Sichuan Fritillary Bulb

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Moistens the Lungs, clears heat, transforms dry phlegm, and stops cough - the species-specific Bei Mu of choice for chronic dry cough, scant sticky sputum, throat dryness, and Yin-deficient or post-febrile Lung heat.
• Stops cough without excessive drying - especially valued when heat and phlegm are present but the patient's fluids are already damaged, making harsher bitter-cold phlegm herbs less suitable.
• Clears heat and disperses nodules - applied to scrofula, goiter, breast or Lung abscesses, and other phlegm-fire swellings, though with a gentler and more moistening profile than Zhe Bei Mu.
• Can address phlegm with upper-burner Qi constraint - classical formula traditions use it when cough or throat discomfort is accompanied by chest or epigastric stifling rather than simple dryness alone.

Secondary Actions

• Modern Chuan Bei Mu is a premium high-altitude medicine derived from multiple official Fritillaria species, which is one reason authentic material is expensive and often adulterated or substituted in trade.
• Relative to Zhe Bei Mu, Chuan Bei Mu is sweeter, milder, and more appropriate for chronic deficiency-dryness cough, while Zhe Bei Mu is more bitter, colder, and stronger for acute heat-phlegm and hard nodules.

Classic Formulas

• Bei Mu Gua Lou San (贝母瓜蒌散) - the archetypal dry-phlegm formula in which Chuan Bei Mu moistens the Lung, transforms sticky phlegm, regulates upper-burner Qi, and stops cough.
• Bai He Gu Jin Tang (百合固金汤) - enriches Lung and Kidney Yin while Chuan Bei Mu moistens the Lung and resolves phlegm in chronic dry cough, blood-streaked sputum, and dry sore throat.
• Yang Yin Qing Fei Tang (养阴清肺汤) - uses Chuan Bei Mu to clear phlegm-heat, moisten the Lung, and relieve swollen painful throat in Yin-damaged upper-burner heat disorders.
• Qi Ge San (七隔散) - classical formula for upper-burner Qi stagnation and phlegm affecting the chest and swallowing, highlighting Chuan Bei Mu's ability to transform phlegm without adding dryness.

Classical References

• Sacred Lotus describes Chuan Bei Mu as bitter, sweet, and cool, entering the Heart and Lung to moisten the Lung, clear heat, stop cough, and disperse nodules.
• Me & Qi similarly frames Chuan Bei Mu as the fritillary used for dry cough, bloody sputum, scrofula, mastitis, asthma, chest congestion, and throat obstruction, with Bei Mu Gua Lou San and Bai He Gu Jin Tang as key formula examples.
• Modern pharmacognosy and authentication studies emphasize that true Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus comes from six official source species and is frequently adulterated as wild resources decline, so species-level identification matters clinically and commercially.