Roots and rhizomesHeat-clearingRadix Scutellariae

Huang Qin (Scutellaria / Baikal Skullcap)

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

View Herb Profile →

Last reviewed Sep 25, 2026

Quick Facts

Latin NameRadix Scutellariae
Chinese Name & Pinyin 黃芩 · Huang Qin
Medicinal PartRoots and rhizomes
The herbHuang Qin is the dried root of Scutellaria baicalensis. Grades include Ku Qin and Zi Qin. Common forms: raw and wine-fried. American skullcap is not this drug.
Nature and channelsBitter, cold. Enters the Lung, Gallbladder, Spleen, Large Intestine, and Small Intestine. Bitterness dries dampness and drains fire. Cold clears heat.
Pharmacopoeia lineClears heat and dries dampness. Drains fire and resolves toxin. Stops bleeding. Calms the fetus. Used for damp-warmth and summerheat-damp, chest tightness and nausea, damp-heat fullness, dysentery, jaundice, Lung-heat cough, high fever and thirst, bleeding from blood-heat, sores, and restless fetus.
Pattern cuesLung-heat cough. Chest tightness and nausea. Dysentery and jaundice. Bleeding from heat. Restless fetus. Yellow greasy coating.
In this articleHuang Qin versus Huang Lian, Huang Bai, and American skullcap. Ku Qin versus Zi Qin. Raw versus wine-fried. Why a cold spleen should skip it. Who should skip it.

What Is Huang Qin?

Huang Qin (黄芩; Huáng Qín; Latin: Scutellariae Radix; English: Baikal skullcap root) is the dried root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. In Chinese medicine it is a heat-clearing, dampness-drying herb. It is bitter and cold, enters the Lung, Gallbladder, Spleen, Large Intestine, and Small Intestine channels, and its core actions are to clear heat and dry dampness, drain fire and resolve toxin, stop bleeding, and calm the fetus. It is not American skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), which is used in Western herbalism more as a nervine. That is not this official drug. It is not Huang Lian or Huang Bai. Huang Qin leans toward Lung heat and Shaoyang in the upper burner. Huang Lian leans toward the middle. Huang Bai leans toward the lower burner.

It is used most often for three patterns:

  • Lung heat / upper-burner damp-heat — Lung-heat cough, damp-warmth with chest tightness and nausea, high fever and thirst
  • Intestinal damp-heat — dysentery, jaundice, damp-heat focal fullness
  • Reckless hot blood / fetal heat — vomiting or nosebleed, or a restless fetus from heat

Ku Qin (old, hollow root) leans toward draining Lung fire. Zi Qin / Tiao Qin (young, solid root) leans toward Large Intestine damp-heat. Wine-fried Huang Qin rises and is used more to clear the upper burner. The usual decoction dose is 3–10 g. A cold weak spleen and loose stools are a caution. Bitter-cold sinking is not a daily “Lung-clearing root tea.” Calming the fetus applies only when the pattern is heat. It is not a do-it-yourself pregnancy herb.

In Lung-heat cough, Shaoyang alternating chills and fever, or damp-heat diarrhea, Huang Qin’s bitter cold clears, dries, and can calm a heat-pattern fetus. That is why it appears in Xiao Chai Hu Tang, Huang Qin Tang, and Ge Gen Qin Lian Tang. It drains more than it supports. Cold middle pain that likes warmth loosens further if more clearing is added.

Huang Qin is not a catch-all heat-clearing or pregnancy herb. In spleen-stomach cold, or when there is no heat, using it alone can injure the stomach. Ku Qin or Zi Qin, raw or wine-fried, should be decided by a licensed Chinese medicine practitioner after pattern diagnosis.

Huang Qin Scutellaria Root

Huang Qin: Materia Medica Profile

Identification & Quality Standard

Radix Scutellariae

Botanical Origin

The dried root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi.(Fabaceae).

Production Regions

Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Hebei, Liaoning.

Quality Requirements

Superior medicinal material has long root, firm texture, yellow color.

Macroscopic Features

Conical, twisted, 8~25cm long, 1~3cm diameter. Externally brownish-yellow or dark yellow, with loose verrucous thin root scars; upper portion is relatively rough, with twisted longitudinal wrinkles or irregular reticular pattern, lower portion has smooth lines and thin wrinkles. Young roots are hard and brittle, easily broken, fractured surface is yellow, middle is reddish-brown; also called zi qin, this form primarily clears fire. The center of old roots is dark brown or brownish-black, rotten or hollow, also called ku qin, clears fire and resolves toxin. faint odor, bitter taste.

Authentic Regions and Quality Identification

Traditionally, the highest quality roots come from places like Chengde in Hebei and Changzhi in Shanxi. However, the actual quality is heavily influenced by the plant variety, harvest time, processing methods, and storage conditions.

  • Appearance: The root is cone-shaped, brown-yellow to deep yellow, with twisted lengthwise wrinkles.
  • Texture & Taste: It is hard and brittle with a notably bitter taste. The cross-section is yellow. Roots with a reddish-brown hollow center are known as Ku Qin, while solid ones are called Zi Qin.
  • Identification: Raw slices are yellowish-white, whereas wine-prepared slices are darker yellow and carry a slight wine scent. When buying, be careful not to confuse it with the roots of other mint-family plants that look similar but differ in texture or smell.

Traditional Properties & Historical Lineage

Nature, Flavour & Channel Tropism

Bitter; ColdLungGallbladderSpleenStomachLarge IntestineSmall Intestine

1. Historical Records

Classic Chinese medical texts have documented its uses for centuries:

  • Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing: Ranked as a medium-grade herb, noting its use for jaundice, dysentery, water retention, and severe sores.
  • Ming Yi Bie Lu: Added that it helps with phlegm-heat, stomach heat, and lower abdominal pain.
  • Xin Xiu Ben Cao: Mentioned its ability to manage fever and malaria.
  • Ben Cao Gang Mu: Recorded its application for wind-heat, damp-heat headaches, heat-induced coughs, and bleeding conditions.

2. Evolution of Medicinal Understanding

Over time, different TCM practitioners have highlighted varying strengths of Huang Qin:

  • Liver and Gallbladder: Some focus on its ability to clear damp-heat and regulate qi in these organs.
  • Intestines: Others emphasize its power to clear intestinal damp-heat to relieve diarrhea or bloody stools.
  • Patient Constitution: Practitioners always adjust its use based on body type. For instance, people with a cold and deficient Spleen and Stomach must use it with caution to avoid worsening digestive upset. It is not a universal cure for all types of heat syndromes.
Huang Qin Scutellaria Root

Core Efficacies & Traditional Applications

Traditional Functions

Clears heat, dries dampness, drains fire, resolves toxin, stops bleeding, calms fetus, reduces blood pressure. Apply to damp-warm diseases, chest retention and vomiting due to summer-warm, retention and fullness due to damp and heat, diarrhea, jaundice, cough with lung heat, polydipsia with high fever, hematemesis and non-traumatic hemorrhage due to blood heat, abscess and sore toxin, fetal movement.

1. Primary Focus: Clearing Trapped Heat in the Lungs and Intestines

The main traditional use of Huang Qin is to clear trapped heat in the Lungs and intestinal tract.

  • Common Uses: It is often used for Lung heat causing coughs and dry, sore throats, or intestinal damp-heat causing loose stools and a burning sensation.
  • Herb Combinations: It is usually paired with other herbs. For Lung heat coughs, it often goes with Sang Bai Pi and Zhi Mu. For intestinal damp-heat, it is paired with Huang Lian and Ge Gen.
  • Caution: Do not use it on your own for cold-type Lung coughs or abdominal pain and loose stools caused by cold and deficient Spleen and Stomach, as its cold nature can make these worse.

2. Secondary Focus: Clearing Damp-Heat in the Liver and Gallbladder

Another traditional benefit is clearing damp-heat from the Liver and Gallbladder.

  • Common Uses: It helps with a bitter taste in the mouth, a feeling of fullness in the chest and ribs, dark yellow urine, or mild skin yellowing.
  • Herb Combinations: It is often paired with Chai Hu and Zhi Zi to boost this clearing effect.
  • Caution: Avoid using it without guidance if you have a weak Spleen/Stomach or no clear signs of damp-heat, to protect your digestive energy.

3. Common Single-Herb Pairings

A classic combination is pairing Huang Qin with Ge Gen (Kudzu Root).

  • How It Works: Ge Gen helps lift the clear energy of the Spleen and Stomach, while Huang Qin clears damp-heat from the stomach and intestines.
  • Benefits: Together, they clear intestinal damp-heat and regulate digestion, which is useful for loose stools, a burning sensation, or mild fever and headache.
  • Note: This pairing should be directed by a practitioner and not mixed at home.
Huang Qin Scutellaria Root

Modern Research

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

1. Main Chemical Compounds

Laboratory analysis shows that the plant contains flavonoids such as baicalin, baicalein, and wogonin, along with essential oils and polysaccharides. While cell and animal studies show these compounds may affect inflammation, strong clinical evidence in humans is still developing.

2. Modern Pharmacological Focus

Current scientific research heavily focuses on the flavonoids found in the root. Lab studies suggest these components might help regulate inflammatory responses, but more human trials are needed to see if these lab findings translate into real-world medical treatments.

3. Limitations of Modern Research

It is important to view modern studies with some perspective:

  • Lab vs. Real Life: Results from cell cultures and animal models cannot be directly applied to humans.
  • Format Differences: Highly concentrated extracts or isolated single compounds used in labs are very different from the traditional boiled decoctions.
  • Holistic Approach: Traditional Chinese Medicine relies on the synergy of multiple compounds working together. The effects of a whole herb cannot be fully judged by isolating just one of its chemical components.
Huang Qin Scutellaria Root

Comparing Similar Herbs

1. What They Have in Common

Both Huang Qin and Huang Lian (Coptis Root) clear heat and dry dampness. They both manage discomfort from damp-heat, appear in damp-heat formulas, require careful dosage adjustments based on body type, and shouldn't be overused long-term to protect the Spleen and Stomach.

2. Core Differences Between These Herbs

  • Nature and Meridians: Both are cold and bitter. Huang Qin targets the Lungs, Gallbladder, Spleen, Large Intestine, and Small Intestine, focusing on trapped heat in the upper and middle/lower body. Huang Lian targets the Heart, Spleen, Stomach, Gallbladder, and Large Intestine, focusing on Heart and Stomach fire.
  • Focus and Strengths: Huang Qin excels at clearing Lung/intestinal heat and Liver/Gallbladder damp-heat (good for coughs, loose stools, chest fullness). Huang Lian is better at draining Heart fire and Stomach fire (good for irritability, mouth sores, stomach burning).
  • Action Style: Huang Qin focuses on bringing down trapped heat and smoothing qi (a "descending" action). Huang Lian focuses on draining upward-flaring fire (a "purging" action).
  • Traditional Signs: Huang Qin is used for a bitter taste, chest fullness, coughs with yellow phlegm, and loose stools with a burning sensation. Huang Lian is used for irritability, insomnia, mouth sores, stomach pain, and bad breath.
  • Cautions: Use Huang Qin carefully if you have Spleen/Stomach cold or no clear damp-heat. Use Huang Lian carefully if your Spleen/Stomach is weak or Heart fire is low; long-term use easily hurts digestion.
  • Usage Scenes: Huang Qin is common in formulas for early summer heat or intestinal damp-heat. Huang Lian is used in formulas for clearing Heart and Stomach fire (like obvious irritability or mouth sores).

3. A One-Sentence Summary

In short, Huang Qin is better for clearing trapped damp-heat in the Lungs, intestines, Liver, and Gallbladder, while Huang Lian is better for draining Heart and Stomach fire; they cannot always replace each other.

Huang Qin Scutellaria Root

Classical Formulas Containing Huang Qin

+8 more

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. Home Herbal Teas

A recommended simple tea is Huang Qin and Chrysanthemum.

  • Ingredients: 3 grams of Huang Qin, 2 grams of Chrysanthemum.
  • Method: Brew with boiling water and steep for 5 minutes.
  • Best For: Mild bitter taste, dry/sore throat, or mild irritability in early summer.
  • Not For: People with a cold Spleen/Stomach or frequent abdominal pain and loose stools.
  • Frequency: 1 to 2 times a week; do not drink continuously long-term. Remember, Huang Qin is a medicine, not a daily food, so control the amount.

2. Decoction and Processing Differences

  • Raw Huang Qin: Focuses on clearing Lung and intestinal damp-heat (good for intestinal issues and Lung heat coughs).
  • Wine-Prepared Huang Qin: Focuses on clearing Liver and Gallbladder trapped heat (good for bitter taste and chest fullness).
  • Boiling at Home: It doesn't need special timing (like boiling first or last). Boil it with other herbs for 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Note: You cannot directly convert the dosage of raw herb pieces into the dosage of prepared patent medicines.

3. Dosage and Usage Cycle

  • Dosage: Traditional prescriptions use 3 to 10 grams. For wellness teas, use less: 1 to 3 grams per serving.
  • Cycle: Do not use continuously for more than 1 week. If symptoms don't improve, see a doctor.
  • Special Groups: Pregnant women, children, and seniors must use it only under a doctor's guidance.
Huang Qin Scutellaria Root

Contraindications & Safety Warnings

1. Who Should Avoid It

  • People with a cold and deficient Spleen/Stomach, frequent abdominal pain, loose stools, or cold hands and feet.
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women (use only with caution and guidance).
  • Children and seniors (due to weaker digestion, use under guidance).
  • People with abnormal Liver or Kidney function.
  • Anyone allergic to mint-family plants.
  • People undergoing special treatments like chemo or radiation must consult a doctor first.

2. Drug Interactions and Diet

Huang Qin may interact with blood thinners, blood pressure meds, blood sugar meds, or sedatives, affecting how they are absorbed or metabolized. If you take these, talk to a doctor or pharmacist first. While general foods usually don't "clash," herbs can interact with specific medications.

3. Adverse Reactions and Overdose Risks

Taking too much Huang Qin can cause digestive upset like stomach pain, loose stools, or nausea. Long-term use can damage your digestive energy. Stop taking it and see a doctor immediately if you experience severe discomfort, allergic reactions, constant vomiting, breathing trouble, confusion, or rapidly worsening symptoms.

Frequently Asked Questions About Huang Qin

What is Huang Qin? Is it the same as Huang Lian, Huang Bai or wine-fried Huang Qin?
Official Huang Qin (黄芩) is the dried root of Scutellaria baicalensis. The pharmacopoeial name is Scutellariae Radix. Wine-fried Huang Qin leans to clearing upper-jiao heat. Huang Qin charcoal is fried to stop bleeding. Huang Lian is a Ranunculaceae rhizome, stronger to clear Heart and Stomach fire. Huang Bai is Phellodendron bark, clearing lower-jiao damp-heat and Kidney-channel deficient fire. All three are bitter-cold and dry damp, but the part and focus differ. Write Huang Qin or Jiu Huang Qin; do not swap in Coptis, Phellodendron or “tu Huang Qin.”
What are the TCM properties and traditional uses of Huang Qin?
According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Huang Qin is bitter and cold, enters the Lung, Gallbladder, Spleen, Large Intestine and Small Intestine channels, and acts to clear heat and dry damp, drain fire and resolve toxin, stop bleeding, and calm the fetus. It is used for damp-warmth and summer-damp, chest oppression with nausea, damp-heat focal distention, dysentery, jaundice, Lung-heat cough, high fever with vexing thirst, Blood-heat vomiting and nosebleed, sores, and restless fetus. Bitter-cold and draining, it is especially good to clear upper- and middle-jiao damp-heat and Lung fire, and it can calm the fetus—not for Spleen-Stomach deficient cold with poor appetite and loose stool.
How do raw, wine-fried and charred Huang Qin differ?
Raw Huang Qin more strongly clears heat, dries damp and resolves toxin—damp-warmth, Lung heat and jaundice favor it. Wine-fried Huang Qin is guided upward and more clearly clears upper-jiao heat—Lung-heat cough and damp-heat of the head and flesh favor it. Huang Qin charcoal is fried to dark brown: less bitter-cold, stronger to stop bleeding in Blood-heat vomiting, nosebleed and flooding. Calming the fetus is traditionally often fried. The script should name the form.
What is the usual dosage? Can it be steeped daily to clear Lung heat?
The pharmacopoeial decoction dose is 3–10 g. It is not a daily “Lung-clearing tea.” Bitter-cold injures the Stomach; Spleen-deficient loose stool grows colder. Lung-heat cough and damp-heat dysentery need a short patterned course, not a self-made long drink.
What are the contraindications? Can it be used in pregnancy?
Avoid in Spleen-Stomach deficient cold with poor appetite and loose stool. Bitter-cold easily injures Stomach Qi. Pregnancy with fetal heat and restlessness may join Atractylodes to calm the fetus, but only after pattern differentiation—not as every pregnant woman’s tea. Vitamin C preparations may affect the glycosides. Reduce or stop if cold epigastric pain, loose stool or poor appetite appears.
Can Huang Qin clear Lung heat, stop dysentery, stop bleeding and calm the fetus?
It can help. Shaoyang alternating chills and fever join Bupleurum in Xiao Chai Hu Tang. Damp-heat dysentery joins peony and licorice in Huang Qin Tang. Fetal heat and restlessness join Atractylodes—classically a key pair to calm the fetus. Blood-heat reckless movement may use the charcoal. It clears upper- and middle-jiao damp-heat and Lung fire—not a specific for every cough, every diarrhea or every threatened miscarriage. High fever, heavy bleeding and bloody spotting with fetal movement are emergencies.
Can Huang Qin be drunk daily as an antiviral, anti-inflammatory or liver-protecting tea?
Do not treat flavonoid papers as a four-season drink. Damp-heat and Lung heat may be treated in a short course; middle-cold loose stool only grows more ruined. “Scutellaria against viruses and for the liver” does not replace standard care of infection and liver disease. Commercial “three-yellow teas” of unknown mix should not be a long self-drink. Clearing heat and drying damp should name raw, wine-fried or charcoal.
How do you choose among Huang Qin, Huang Lian, Huang Bai, Zhi Zi and Chai Hu?
Scutellaria is bitter-cold: clears upper- and middle-jiao damp-heat, drains Lung fire, and also calms the fetus and stops bleeding. Coptis is bitter-cold: fiercer to clear Heart-Stomach fire and stop dysentery. Phellodendron is bitter-cold: clears lower-jiao damp-heat and drains Kidney-channel deficient fire. Gardenia is bitter-cold: clears fire of all three jiao and cools Blood while it disinhibits damp, leaning to vexing heat and jaundice. Bupleurum is bitter-acrid and slightly cold: harmonizes Shaoyang, courses the Liver and raises Yang. Lung heat and fetal heat favor Huang Qin; mouth sores and Stomach heat favor Coptis; discharge and heat strangury favor Huang Bai. They may be paired; all are forbidden as a long course when the Spleen and Stomach are deficient-cold.
Which herbs is Huang Qin combined with? What are the representative formulas?
Shaoyang patterns join Bupleurum, Pinellia and ginseng in Xiao Chai Hu Tang. Damp-heat dysentery joins peony, licorice and jujube in Huang Qin Tang. Fetal heat and restlessness join Atractylodes and Angelica in Dang Gui San-type formulas. Liver-Gallbladder damp-heat may enter Long Dan Xie Gan Tang. Write Huang Qin, wine-fried Huang Qin or Huang Qin charcoal; do not confuse it with Coptis or Phellodendron.
How do you choose and store Huang Qin?
Choose firm roots, a yellow section, little hollow “withered heart,” and a bitter taste; younger “zi qin” is brighter and stronger. Outer yellow with inner black mold, insects and extreme hollowness are inferior. Wine-fried pieces have a faint wine smell and darken. Store ventilated and dry, protected from damp. Buy labeled Huang Qin or Jiu Huang Qin slices; do not replace them with dyed crumb root or anonymous “tu qin.”

Related Products

Nong's Huang Qin Concentrated GranulesNong's Huang Qin (Baikal Skullcap Root) Single Herb 5:1 Concentrated Granules $59.73 Hoi Tin Pu Ji Xiao Du Yin Pu Ji Xiao Du Ke Li Extract GranulesHoi Tin Pu Ji Xiao Du Yin (Universal Benefit Toxin-Dispersing Beverage) 5:1 Concentrated Granules $30.50 Nong's Pu Ji Xiao Du Yin Extract GranulesNong's Pu Ji Xiao Du Yin (Universal Benefit Toxin-Dispersing Beverage) 5:1 Concentrated Granules $65.16 Han's Pu Ji Xiao Du Yin (Clearing Heat & Relieving Swelling Decoction) 5:1 Concentrated GranulesHan's Pu Ji Xiao Du Yin (Clearing Heat & Relieving Swelling Decoction) 5:1 Concentrated Granules $68.43 Hoi Tin Long Dan Xie Gan Tang Extract GranulesHoi Tin Long Dan Xie Gan Tang (Gentiana Decoction to Drain the Liver) 5:1 Concentrated Granules $24.93 Nong's Long Dan Xie Gan Tang Extract GranulesNong's Long Dan Xie Gan Tang (Gentiana Decoction to Drain the Liver) 5:1 Concentrated Granules $56.60 Han's Long Dan Xie Gan Tang (Draining the Liver & Gallbladder Fire Decoction) 5:1 Concentrated GranulesHan's Long Dan Xie Gan Tang (Draining the Liver & Gallbladder Fire Decoction) 5:1 Concentrated Granules $59.44 Hoi Tin Ge Gen Qin Lian Tang Extract GranulesHoi Tin Ge Gen Qin Lian Tang (Kudzu, Scutellaria and Coptis Decoction) 5:1 Concentrated Granules $30.50

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.

More Chinese Herbs

View all 

View all 

© 2026 HJMEDICAL, Powered by Shopify

  • American Express
  • Apple Pay
  • Bancontact
  • Google Pay
  • Mastercard
  • MB WAY
  • PayPal
  • Shop Pay
  • Union Pay
  • Visa

Login

Forgot your password?

Don't have an account yet?
Create account

Huang Qin (Scutellaria Root): Clear Heat, Dry Dampness, and Drain Fire