Roots and rhizomesHeat-clearingRadix Pulsatillae

Bai Tou Weng (Pulsatilla Root)

Q: What is Bai Tou Weng? Are Huang Lian, Qin Pi and Ma Chi Xian the same?

Official Bai Tou Weng (白头翁) is the dried root of Pulsatilla chinensis . The pharmacopoeial name is Pulsatillae Radix . Huang Lian is bitter-cold: clears heat, dries damp, drains fire and resolves toxin. Qin Pi is bitter-astringent and cold: clears heat, dries damp, astringes to stop dysentery, checks vaginal discharge and brightens the eyes. Ma Chi Xian is sour-cold: clears heat, resolves toxin, cools Blood, stops bleeding and stops dysentery. Use the root; the stem and leaf act differently and contain cardioactive constituents, so they must not be mixed in. Write Bai Tou Weng. Use caution in vacuity-cold diarrhea.

Q: What are the TCM properties and traditional uses of Bai Tou Weng?

According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Bai Tou Weng is bitter and cold , enters the Stomach and Large Intestine channels, and acts to clear heat, resolve toxin, cool Blood and stop dysentery . It is used for heat-toxin bloody dysentery, vaginal itching with discharge, and amoebic dysentery. Bitter-cold and clearing intestinal heat, it suits heat-toxin bloody dysentery—not vacuity-cold diarrhea or Spleen-Stomach vacuity cold.

Q: What is the usual dosage? Can it be drunk daily as an antidysentery tea?

The pharmacopoeial decoction dose is 9–15 g . It is not a four-season “Pulsatilla antidysentery tea.” Without heat-toxin, cold only injures Spleen yang. Bloody dysentery needs a practitioner to name a short course; it does not replace stool testing and fluid replacement.

Q: How do you choose and store Bai Tou Weng?

Choose cylindrical roots with white hairs on the crown, a yellow-white cortex on the cut face and a bitter taste . Moldy, moth-eaten, hairless or black-cut lots are discarded. Store in a ventilated dry place. Buy pharmacopoeial Bai Tou Weng root; do not replace clearing heat, resolving toxin, cooling Blood and stopping dysentery with Coptis or the stem and leaf by equal weight.

A practical guide to Bai Tou Weng: what it is, how Traditional Chinese Medicine uses it, the classical formulas it appears in, and who should be careful with it.

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Last reviewed Oct 13, 2026

Quick Facts

Latin Name	Radix Pulsatillae
Chinese Name & Pinyin	白頭翁 · Bai Tou Weng
Medicinal Part	Roots and rhizomes
The herb	Bai Tou Weng is the dried root of Pulsatilla chinensis, with white down at the crown. Huang Lian, Huang Bai, and Qin Pi are different official drugs.
Nature and channels	Bitter, cold. Enters the Stomach and Large Intestine. Bitterness resolves toxin. Cold cools the blood and stops dysentery.
Pharmacopoeia line	Clears heat and resolves toxin. Cools the blood and stops dysentery. Used for heat-toxin bloody dysentery, and for genital itch and leukorrhea.
Pattern cues	Pus and blood in the stool. Tenesmus. Fever. Genital itch and leukorrhea. Red tongue with yellow coating.
In this article	Bai Tou Weng versus Huang Lian, Huang Bai, and Qin Pi. Heat-toxin bloody dysentery versus deficiency-cold diarrhea. Why bloody dysentery needs a clinic. Who should skip it.

What Is Bai Tou Weng?

Bai Tou Weng (白头翁; Bái Tóu Wēng; Latin: Pulsatillae Radix; English: Chinese anemone root) is the dried root of Pulsatilla chinensis (Bge.) Regel. In Chinese medicine it is a heat-clearing, toxin-resolving herb. It is bitter and cold, enters the Stomach and Large Intestine channels, and its core actions are to clear heat and resolve toxin, and to cool the blood and stop dysentery. The teaching point is heat-toxin bloody dysentery: stool with pus and blood, and tenesmus. It is not Huang Lian. Coptis is bitter-cold, dries dampness, clears the Heart, and thickens the intestines. Bai Tou Weng more specifically cools blood and stops dysentery. It is not Qin Pi. Ash bark is bitter-cold; it astringes dysentery and clears the Liver. Garden anemone is not the official piece. Deficiency-cold diarrhea is a contraindication. Bloody dysentery needs a clinic. Do not rely on the single root.

It is used most often for three patterns:

Heat-toxin bloody dysentery — pus and blood in the stool, fever
Tenesmus — damp-heat epidemic toxin
Damp-heat genital itch and leukorrhea

The usual decoction dose is 9–15 g. Bitter and cold, it is not a daily “dysentery root tea.” Deficiency-cold loose stools and abdominal pain that likes warmth get worse if more cold is added.

When heat-toxin gathers in the intestine, pus-and-blood stool and tenesmus are common. Bai Tou Weng is bitter-cold. It clears, cools, and stops dysentery, which is why it is paired with Huang Lian, Huang Bai, and Qin Pi in Bai Tou Weng Tang. It cools and drains more than it holds. A sallow face, a weak pulse, and thin clear dysentery get worse if more clearing is added.

Bai Tou Weng is not a catch-all dysentery root. In deficiency-cold dysentery, or cold resting dysentery, using it alone can injure the stomach. Whether it belongs in Bai Tou Weng Tang should be decided by a licensed Chinese medicine practitioner after pattern diagnosis.

Bai Tou Weng: Materia Medica Profile

Identification & Quality Standard

Radix Pulsatillae

Botanical Origin

The dried root of Pulsatilla chinensis (Bge.) Regel. (Ranunculaceae).

Production Regions

Primarily produced in Anhui, Henan, and the northern and northeastern provinces of China.

Quality Requirements

Superior medicinal material is thick, long, and firm.

Macroscopic Features

Root is long cylindrical or conical, slightly curved, or slightly twisted and screwed; 5~20cm long, 0.5~2cm diameter. Externally yellowish-brown or brown, with irregular longitudinal wrinkles or grooves, sometimes 2~3 branches in the middle; cortex easily falls off and exposes a yellow xylem, often rotten to a concave hole and presenting raised longitudinal reticular fissured lines; the head of root is enlarged, often with branches, with remnants of a sheath-shaped petiole and white downy hairs. Hard and brittle texture, flat fractured surface; phloem is yellowish-white; xylem is yellow; sometimes a gap in the middle of phloem and xylem. faint odor; taste slightly bitter and astringent.

3 Authentic Producing Areas and Quality Identification

It is primarily grown in northern and eastern regions like Hebei, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, and Jiangsu.

Quality Check: A premium raw root is firm, cone-shaped, and brown on the outside with a yellowish-white flat cross-section. A key identifier is the presence of white fuzz near the top of the root. It has a slightly bitter and astringent taste.
Common Confusions: It can easily be confused with the roots of similar plants, which tend to have a looser texture and a much weaker scent, so careful identification is necessary.

Traditional Properties & Historical Lineage

Nature, Flavour & Channel Tropism

Bitter; ColdStomachLarge Intestine

1. 2 Records in Ancient Herbal Texts

This herb has a long, documented history in classic TCM literature:

Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing listed it for addressing abdominal masses, swelling, and pain.
Ming Yi Bie Lu noted its use for abdominal pain and "toxic dysentery" (severe bacterial diarrhea).
Ben Cao Gang Mu highly praised it for treating heat-toxin dysentery and bloody, purulent stools.
De Pei Ben Cao highlighted a famous pairing: mixing it with Huang Lian (Coptis Rhizome) and Huang Bo (Amur Cork Tree Bark) to treat severe, hot intestinal infections.

2. 3 Evolution of TCM Understanding

Early practitioners used it for a wider variety of ailments, including malaria and abdominal masses. However, over time, its clinical use became highly focused on the intestines. Today, it is recognized as a master herb for clearing gut-level "heat-toxins" (often correlating with acute gastrointestinal infections).

Caution: Because it is very cold and bitter, modern practitioners emphasize that it should only be used for true "Heat" conditions. Long-term use in someone with a weak, cold Spleen and Stomach can damage their digestive energy.

Core Efficacies & Traditional Applications

Traditional Functions

Clears hear, resolves toxin, cools the blood, relieves dysentery, eliminating dampness and destroying parasites. Apply to heat dysentery, epistaxis, hemorrhoid hemorrhage, leucorrhea, pudendum itch, ulcer and carbuncle, struma.

1. 1 First Primary Action: Clearing Heat and Resolving Toxicity

The traditional core function of Bai Tou Weng (Pulsatilla Root) is to clear heat and toxicity from the stomach, intestines, and the whole body.

Common Symptoms: It is often used for conditions triggered by "Heat-Toxin," such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, stools with pus and blood, a burning sensation in the anus, fever, dry mouth, and dark urine.
Common Pairings: It is usually paired with herbs like Huang Lian (Coptis Rhizome), Huang Bo (Amur Cork Tree Bark), and Qin Pi (Fraxinus Bark) to enhance its heat-clearing and dysentery-stopping effects.
Caution: Individuals with a "Cold-Deficient" Spleen and Stomach (those who often experience abdominal pain, loose stools, and cold hands or feet) should not use this herb on their own.

2. 2 Second Primary Action: Cooling Blood and Stopping Dysentery

Another primary action is cooling the blood and stopping bleeding to relieve intestinal discomfort caused by dysentery.

Common Symptoms: It targets dysentery caused by heat-toxins or damp-heat, featuring symptoms like red and white dysentery (mucus and blood in stools), tenesmus (a frequent urge to have a bowel movement with a heavy, incomplete feeling), and severe abdominal pain.
Common Pairings: It is typically combined with Dang Gui (Angelica Root) and Shao Yao (Peony Root) to harmonize Qi and blood and to relax intestinal tension.
Caution: Pregnant women and those with weak constitutions or Qi and blood deficiencies should avoid self-medicating.

3. 3 Common Single Herb Pairing: The Herb Pair

A very common pairing is Bai Tou Weng (Pulsatilla Root) and Huang Lian (Coptis Rhizome).

Synergy: Bai Tou Weng excels at clearing heat-toxins from the intestines and cooling blood to stop dysentery. Huang Lian is excellent at draining heart fire and gastrointestinal damp-heat, which helps soothe intestinal inflammation. Together, they strongly reinforce each other.
Note: This combination requires professional diagnosis and is not suitable for those with Spleen and Stomach cold deficiency.

Modern Research

Modern research offers useful context, but Traditional Chinese Medicine prescribes on whole-pattern diagnosis rather than isolated compounds.

1. 1 Main Chemical Components

Modern chemical analysis shows that Bai Tou Weng (Pulsatilla Root) contains triterpenoid saponins, anemonin, flavonoids, and coumarins.

Lab Findings: In test tubes, some of these compounds show inhibitory effects against common intestinal pathogens. Animal studies suggest its extracts may help soothe intestinal inflammation. However, robust human clinical trials are still lacking.

2. 2 Modern Pharmacological Research Directions

Current scientific research heavily mirrors its traditional use, focusing on its potential for treating gut health issues. Scientists are exploring how it might reduce intestinal inflammation and regulate gut microbiomes.

3. 3 Limitations of Modern Research

While modern lab results are promising, they have strict limitations:

Lab vs. Real Life: Killing bacteria in a petri dish or helping a lab mouse does not guarantee the exact same result or safety in the human body.
Extracts vs. Whole Herb: Labs use highly concentrated, isolated chemicals. Traditional TCM uses the whole boiled root, which has a very different dosage and chemical balance.
Inconsistent Methods: Different studies use different extraction methods, making it hard to create a unified medical conclusion.
Holistic Synergy: In TCM, the herb's healing power comes from the complex interaction of all its natural compounds, not just one isolated active ingredient.

Comparing Similar Herbs

1. 2 Similarities with Comparable Herbs

When comparing Bai Tou Weng (Pulsatilla Root) with Qin Pi (Fraxinus Bark), they share a few traits:

Both are cold in nature and clear heat.
Both are used for intestinal heat and dysentery, targeting intestinal inflammation.
Both require careful dosage and are not for casual, long-term use.

2. 3 Core Differences

Nature and Flavor: Both are cold, but Bai Tou Weng is bitter (focusing on purging heat), while Qin Pi is bitter and astringent (focusing on astringing and binding).
Core Strength: Bai Tou Weng specializes in clearing heat-toxins and cooling blood, making it ideal for bloody, purulent stools. Qin Pi specializes in clearing damp-heat and stopping diarrhea, and it can also soothe red, swollen eyes.
Energy Direction: Both drive energy downwards. However, Bai Tou Weng specifically flushes out heat-toxins, while Qin Pi aims to reduce excessive intestinal movement.
Contraindications: Both are cold and inappropriate for people with weak, cold digestion. However, because Qin Pi is highly astringent, it should never be used alone if there is uncleared stagnation in the gut.

3. 4 One-Sentence Summary

Bai Tou Weng (Pulsatilla Root) focuses on clearing severe intestinal heat-toxins and bloody dysentery, while Qin Pi (Fraxinus Bark) leans toward clearing damp-heat, stopping diarrhea with its astringent nature, and clearing the eyes.

Classical Formulas Containing Bai Tou Weng

Bai Tou Weng Tang

白頭翁湯

Formula CategoryHeat-Clearing FormulasPrimary PatternDamp-HeatPrimary FunctionClear heat, resolve toxin, cool the Blood, stop dysenteryRelated ConditionsDiarrhea·Abdominal Pain·Fever·Dry Mouth & Throat

View Formula Profile Read Complete Guide

Formulas vs. Single Herbs

Synergy is Key: A formula is a balanced team. The healing power comes from how the herbs interact, so a single herb cannot simply replicate a full formula's effects.
Holistic Balance: The exact dosage and combination in a formula affect the entire body. Never try to mix or alter these formulas at home based on internet articles.

Diet & Daily Home Use

1. 1 Home Tea or Dietary Application

Bai Tou Weng and Purslane Tea:
- Ingredients: 5g raw Bai Tou Weng (Pulsatilla Root), 10g Ma Chi Xian (Purslane).
- Method: Wash, steep in boiling water in a teapot for 10 minutes.
- Use Case: Mild summer intestinal discomfort from poor diet (slight pain, loose stools, no blood/pus).
- Limit: 1-2 times a week. Not for long-term use.
Bai Tou Weng and Atractylodes Porridge:
- Ingredients: 3g stir-baked Bai Tou Weng (Pulsatilla Root), 5g stir-baked Bai Zhu (Atractylodes Rhizome), 50g rice.
- Method: Wrap herbs in a cheesecloth, boil with rice into a porridge, and remove the herb bag before eating.
- Use Case: Mild damp-heat diarrhea with poor appetite.
- Limit: Once every two weeks. Do not eat continuously.

2. 2 Preparation Differences

Raw vs. Stir-baked: Raw Bai Tou Weng is colder and better for clearing severe heat-toxin. Stir-baked Bai Tou Weng (Chao Bai Tou Weng) is milder, less irritating to the stomach, and better for people with slight weakness but mild heat symptoms.
Decoction: Both raw and stir-baked forms can be boiled normally alongside other herbs without special handling.

3. 3 Dosage and Usage Cycle

Dosage: Clinical prescriptions range from 6 to 15 grams. Home dietary use should be much lower (3 to 5 grams).
Cycle: Do not use long-term, as its cold nature will eventually damage your digestive warmth (Yang).

Contraindications & Safety Warnings

1. 1 Not Suitable For

Cold-Deficiency: Those with chronic stomach aches, loose stools, and cold extremities.
Pregnancy & Nursing: Lacks sufficient safety data; use with extreme caution.
Children & Elderly: Weaker tolerance means it must be strictly guided by a doctor.
Liver/Kidney Issues: May affect drug metabolism.
Allergies: Avoid if allergic to the buttercup (Ranunculaceae) family.

2. 2 Drug Interactions and Dietary Notes

Medications: It may interact with blood thinners, blood pressure meds, and diabetes medications. Always consult your doctor if you are on prescription drugs.
Dietary Note: While taking this herb, avoid consuming large amounts of cold foods (like ice drinks or raw fish), which will further stress your digestion.

3. 3 Adverse Reactions and Risks

Side Effects: Overuse can cause nausea, vomiting, worsened diarrhea, and stomach pain. Allergic reactions may include rashes and itching.
When to Stop: If you experience severe discomfort, ongoing vomiting, shortness of breath, or rapidly worsening symptoms, stop use immediately and seek medical attention.

Frequently Asked Questions About Bai Tou Weng

What is Bai Tou Weng? Are Huang Lian, Qin Pi and Ma Chi Xian the same?

Official Bai Tou Weng (白头翁) is the dried root of Pulsatilla chinensis. The pharmacopoeial name is Pulsatillae Radix. Huang Lian is bitter-cold: clears heat, dries damp, drains fire and resolves toxin. Qin Pi is bitter-astringent and cold: clears heat, dries damp, astringes to stop dysentery, checks vaginal discharge and brightens the eyes. Ma Chi Xian is sour-cold: clears heat, resolves toxin, cools Blood, stops bleeding and stops dysentery. Use the root; the stem and leaf act differently and contain cardioactive constituents, so they must not be mixed in. Write Bai Tou Weng. Use caution in vacuity-cold diarrhea.

What are the TCM properties and traditional uses of Bai Tou Weng?

According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Bai Tou Weng is bitter and cold, enters the Stomach and Large Intestine channels, and acts to clear heat, resolve toxin, cool Blood and stop dysentery. It is used for heat-toxin bloody dysentery, vaginal itching with discharge, and amoebic dysentery. Bitter-cold and clearing intestinal heat, it suits heat-toxin bloody dysentery—not vacuity-cold diarrhea or Spleen-Stomach vacuity cold.

Does Bai Tou Weng need special processing? Can Huang Lian replace it?

Remove foreign matter, wash, soften, slice thin and dry. Coptis drains fire and dries damp; it cannot replace cooling Blood and stopping dysentery by equal weight. Commercial “Bai Tou Weng” is sometimes adulterated with Potentilla; check for dense white hairs on the root crown. External washes need a separate practitioner’s instruction.

What is the usual dosage? Can it be drunk daily as an antidysentery tea?

The pharmacopoeial decoction dose is 9–15 g. It is not a four-season “Pulsatilla antidysentery tea.” Without heat-toxin, cold only injures Spleen yang. Bloody dysentery needs a practitioner to name a short course; it does not replace stool testing and fluid replacement.

What are the contraindications? Can it be used in pregnancy?

Avoid in vacuity-cold diarrhea. Use caution in Spleen-Stomach vacuity cold and clear loose stool. Pregnancy and menstruation need a practitioner’s assessment. Stop if abdominal cold and worsening diarrhea appear. High fever with pus and blood in the stool, dehydration, and unrelenting tenesmus are emergencies.

Can Bai Tou Weng clear heat, resolve toxin, cool Blood and stop dysentery?

It can help heat-toxin bloody dysentery. Abdominal pain, dysentery, tenesmus and stool with pus and blood join Coptis, Phellodendron and ash bark in Bai Tou Weng Tang. Vaginal itching with discharge may be washed after pattern differentiation. It clears heat, resolves toxin, cools Blood and stops dysentery—not a specific for every diarrhea or every vaginitis.

Can Bai Tou Weng be drunk daily as an antidysentery, discharge or bowel-clearing tea?

Heat-toxin bloody dysentery may enter a short formula; vacuity cold only loosens the stool further as it clears. “Pulsatilla must treat amoebiasis” does not replace pathogen and dehydration assessment. Clearing heat, resolving toxin, cooling Blood and stopping dysentery should name 9–15 g.

How do you choose among Bai Tou Weng, Huang Lian, Qin Pi, Ma Chi Xian and Di Yu?

Pulsatilla root is bitter-cold: clears heat, resolves toxin, cools Blood and stops dysentery—heat-toxin bloody dysentery and vaginal itching with discharge. Coptis is bitter-cold: clears heat, dries damp, drains fire and resolves toxin—damp-heat in the middle and Heart fire. Ash bark is bitter-astringent and cold: clears heat, dries damp, astringes dysentery and brightens the eyes. Purslane is sour-cold: clears heat, resolves toxin, cools Blood and stops dysentery—milder. Sanguisorba is bitter, sour, astringent and slightly cold: cools Blood, stops bleeding, resolves toxin and constrains sores—bloody stool and hemorrhoids. Pus and blood from heat-toxin favor Bai Tou Weng (Bai Tou Weng Tang); draining fire favors Huang Lian; astringing and brightening the eyes favor Qin Pi; mild damp-heat favors Ma Chi Xian; bleeding from Blood heat favors Di Yu. They may be paired; vacuity cold forbids large Bai Tou Weng and Huang Lian.

Which herbs is Bai Tou Weng combined with? What are the representative formulas?

Heat-toxin bloody dysentery joins Coptis, Phellodendron and ash bark in Bai Tou Weng Tang. Bleeding from Blood heat may join Sanguisorba and Moutan bark after pattern differentiation. Write Bai Tou Weng 9–15 g, root only, not stem and leaf.

How do you choose and store Bai Tou Weng?

Choose cylindrical roots with white hairs on the crown, a yellow-white cortex on the cut face and a bitter taste. Moldy, moth-eaten, hairless or black-cut lots are discarded. Store in a ventilated dry place. Buy pharmacopoeial Bai Tou Weng root; do not replace clearing heat, resolving toxin, cooling Blood and stopping dysentery with Coptis or the stem and leaf by equal weight.

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Medical Disclaimer — This article is provided for educational purposes only and describes traditional Chinese medicine concepts. It is not medical advice, and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified practitioner before using any herb, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication or managing a diagnosed condition.