Leatherleaf Mahonia Stem

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Clears heat and dries dampness ... Gong Lao Mu is used for damp-heat patterns with jaundice, diarrhea, or lower-body inflammatory discomfort.
• Purges fire and relieves toxicity ... traditional use extends to sore throat, toothache, boils, and other heat-toxin presentations.
• Has a regional liver-and-eye lane ... some local traditions use it when liver heat is accompanied by red swollen eyes or irritability.

Secondary Actions

• This page stays on the stem-focused Caulis Mahoniae lane ... even though modern studies often sample root, stem, leaf, or isolated alkaloids together.
• Recent taxonomy often places leatherleaf mahonia under Berberis bealei, but the medicinal trade lane still commonly uses the Mahonia naming tradition.

Classic Formulas

• Damp-heat jaundice and dysentery modifications ... the herb is added when bitterness and coldness are wanted without turning to the strongest purgatives.
• Heat-toxin external washes and powders ... a familiar traditional lane for boils, swollen gums, or inflamed skin.
• Toothache and throat-pain combinations ... used when fire-toxin and damp-heat are both part of the picture.

Classical References

• Traditional Chinese herb references describe Gong Lao Mu as a bitter cold stem that clears heat, dries dampness, and removes toxicity.
• Its best-defined traditional identity is a heat-and-damp stem medicine rather than a general tonic shrub.