huang bo  Phellodendron, Cork tree  Family: Rutaceae   
PART USED: Bark- harvested in Spring of about 10 year old plants.
Nature: Cold     FLAVOR: Bitter   CHANNEL: Kidney, Bladder, Large Intestine- lower organs in body.
FUNCTIONS
 GROUP: Clearing Internal Heat- Drying Dampness
1. Drains Damp Heat-[1] particularly from the lower Burner.[5]
2. Purges excess Fire and counteract toxic effects.[1,5]
3. Drains Kidney Fire.[5] Clearing empty Heat.
4. Resolve Blood congestion.[4]
ACTIONS
INDICATIONS
1. Damp Heat syndromes
- Atrophe of muscles of legs due to Damp Heat: Paralysis and numbers of lower limbs.[4] Sciatica.[4] Lameness, paralysis.[1] Damp Heat pouring downward or Hot leg Qi with such symptoms as red, swollen, and painful knees, legs, or feet.[5]
-Dysentery[1,5] due to Damp Heat[4] with symptoms of fever,[1] abdominal pain, diarrhea.[1] Purulent and bloody stool, and tenesmus.[1,5] Jaundice.[1] Gonorrhea.[1] Hemorrhoids.[1] Enteritis. Constipation.[4]
-Jaundice due to Damp Heat.[5]
-Leukorrhea-[1]Bloody vaginal discharge.[1] Yellow vaginal discharge.[5]
- Urinary tract infections with dysuria. Gonorrhea. Prostatitis.
2. Drains Fire and relieves toxicity for various infections on the skin such as boils.[1] Sores, swelling, ulcers. Fire toxin generated sores and damp lesions of the skin.[5]
Eczema. Canker sores.[1] Hemorrhoids. Burns and scalds. Impetigo.The drug can be used internally or externally in conjunction with other drugs according to the actual conditions.
3. Exuberance of Fire due to Yin deficiency marked by tidal fever, hectic fever with night seat, and emission. Aching bones, conjunctivitis, tinnitus.[1,4] Dry throat.[4] Ascending Kidney Fire with signs of Yin deficiency such as bone steaming disorder, night sweats, afternoon fevers and sweating.[5]
4. Hemorrhoids.
PATENT COMBINATIONS
COMBINATIONS
CONTRAINDICATIONS: Phellodendron bark is bitter and Cold and tends to cause impairment to the Stomach Qi. For this reason, it is containdicated for Cold syndromes of deficiency type in the Spleen/Stomach.[4,5]
COMPARISON: Huang Lian and Huang qin are very similar and are often used in combination. Huang qin sedates Lung Fire, Huang lian is mainly used to sedate Stomach Fire and Huang bai is mainly used to disperse Damp Heat- especially in the lower limbs.[4]
PREPARATIONS: Decoction  Dried Bark 4-10 g.[1,2,3] 3-12 g.[5] Appropriate amount for external usage.[1,3] Good quality is thick, large, and bright yellow.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
Research

Phytochemical Quantification and the In Vitro Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitory Activity of Phellodendron chinense and Its Components.
Kim YJ, Lim HS, Kim Y, Lee J, Kim BY, Jeong SJ.
Abstract
The dried bark of Phellodendron chinense has been used as a traditional herbal medicine to remove damp heat, relieve consumptive fever, and cure dysentery and diarrhea. In the present study, we performed quantitative analyses of the two components of P. chinense, phellodendrine and berberine, using high-performance liquid chromatography. A 70% ethanol extract of P. chinense was prepared and the two components were separated on a C-18 analytical column using a gradient solvent system of acetonitrile and 0.1% (v/v) aqueous trifluoroacetic acid. The ultraviolet wavelength used for detection was 200 nm for phellodendrine and 226 nm for berberine. The analytical method established here showed high linearity (correlation coefficient, ≥0.9991). The amount of phellodendrine and berberine used was 22.255 ± 0.123 mg/g and 269.651 ± 1.257 mg/g, respectively. Moreover, we performed an in vitro acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity assay and an amyloid-β aggregation test to examine the biological properties of phellodendrine and berberine as therapeutic drugs for Alzheimer's disease. Phellodendrine and berberine inhibited AChE activity in a dose-dependent manner (IC50 = 36.51 and 0.44 μM, respectively). In contrast, neither phellodendrine nor berberine had an effect on amyloid-β aggregation. The P. chinense extract and phellodendrine, but not berberine, exhibited antioxidant activity by increasing radical scavenging activity. Moreover, P. chinense demonstrated a neuroprotective effect in hydrogen peroxide-treated HT22 hippocampal cells. Overall, our findings suggest that P. chinense has potential as an anti-Alzheimer's agent via the suppression of the enzymatic activity of acetylcholinesterase and the stimulation of antioxidant activity.
Molecules. 2017 Jun 2;22(6). pii: E925. doi: 10.3390/molecules22060925.
PMID: 28574473 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22060925 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov