Pinellia ternata.  半 夏  Bàn xià   Pinellia   Family: Araliaceae     
The name Ban xia- meaning half way through Summer, is the time around the summer solstice when the Ban xia tuber can first be harvested and when nature’s Qi is beginning to move downwards and inwards.
PART USED: Tuber; collected in Summer and Autumn, washed clean and dried in sunlight, and is called dried Pinellia. But it is usually used after being further processed with Ginger and Alum, and is hence called prepared Pinellia.[3]
Nature- warm      FLAVOR: Pungent.  TOXICITY: Toxic- It is prepared to remove toxicity.   CHANNELS: Spleen, Stomach, Lung
FUNCTION
GROUP: Antitussive and Expectorant Clearing- Cold Phlegm
1. Dry up Dampness.[1,2,3,4] Resolve phlegm.[1] Strengthens Spleen.[1]
2. Causes rebellious Qi to descend to stop vomiting.[1,2,3,4]
3. Harmonizes the the Stomach and stops comiting.[4]
4. Dissipates nodules and reuduces distention.[4] Disintegrating and resolving masses.
5. Stops bleeding and reduces inflammation.[1]
INDICATIONS
1. Profuse sputum, cough with adverse upward flow of Qi,[4] and vertigo, due to Dampness of the Spleen,[4] to dispel Dampness and accumulation and retention of phlegm. Phlegm Cold in the Lungs.[4] Bronchitis.[1] Cough and asthma.
2. Nausea and vomiting due to adverse rising of the stomach Qi.[1,2,3,4]Vomiting due to Cold Phlegm. Vomiting due to Stomach Heat. Vomiting during pregnancy. Vomiting due to Stomach deficiency.[1] Local distention in the chest and epigastrium.[4]
3. Feeling of stuffiness and distention in the chest and upper abdomen, due to accumulation of Heat Phlegm. Globus hystericus. Goiter.
4. Subcutaneous nodules, pressure, distention, or pain due to Phlegm lingering in the chest, phlegm nodules in the neck- such as those of goiter and scrofula, or obstruction caused by Phlegm anywhere in the body.[4]
5. External application- Carbuncles, deep rooted carbuncles, lumbodorsal cellulitis, and breast furuncles. Other suppurative infections on the skin.
6. Traumatic bleeding, poisonous snakebites, swollen abscesses.[1]
7. Rheumatism and arthralgia.[1]
CONTRAINDICATIONS: It is antagonistic to Aconitum carmichaeli- Aconite.[3,4] All cases of bleeding, cough due to Yin deficiency, or depleted fluids.[4] Use with caution in all cases with Heat.[4]
COMPARISONS
PATENT COMBINATIONS
COMBINATIONS
PREPARATIONS: Decoction. Tuberous stems  4-9 g.[1,2,3] 4-12 g.[4] For external use, the fresh herb crushed and applied as a poultice for skin eruptions.[1,2] Raw pinellia ternata tuber is toxic and is only used externally to reduce ulcerations, deep rooted sores, and carbuncles.[4]
Preparation of Ban xia is achieved by deep frying with ginger, vinegar, or albumen.
    
HABITAT: Grows wild in shady and damp grass thickets on mountain sides and stream edges.
DESCRIPTION: Pinellia is a perennial herb. Subterranean rhizome; globular or flat-globular. Leaves; appearing terminally from stem, long petioles, annual leaves single, ovate cordate, becoming 2 to 3 years later 3 leaflet compound leaves, leaflets elliptical-lanceolate, apexes pointed, bases narrow, 3 leaflets combining to form bulbels. Flowers; in summer, yellowish green, in terminal spike inflorescence, spathe below inflorescence. Berry; small ovate and green.
References Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
Safety and herb-drug interactions
Similar plants
Research

Anti-obesity effect of Pinellia ternata extract in Zucker rats.
Kim YJ, Shin YO, Ha YW, Lee S, Oh JK, Kim YS.
Abstract
Pinellia ternata is known as the herb effective in removing dampness-phlegm, one of the causes of obesity in traditional Korean medicine. Pinellia ternata water extract (PE) was fed to rats after mixing with diet once a day (400 mg x kg(-1)) for 6 weeks. We investigated its effect on the thermogenesis and fatty acids oxidation with obese Zucker rats. We also determined the gene expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha), and PPARgamma coactivator 1alpha (PGC1alpha). The PE treatment lowered the levels of triglyceride and free fatty acids (p<0.05) in blood of the obese rats and the body weight was also reduced slightly. It was also observed that PE significantly increased the expression of both UCP1 mRNA in brown adipose tissue (BAT) (p<0.001) and PPARalpha and PGC1alpha mRNA in white visceral adipose tissue (WAT) (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively), which may cause a reduction of obesity. These results suggested that PE would be able to affect anti-obesity through thermogenesis and fatty acid oxidation.
PMID: 16755034 Biol Pharm Bull. 2006 Jun;29(6):1278-81. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effect of Pinellia ternata tuber on the efferent activity of the gastric vagus nerve in the rat.
Niijima A, Okui Y, Kubo M, Higuchi M, Taguchi H, Mitsuhashi H, Maruno M.
Abstract
Effect of intraduodenal infusion with the hot aqueous extract of Pinellia ternata tuber on the efferent discharges in the gastric branch of the vagus nerve was observed in the anesthetized rat. The infusion of the extract in doses of 2-15O mg per animal (c.a. 300 g, b.wt.) resulted in a dose-related increase in efferent activity of the vagal gastric nerve. The enhancement of the nerve activity following administration of 150 mg of this substance lasted longer than 90 min. It was observed that the suppressive effect on vagal gastric activity due to apomorphine and copper sulfate was antagonized by prior administration of the extract. From these observations it is suggested that Pinellia tuber acts as a facilitatory agent on gastric function.
PMID: 8348334 Brain Res Bull. 1993;32(2):103-6. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Makino Preparation promotes sleep by increasing REM sleep.
Lin S, Nie B, Yao G, Yang H, Ye R, Yuan Z.
Abstract
Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Makino Preparation (PTP) is widely used to treat insomnia in traditional Chinese medicine; however, its specific role is not clear. In this study, PTP was prepared at three concentrations. For locomotor activity tests, mice were treated with PTP and evaluated for 14 days. For polygraph recordings, mice were treated for 14 days and recorded after treatment. The main chemical constituents in PTP were identified by Ultra performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS). The results showed that 0.9 g/mL PTP significantly reduced locomotor activity. The effect was related to the time of treatment. PTP reduced wakefulness and increased sleep in mice. Furthermore, PTP promoted sleep by increasing the number of REM sleep episodes with a duration of 64-128s and increasing the number of transitions from NREM sleep to REM sleep and from REM sleep to wakefulness. A total of 17 compounds were identified.
PMID: 29764203 DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2018.1474466 Nat Prod Res. 2018 May 15:1-4. doi: 10.1080/14786419.2018.1474466. [Epub ahead of print]
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Berit. on the metabolomic profiles of placenta and amniotic fluid in pregnant rats.
Xie HH, Xu JY, Xie T, Meng X, Lin LL, He LL, Wu H, Shan JJ, Wang SC.
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:
Banxia (BX) is the root of Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Berit. Its processed products, such as Jiang Banxia (JBX), have been clinically used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat vomiting, coughing, and inflammation. However, data for their safety for pregnant women are contradictory and confusing.
AIM OF THE STUDY:
To further explore the safety of BX, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) metabolomics approach was used to evaluate the metabolic perturbation in pregnant rats caused by BX and JBX.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Placenta and amniotic fluid samples were collected from control Sprague-Dawley pregnant rats and exposed to BX suspension and JBX decoction (1.434g/kg/day). Samples were analyzed using LC-MS and GC-MS. The acquired MS data of above samples were further subjected to multivariate data analysis, and the significantly altered metabolites were identified. The associated pathways were constructed using MetaboAnalyst 3.0.
RESULTS:
The weight and histopathology of the placenta from each group of rats had no definite difference. However, we found 20 differential endogenous metabolites that changed significantly in the placenta and amniotic fluid samples. The alterations of identified metabolites indicated a perturbation in glycerophospholipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and carbohydrate metabolism in pregnant rats exposed to BX and JBX.
CONCLUSION:
In summary, this work suggested that oral administration of BX and JBX may induce disturbances in the intermediary metabolism in pregnant rats. This work contributes to further understanding the safety of BX and its processed products.
PMID: 26923539 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2016.02.030 J Ethnopharmacol. 2016 May 13;183:38-45. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2016.02.030. Epub 2016 Feb 24. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov