Indian Iphigenia Bulb

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Transforms phlegm, stops cough, and relieves wheezing - used in southwest-Chinese and regional folk practice for chronic bronchitis, asthma, stubborn phlegm, and obstructed Lung Qi when a stronger, more toxic bulb is chosen.
• Softens hardness and disperses nodules - applied to scrofula, breast or thyroid masses, and phlegm-toxin lumps where the bulb's toxic, dispersing nature is intended to break fixed accumulations.
• Resolves toxin, reduces swelling, and alleviates pain - extended to abscesses, skin infection, snakebite, and painful swollen lesions, sometimes with external use.
• Shows a 'fighting poison with poison' profile - traditional oncology and mass-dispersing usage relies on the herb's toxicity and should not be treated like the gentler fritillary bulbs.

Secondary Actions

• Regional literature sometimes cross-links Cao Bei Mu with names such as Shan Ci Gu or other 'earth fritillary' aliases, but this library keeps it distinct from the separate Cremastra/Pleione Shan Ci Gu entry already in the dataset.
• Despite the 'Bei Mu' name, Cao Bei Mu does not behave like Chuan Bei Mu or Zhe Bei Mu; it is warmer, toxic, and more focused on hard masses, pain, and toxin than on gentle moistening of the Lung.

Classic Formulas

• Cao Bei Mu with Jie Geng and Xing Ren - regional cough prescriptions use this combination for phlegm-obstruction cough, wheezing, and stubborn bronchitic congestion.
• Cao Bei Mu with Xia Ku Cao and oyster shell - folk mass-dispersing combinations for scrofula, thyroid swelling, or hard phlegm nodules.
• Cao Bei Mu with detoxifying topical herbs - external powders or pastes are used for swollen toxic lesions, abscesses, or snakebite in local practice.

Classical References

• Dictionary-style materia medica lists translate Cao Bei Mu / Bulbus Iphigeniae Indicae as Indian Iphigenia bulb and describe it chiefly as a phlegm-dissolving herb of regional practice rather than a mainstream national pharmacopoeia staple.
• Regional herb references describe it as bitter, warm, Lung- and Liver-entering, toxic, and used for bronchitis, asthma, scrofula, and snakebite, which matches its stronger mass-dispersing profile.
• Modern plant-genome and ethnomedicine papers note that Iphigenia indica is used in southwest China for asthma, bronchitis, gout, and cancer, confirming that its medicinal reputation remains geographically specific.