Tree barks and root barksHeat-clearingIlicis Rotundae Cortex

Jiu Bi Ying (Round-leaved Holly Bark)

A practical guide to Jiu Bi Ying: 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 28, 2026

Quick Facts

Latin Name	Ilicis Rotundae Cortex
Chinese Name & Pinyin	救必應 · Jiu Bi Ying
Medicinal Part	Tree barks and root barks
The item	Jiu Bi Ying is the dried bark of the iron holly tree. Ji Gu Cao (Canton love-vine) and other holly barks are not this drug.
Nature and channels	Cold, bitter. Enters the Lung, Stomach, and Large Intestine. Cold bitter clears and drains damp-heat, and eases spasm and pain.
Pharmacopoeia line	Clears and drains damp-heat; eases spasm and pain. Used for damp-heat stomach fullness and pain, a bitter mouth, sticky stools, and damp-heat-driven local pain.
Pattern cues	Belly fullness and pain. Bitter mouth. Sticky loose stools. Eczema. Swollen sore throat. Flank fullness. Mild joint and muscle ache.
In this article	Jiu Bi Ying versus Ji Gu Cao. Draining damp-heat and easing pain versus clearing the liver-gallbladder's damp-heat. Why a cold weak spleen-stomach should skip it. Home tea.

What Is Jiu Bi Ying?

Jiu Bi Ying (救必应; Jiù Bì Yìng; Latin: Ilicis Rotundae Cortex; English: round-leaf holly bark) is the dried bark of the iron holly tree — an evergreen of the holly family — peeled in late spring, sun-dried into rolled gray-brown pieces with a dark purple inner face, kept in village stores for damp-heat stomach trouble and local pain. It is cold, bitter, enters the Lung, Stomach, and Large Intestine channels, and its core actions are to clear and drain damp-heat, and to ease spasm and pain. It is the practical helper for hot-season dampness with a heavy, aching gut. The usual amount is 10–15 g in a decoction. It needs no special handling, and it steeps well.

It is not Ji Gu Cao. Canton love-vine is cool, sweet, and slightly bitter — it clears the liver-gallbladder's damp-heat with a gentle liver-soothing side; this bark is strongly cold and bitter — it drains damp-heat hard and eases local pain, with no liver-soothing side. It is not a tonic; it is a clearing herb with no supplementing or astringing. In a cold weak spleen-stomach — cold hands and feet, loose stools — or in pregnancy, using it on your own is a poor match. Pain that keeps worsening needs a clinic first. Do not take it yourself for a long time.

It is used most often for three patterns:

Belly fullness and pain, a bitter mouth, sticky loose stools, eczema, a swollen sore throat — damp-heat gathered inside
Stomach pain, flank fullness, mild joint and muscle ache with a damp-heat feel — damp-heat blocking with spasm
A cold weak spleen-stomach with loose stools, or acute sharp pain after injury — seek care / skip it

Cold and bitter, it is not a daily "dampness-clearing tea" to keep drinking. Clearing when there is no damp-heat, or in a cold weak body, chills the middle instead of helping.

When greasy food, long sitting, or summer damp-heat gathers in the gut, the belly fills and aches, the mouth turns bitter, and stools turn sticky; when the damp-heat blocks, local pain and spasm follow. Jiu Bi Ying is cold and bitter. It drains the damp-heat and eases the pain, which is why it appears in Jiu Bi Ying Zhi Tong San (Jiu Bi Ying Pain-Easing Powder)–type formulas. It clears more than it holds. In a cold weak spleen-stomach, or without damp-heat, more makes it worse.

Jiu Bi Ying is not a catch-all dampness or pain herb. In a cold weak spleen-stomach, in pregnancy, with no damp-heat, or with acute injury pain, using it alone is a poor match. Whether it belongs in a formula, and at what dose, should be decided by a licensed Chinese medicine practitioner after pattern diagnosis.

Jiu Bi Ying: Materia Medica Profile

Identification & Quality Standard

Ilicis Rotundae Cortex

Botanical Origin

The dried tree bark of Ilex rotunda Thunb. (Aquifoliaceae).

Production Regions

Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Zhejiang, Jiangsu.

Quality Requirements

Superior medicinal material is thick, grayish-white, bitter, without cork layer.

Macroscopic Features

Rolled or curled long pieces, varying in length and width, 2~8mm thick. Externally grayish-white or grayish-brown, often with irregular transverse wrinkles and scattered lenticels; inner surface yellowish-white or light yellow, with fine longitudinal striations. Hard and brittle; fractured surface is uneven, yellowish-white. Faint odor, taste bitter.

Main Regions and Quality Identification

Classic texts and trade experience favor bark from several southern provinces, but quality still depends on variety, harvest time, processing, and storage. Good Jiu Bi Ying is rolled or double-rolled pieces 3–8 mm thick, gray-yellow or gray-brown outside with wrinkles and lenticels, dark purple inside with fine lines, hard and brittle, a flaky powdery break, a faint fragrance, and a bitter taste. The common look-alikes are barks of other holly species — fainter fragrance and weaker powdery break — check carefully.

Traditional Properties & Historical Lineage

Nature, Flavour & Channel Tropism

Bitter; ColdLungStomachLarge IntestineLiver

1. Records in Classic Materia Medica

Ling Nan Cai Yao Lu: notes it "clears heat toxin, is used for summer-heat syndromes, and stops stomach pain."
Ben Cao Qiu Yuan: adds it "eases qi pain, removes damp-heat, and is used for jaundice."
Zhong Guo Yao Yong Zhi Wu Tu Jian: records the bark "clears heat and resolves toxin, and eases swelling and pain."

2. How Views of Its Nature Changed

Early Lingnan doctors leaned on the clearing side — for summer-heat syndromes and gut stagnation pain; later doctors found uses for damp-heat jaundice and sore throats; some flagged the strong cold — a cold weak spleen-stomach should not use it alone. The differences keep its range precise rather than a universal herb.

Core Efficacies & Traditional Applications

Traditional Functions

Clears heat and resolves toxin, drains dampness and stops pain.

1. Main Use 1: Clearing and Draining Damp-Heat

(1) Traditional action: draining gathered damp-heat — often from greasy food, long sitting, or summer damp. (2) Typical patterns: damp-heat gut discomfort — belly fullness and pain, a bitter mouth, sticky loose stools — or damp-heat eczema and a swollen sore throat. (3) Usual pairings: Yin Chen (oriental wormwood) and Zhi Zi (gardenia) to strengthen the clearing; Shan Zha (hawthorn) and Mai Ya (malt) for food stagnation alongside. (4) Not for self-use: a cold weak spleen-stomach — cold hands and feet, loose stools — the cold can worsen the deficiency cold.

2. Main Use 2: Easing Spasm and Pain

(1) Traditional action: easing local spastic pain — especially pain from damp-heat blockage. (2) Typical patterns: stomach pain, flank fullness, mild joint and muscle ache with a damp-heat feel — a bitter mouth, a thick greasy coat. (3) Usual pairings: Yan Hu Suo (corydalis) and Chuan Lian Zi (chinaberry fruit) to strengthen the pain-easing; Xiang Fu (nutgrass rhizome) and Chen Pi for stomach pain. (4) Not for self-use: acute sharp pain after injury, or pain that keeps worsening with serious signs — seek care to find the cause.

3. A Classic Pairing

Jiu Bi Ying pairs most classically with Yan Hu Suo: the bark drains the damp-heat at the root of the pain; the corydalis works directly at the pain spot. Together they clear the source and ease the spasm — for damp-heat stomach fullness and flank discomfort. This pair belongs to a practitioner's pattern diagnosis — no self-pairing.

Modern Research

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

1. Main Chemical Constituents

Detected in the bark are triterpenes, flavonoids, and phenolic acids — oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, hesperidin among them. In vitro, some components show antioxidant activity; in animals, extracts ease chemically induced pain in mice — not equal to human effect. No sufficient human clinical study proves the components' specific effects in people.

2. Current Research Directions

Current work runs two lines: the damp-heat-related inflammatory response, and the local pain-easing effect. Some components inhibit the release of inflammatory factors in vitro — whether this transfers to daily damp-heat care needs human research.

3. Limitations of Current Research

Lab results are not clinical efficacy — laboratory effects do not automatically appear in people.
Extracts are not decoction pieces — high-concentration extracts differ hugely from the dried bark pieces.
Doses and preparations vary between studies — one study cannot fix the effect.
One component does not define the whole herb — the bark acts as a team of constituents.

Comparing Similar Herbs

1. What They Share

Both clear and drain damp-heat.
Both are used for damp-heat gut discomfort and jaundice-type patterns.
Both need constitution and dose care — a cold weak spleen-stomach must be careful with either.

2. Key Differences

Nature and flavor: Jiu Bi Ying is strongly cold and bitter — draining gathered damp-heat with no supplementing; Ji Gu Cao is cool, sweet, and slightly bitter — clearing with a mild liver-soothing side, gentler in cold. Focus: Jiu Bi Ying eases damp-heat-driven local pain — stomach fullness, flank pain; Ji Gu Cao clears the liver-gallbladder's damp-heat — more marked for damp-heat jaundice and flank fullness, with light liver-soothing. Tendency: Jiu Bi Ying drains — pushing the damp-heat out by clearing, with no qi-regulating; Ji Gu Cao lightly soothes the liver — helping the liver-gallbladder's qi run, avoiding qi blockage from damp-heat. Best fit: Jiu Bi Ying for obvious damp-heat with local pain — a marked bitter mouth, stomach fullness, a thick yellow greasy coat; Ji Gu Cao for damp-heat with liver-gallbladder qi not running — dull flank pain, poor appetite, a thin yellow greasy coat. Who should avoid: Jiu Bi Ying's stronger cold can worsen a cold weak spleen-stomach — even belly pain and diarrhea; Ji Gu Cao's gentler cold also does not fit the cold weak spleen-stomach, but its sweet edge irritates the stomach less. Where you meet them: Jiu Bi Ying in damp-heat gut-pain formulas and as a pain-easing partner; Ji Gu Cao in liver-gallbladder damp-heat food remedies and formulas — such as soups with lean meat for light daily care.

3. One-Line Takeaway

In short, Jiu Bi Ying drains damp-heat and eases local pain; Ji Gu Cao clears the liver-gallbladder's damp-heat and soothes the liver. Both can appear in damp-heat care — but they are not stand-ins for each other.

Classical Formulas Containing Jiu Bi Ying

Classic Formula 1: Jiu Bi Ying Zhi Tong San

Role of this herb: in Jiu Bi Ying Zhi Tong San (Jiu Bi Ying Pain-Easing Powder), Jiu Bi Ying is the monarch — clearing damp-heat and easing spasm and pain — with Yan Hu Suo strengthening the stop, and Chen Pi regulating qi and harmonizing the stomach. The target is damp-heat stomach pain; alone, the bark cannot also regulate the qi and the stomach. Traditional focus: damp-heat stomach fullness and pain, flank discomfort. Modern note: professional diagnosis first — never self-apply by name.

Classic Formula 2: Jiu Bi Ying Yin Chen Tang

Role of this herb: in Jiu Bi Ying Yin Chen Tang (Jiu Bi Ying and Oriental Wormwood Decoction), Jiu Bi Ying is a minister — beside the monarch Yin Chen clearing the liver-gallbladder's damp-heat — with Zhi Zi strengthening the clearing and Fu Ling draining dampness. The target is damp-heat jaundice with scanty dark urine; alone, the bark cannot cover the liver-gallbladder care. Traditional focus: liver-gallbladder damp-heat — jaundice, yellow urine, a heavy body. Modern note: professional diagnosis first — never self-apply by name.

Formula vs. Single Herb

A formula is a coordinated team — covering several sides at once; a single herb cannot copy a full formula's effect. The doses and pairings are designed as a whole — changing any one herb shifts the whole. A herb that works in a formula does not automatically work the same way alone — do not self-formulate from web articles.

Diet & Daily Home Use

1. Home Tea

Example — Jiu Bi Ying tangerine peel tea: dried Jiu Bi Ying pieces 5 g, Chen Pi 3 g — steep in boiling water 10 minutes. Fit: mild damp-heat belly fullness and a bitter mouth in summer, or light gut stagnation after long sitting. Not for: a cold weak spleen-stomach with frequent loose stools. Frequency: 1–2 times a week, no more than 3 days straight. Jiu Bi Ying is a medicinal piece — not ordinary food; confirm the quality of the pieces before use.

2. Decoction and Processing Differences

The raw bark is the sun-dried piece — no special processed form. At home, no special handling — decoct directly with water; no first, last, or wrapped steps. Different forms cannot be converted directly — a formula dose is set for the whole pairing; a food dose is low daily care; do not swap one for the other.

3. Dosage and How Long to Use

The classic range is 10–15 g a day; food-use amounts are 3–5 g a day. Not for long continuous use — the strong cold can injure the spleen-stomach's yang. Pregnant women, children, and people with liver or kidney impairment consult a practitioner or pharmacist first.

Contraindications & Safety Warnings

1. Who Should Avoid It

A cold weak spleen-stomach — frequent loose stools, cold hands and feet; pregnancy and nursing — avoid, no sufficient safety data; children and the elderly — poor tolerance, consult a practitioner; liver or kidney impairment — avoid, to protect the organs; allergy to holly-family plants — be cautious; people on anticoagulant or blood-pressure medicines — consult a doctor first.

2. Interactions and Diet Notes

The cold may conflict with warming-tonic medicines. No blanket "food clash" with ordinary foods is established, but herbs can interact with specific medicines — anyone on medication should consult a doctor or pharmacist first. On blood-pressure or blood-sugar medicines, tell the doctor before using Jiu Bi Ying.

3. Side Effects and Overuse

Overuse can bring belly pain, diarrhea, and nausea — the cold can irritate the gut. Stop and seek care at once for marked discomfort, an allergic reaction, persistent vomiting, trouble breathing, confusion, or a rapid worsening of symptoms.

Frequently Asked Questions About Jiu Bi Ying

What is Jiubiying? Is it the same as Liangmianzhen or Gangmeigen?

Jiubiying is the dried bark of Ilex rotunda, Latin name Ilicis Rotundae Cortex. It is a common Chinese medicine centered on clearing heat and detoxifying, and draining dampness and relieving pain. Liangmianzhen moves qi and relieves pain while activating blood. Gangmeigen clears heat and detoxifies while generating fluids. They cannot be used interchangeably in equal amounts. Prescribe as Jiubiying. Caution in spleen-stomach deficiency cold.

What are the composition and effects of Jiubiying?

Pharmacopoeial name Jiubiying, Latin Ilex rotunda Thunb. Bitter in taste, cold in nature, enters the Lung, Liver and Large Intestine meridians. Functions to clear heat and detoxify, and drain dampness and relieve pain. Used for summerheat-dampness fever, swollen and painful throat, damp-heat diarrhea, epigastric and abdominal distending pain, and wind-damp bi pain; externally for burns and scalds, and traumatic bleeding. Clears heat and relieves pain.

How to choose between raw and processed? Can Liangmianzhen replace it?

Bark is used raw. Liangmianzhen emphasizes activating blood rather than strongly draining dampness, and cannot replace it in equal amounts. Commercial products are standardized; do not adjust arbitrarily.

What is the dosage of Jiubiying? Can it be used daily as a heat-clearing tea?

Decoction, 9-15g. Modern use requires physician-determined dosage. It is not a year-round "Jiubiying tea." Spleen-stomach deficiency cold will be further injured by prolonged use. Damp-heat requires short-term, physician-determined dosage and cannot replace evaluation.

What are the contraindications of Jiubiying? Can pregnant women use it?

Not suitable for spleen-stomach deficiency cold. Pregnant women require physician evaluation. Stop if loose stools or abdominal pain occur. Seek immediate medical care for severe damp-heat or high fever.

Can Jiubiying clear heat, detoxify, and relieve pain?

It can assist summerheat-dampness fever, swollen and painful throat, damp-heat diarrhea, epigastric and abdominal distending pain, and wind-damp bi pain; externally for burns and scalds, and traumatic bleeding. It clears heat and detoxifies, and drains dampness and relieves pain, but is not a specific remedy for all damp-heat or all swelling and pain.

Can Jiubiying be taken daily as a heat-clearing or pain-relieving tea?

Damp-heat can be used short-term in formulas; spleen-stomach deficiency cold will be further injured. The idea that "Jiubiying must clear heat" cannot replace evaluation. Clearing heat and relieving pain requires physician-determined formulation and dosage.

How to choose between Jiubiying, Liangmianzhen, Gangmeigen, Jinyinhua, and Huangqin?

Jiubiying clears heat and relieves pain, suited to damp-heat. Liangmianzhen moves qi and relieves pain. Gangmeigen clears heat and generates fluids. Jinyinhua clears heat and disperses. Huangqin clears heat and dries dampness. Choose Jiubiying for clearing heat; Liangmianzhen for relieving pain; Gangmeigen for generating fluids; Jinyinhua for dispersing; Huangqin for drying dampness. Pattern differentiation applies, but large doses of Jiubiying are contraindicated in spleen-stomach deficiency cold.

How is Jiubiying commonly modified? What is a representative usage?

Modifications depend on the pattern. Add Huangqin for damp-heat; add Liangmianzhen for swelling and pain. Specify Jiubiying; do not substitute Liangmianzhen in equal amounts for draining dampness.

How to select and store Jiubiying?

Choose regular Chinese medicinal materials with intact bark. Discard if moldy, damp, or abnormal in odor. Store in a dry place. Purchase "Jiubiying"; do not substitute Liangmianzhen or Gangmeigen in equal amounts for clearing heat, detoxifying, and relieving pain.

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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.