Bletilla Tuber – 1 lb (454 g)

Bletilla Tuber, known in Chinese as 白及 (Báijí) and scientifically as Rhizoma Bletillae, 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 Bletilla Tuber carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Bletilla Tuber 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, Bletilla Tuber provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Bletilla Tuber 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 Bletilla Tuber, 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 Baiji, Gangen, and Huliangjiang. It is the tuber of Bletilla striata (Thunb.) Reichb.f., a plant of the Orchidaceae family. It is mainly produced in Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan, Anhui, Henan, Zhejiang, and other regions. It is harvested in summer and autumn by digging up, removing the fibrous roots, washing clean, boiling or steaming in boiling water until the white core disappears, then sun-dried to half dry, peeling off the outer skin, and finally sun-dried.
[Properties] Bitter and sweet in taste, slightly cold in nature. Enters the Lung and Stomach meridians.
[Actions] Astringes to stop bleeding, disperses swelling and abscesses, promotes tissue regeneration and closes sores.
[Applications]
1. Used for various bleeding syndromes, especially for bleeding from the Lung and Stomach as well as traumatic bleeding. It can be taken alone as a powder or combined with Sanqi (Panax notoginseng). For treating hemoptysis, it can be used with loquat leaf, lotus rhizome node, clam shell powder fried with Ejiao (donkey-hide gelatin), and raw Rehmannia root, as in Bletilla Loquat Pill (白及枇杷丸); if hemoptysis is due to Yin deficiency with fire, it is combined with Adenophora, Lily bulb, and Scrophularia; if due to Lung Qi deficiency, it is combined with Ginseng, Astragalus, and Chinese Yam. For hematemesis and bloody stools, it can be taken alone as powder or combined with Sanqi powder and raw rhubarb powder; if hematemesis is accompanied by stomach pain and acid regurgitation, it is combined with cuttlefish bone, as in Wuji Powder (乌及散). For epistaxis, 10 parts of powder mixed with child’s urine is taken internally, as in Bletilla Powder (白及散); alternatively, the powder can be mixed with cold water and applied with paper flowers inside the nostrils, as in Bletilla Paste (白及膏). For traumatic bleeding, the powder can be applied topically or combined with calcined gypsum for external use.
Currently, it is commonly used clinically to treat hemoptysis caused by pulmonary tuberculosis and bronchiectasis, as well as hematemesis and bloody stools caused by gastric and duodenal ulcers.
2. Used for carbuncles, ulcers, scrofula, hemorrhoids and fistulas, burns from water and fire, hand and foot fissures, and anal fissures. For early-stage carbuncles and furuncles with swelling and pain, the powder can be applied externally alone or combined with Lonicera japonica (honeysuckle), Trichosanthes root, and Gleditsia sinensis thorns, as in Nei Xiao San (内消散); for ulcers that have broken open and fail to heal, the powder can be applied externally alone or combined with Fritillaria, mercuric chloride, and gallnut. For burns, hand and foot fissures, and anal fissures, the powder is mixed with sesame oil and applied topically.
[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 3–10 g; powder for pills or powders, 2–5 g. External use: appropriate amount of powder sprinkled or mixed with oil and applied; or fresh herb pounded and applied.
[Cautions] This herb is astringent and may trap pathogenic factors; it should be used cautiously in cases of cough with blood due to external invasion or Lung and Stomach fire excess. Contraindicated with Aconitum (Fuzi).
[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: Bletilla contains bibenzyls, biphenyls, anthraquinones, as well as acids and aldehydes. Fresh tubers also contain Bletilla mannose polysaccharides.
2. Pharmacological effects: Bletilla has good local hemostatic effects, causing aggregation of blood cells in peripheral blood to form artificial thrombi, shortening coagulation time and prothrombin time in rabbits, and accelerating erythrocyte sedimentation rate, thereby producing hemostasis; it protects gastric mucosa; significantly inhibits liver cancer in rats, with the effective anticancer components being the mucilage-rich substances in the tuber; it shows significant inhibitory effects on Gram-positive bacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis; its decoction has weak inhibitory effects on Bacillus subtilis in vitro.
3. Clinical reports:
1) Upper gastrointestinal bleeding: On the basis of routine internal medicine treatment, Bletilla powder 5–10 g mixed with water into a paste was taken 30 minutes before meals three times daily. Among 48 cases treated, 39 were cured, 4 improved, 3 not cured (2 with cirrhosis and 1 with gastric cancer), and 2 worsened (1 cirrhosis and 1 gastric cancer). The efficacy was significantly better than routine treatment alone. [Chinese Folk Therapy, 2003, 11(3):49]
2) Hemoptysis: On the basis of anti-tuberculosis, anti-infection, and posterior pituitary hormone treatment, Bletilla 20 g and 10 river mussels (shell removed, meat cut into small pieces) were decocted and taken twice daily, about 150 ml each time, for 7 days. The total effective rate for hemoptysis was 95.6%. [Chinese Community Doctor, 2003, 19(9):39]
3) Epistaxis: Bletilla 30 g was ground into a very fine powder, mixed with cold boiled water (preferably glutinous rice porridge soup) into strips. The strips were inserted into the bleeding nostril and retained for about 2 days; if both sides bled, the strips were alternated. Among 13 cases treated, 7 were cured after one application, 5 after two applications. [Journal of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1986, 9(2):23]
4) Chronic nonspecific ulcerative colitis: Gecko powder combined with Bletilla decoction into a viscous liquid was retained as an enema once every 3 days, 5 times per course. Additionally, gecko and Bletilla powders were encapsulated for oral use during enema intervals. Among 89 cases treated with 1–2 courses, 72 were clinically cured, 15 improved, and 2 ineffective. [Chinese Medicine Research, 1994, 7(2):29]
5) Chyluria: Bletilla 3 g powder taken twice daily for 10 days per course. Among 37 cases treated, the total effective rate was 89%. [Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1992, (7):58(1):31]
6) Oral mucosal diseases: 40% Bletilla powder mixed with 60% white sugar. Before use, the lesion was cleaned with 3% hydrogen peroxide, rinsed with saline, then the mixture was applied and pressed with cotton ball for 15 to 30 minutes. No rinsing or eating was allowed for a period after application. Among 60 cases treated, 10 cured, 49 markedly effective, 1 ineffective. [Journal of Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1986, 6(4):25]
7) Reflux esophagitis: Bletilla 20 g and dandelion 30 g decocted with 500 ml water to 100 ml, taken twice daily; for severe acid reflux, added cuttlefish bone; for severe hiccups, added 15 g chive seed. Among 52 cases treated, 27 completely relieved, 21 partially relieved, total effective rate 92%. [Chinese Herbal Medicine, 2003, 34(11):1037]