Puffball – 1 lb (454 g)

Puffball, known in Chinese as 马勃 (Mǎbó) and scientifically as Lasiosphaera seu Calvatia, is a valued herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This TCM herb has been traditionally used to support natural wellness, maintain vitality, and encourage holistic balance. At TCMforyou.com, we provide premium-quality Puffball carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Puffball helps promote overall well-being and supports natural energy, immunity, and balance. Integrating this herb into your wellness routine offers a gentle, time-tested approach to enhancing daily health. Whether brewed as tea, added to herbal remedies, or taken as part of a TCM formula, Puffball provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Puffball has been used in TCM to harmonize the body and encourage optimal functioning of key systems. At TCMforyou, we prioritize authenticity and quality. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure purity and potency, delivering an herbal product aligned with traditional practices.

Experience the natural support of Puffball, promoting immune health, vitality, and holistic well-being. Embrace the wisdom of TCM and incorporate this gentle, effective herbal remedy into your daily wellness journey.

[Overview] This herb is also known as Mabi, Mapi Bao, Huibao, and Gray Fungus. It refers to the fruiting bodies of fungi in the family Lycoperdaceae: Lasiosphaera fenzlii Reichb. (脱皮马勃), Calvatia gigantea (Batsch ex Pers.) Lloyd (大马勃), or Calvatia lilacina (Mont. et Berk.) Lloyd (紫色马勃). Lasiosphaera fenzlii is mainly produced in Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang; Calvatia gigantea is mainly produced in Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang; Calvatia lilacina is mainly produced in Hebei, Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian, Hubei, Guangxi, Guangdong, Xinjiang, and Sichuan. The fruiting bodies are harvested timely in summer and autumn when mature, cleaned of mud and sand, and dried.

[Properties] Pungent in taste, neutral in nature. Enters the Lung meridian.

[Actions] Clears the Lung and benefits the throat, detoxifies and stops bleeding.

[Applications]
1. Used for sore and swollen throat. Mabi is a common herb for treating sore throat, especially suitable for red, dry, painful throat. It can be decocted alone or combined with Shegan (Belamcanda chinensis), Niubangzi (Arctium lappa seed), Jiegeng (Platycodon root), Xuanshen (Scrophularia root), and Gancao (Licorice). For cases with feverish head, red swollen face, and throat obstruction, it can be combined with Huangqin (Scutellaria baicalensis), Huanglian (Coptis chinensis), Niubangzi, Banlangen (Isatis root), as in the formula Puji Xiaodu Yin. Modern use includes treatment of mumps swelling and pain, often combined with Banlangen, Lianqiao (Forsythia), Jiangcan (Bombyx batryticatus), and Xuanshen.
2. Used for Lung-heat cough, red painful throat, hoarseness; can be combined with Jiegeng, raw Gancao, Niubangzi, etc. For chronic cough with loss of voice, Mabi can be combined with Yaxiao (Nitre), made into pills with sugar to dissolve in the mouth.
3. Used for bleeding syndromes. For Lung-heat cough with blood and nosebleed, combined with Huangqin, Baimaogen (Imperata root), and raw lotus rhizome nodes; for vomiting blood, combined with Baimaogen, Ce Bai Ye (Platycladus leaf), and stir-fried Zhizi (Gardenia fruit); for external trauma bleeding, hemorrhoidal bleeding, and gum bleeding, Mabi powder is applied externally to the bleeding site.
4. Used for frostbite, bedsores, and chronic ulcers that do not heal; Mabi powder is applied externally. For treating chronic ulcers, it can be mixed with Qīngpíng (Mercuric chloride) and Sanqi powder (Panax notoginseng) for external application, as in the formula Lianchuang Dan.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoct 1.5–6 g, wrapped in cloth bag for decoction; or used in pills or powders. External use: appropriate amount, mixed with honey or vinegar for application; or made into Mabi cotton pads or bandages.

[Cautions] Contraindicated in wind-cold cough with loss of voice.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: The fruiting bodies of Calvatia lilacina contain mabi acid; Lasiosphaera fenzlii fruiting bodies contain leucine, tyrosine, urea, ergosterol, lipids, mabi substance, and sodium phosphate; Calvatia gigantea fruiting bodies contain α-amylase and various amino acids.
2. Pharmacological effects: Mabi spores applied to bleeding sites have mechanical hemostatic effects; Mabi decoction inhibits Staphylococcus aureus in vitro and also inhibits some fungi.
3. Clinical reports:
1) Prostatectomy bleeding: Mabi powder sifted and sterilized by autoclave was used after removal of the prostate gland and ligation of bleeding arteries. Dosage 1–4 g per use. In 60 cases, hemostasis was satisfactory. [Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, 1985,(5):601]
2) Upper gastrointestinal bleeding: 100 g Mabi decocted to 300 ml, combined with 50 g rhubarb decocted to 200 ml, filtered, then 15 ml glycerol added. Patients were pretreated with 0.5 g atropine sulfate and 25 mg dolantin injection; bleeding sites located by fiberoptic gastroscope and sprayed with the solution for hemostasis. In 17 cases, immediate hemostasis rate was 100%, success in 16 cases, failure in 1 case. [Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, 1987,7(1):61]
3) Post-extraction bleeding: Mabi cleaned and cut into 1 cm cubes or irregular cubes, wrapped in gauze and sterilized. The size matched to the bleeding alveolus, pressed with medicated cotton, hemostasis achieved in 1–3 minutes, cotton removed after 20 minutes, Mabi removed after 4 hours. [New Chinese Medicine, 2002,34(4):29]
4) Athlete’s foot: 20 g Mabi powder applied to affected area 4 times daily; in 36 cases, 29 cured, 5 improved, 2 ineffective; total effective rate 94.4%; 2 relapsed. [Chinese Community Doctor, 2003,18(10):43]
5) Frostbite: Mabi powder mixed with fresh ginger juice and 2%–3% phenol suspension applied externally, dressing changed every 2 days. In 108 cases of non-ulcerated frostbite, 69 cases (63.9%) recovered within 10 days, 35 cases (32.4%) within 15 days, 4 cases (3.7%) over 15 days; for 132 cases of ulcerated frostbite, Mabi sterilized by autoclave was evenly sprinkled on wound, covered with gauze, dressing changed daily until healed; 126 cases healed after 4–5 dressing changes, 2 cases within 15 days, 4 cases over 15 days. [Research on Chinese Patent Medicine, 1982,(12):42]