What are the Effects of Baitouweng Tang (Bai Tou Weng Soup)?

Pulsatilla Decoction has the functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling blood, and relieving diarrhea. It is a famous prescription in the classical Chinese medical book Treatise on Febrile Diseases and can be combined with traditional Chinese medicines such as Coptis chinensis and Cortex Phellodendri to relieve diarrhea, clear heat, and promote diuresis. It is used to treat diarrhea caused by Shigella dysenteriae or amebic dysentery. The clinical manifestations of heat diarrhea include urgency in the abdomen and anus, pus and blood in the stool, fever, dry mouth, and other systemic symptoms.

1. The prescription of Pulsatilla Decoction is mainly for heat-toxin dysentery. Damp-heat pathogenic toxins accumulate in the large intestine, causing qi stagnation and obstruction, leading to abdominal pain, urgency in the abdomen, and heaviness in the anus. The evil enters the blood, causing decay of flesh and blood, brewing into pus and blood, resulting in diarrhea with pus and blood, mostly red and less white. Excessive heat depletes body fluids, causing thirst for drinking water. Red tongue with yellow fur and rapid pulse indicate excessive heat.

1. The characteristics of Pulsatilla Decoction are mainly based on clearing heat and detoxifying, combined with cooling blood and relieving diarrhea, taking both symptoms and root causes into account. This prescription, along with Shaoyao Gancao Decoction, are both good prescriptions for treating diarrhea, but Pulsatilla Decoction focuses more on clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling blood, and relieving diarrhea, especially suitable for cases with more red and less white stool.

2. In Pulsatilla Decoction, Pulsatilla chinensis is the main herb, with the functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling blood, and relieving diarrhea. Coptis chinensis clears heat and detoxifies, thickens the intestine, and relieves diarrhea. Cortex Phellodendri clears heat and promotes diuresis in the lower jiao, serving as the auxiliary herbs. Cortex Fraxini can both clear heat and detoxify, as well as astringe and relieve diarrhea, serving as the messenger herb.

3. Pulsatilla Decoction has significant antibacterial and anti-amebic protozoa, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, and enhancing the phagocytic function of white blood cells and mononuclear macrophages. Pulsatilla Decoction and its constituent herbs exhibit varying degrees of inhibitory effects on rabbit intestinal tubes.