Knowledge Base/Herbs/Xiebai (Chinese Chive Bulb)
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理气药 · Qi-regulating

Xiebai (Chinese Chive Bulb) xiè bái · 薤白

Allium macrostemon (bulb; Allium chinense is also cited)

Nature and flavour. Pungent, bitter, warm; Heart, Lung, Stomach and Large Intestine systems.

Grouped with the herbs described as unblocking Yang and dispersing binding, the classical phrasing for obstruction in the chest, and with those that move Qi and relieve stagnation in the bowel. It is also a food: the same kinds of bulb are pickled and eaten as jiao tou in Chinese cooking. That it is a vegetable is worth stating plainly, because the classical language around the chest is easily over-read as a claim about the heart.

性味归经。辛、苦，温；归心、肺、胃、大肠经。

传统上列入通阳散结、行气导滞一类，前者是古典文献对胸中痹阻的表述。它同时是食物：同类的鳞茎腌制后即日常所食的藠头。这一点值得写清楚，因为关于「胸痹」的古典用语很容易被读成对心脏的疗效承诺。

Classical category · no formulas, no dosages, no herb-drug combinations are given.
Safety. The safety point that outranks everything else: chest pain is an emergency and is not treated with a herb. Anyone with pain, pressure or tightness in the chest, especially with breathlessness, sweating, or pain spreading to the arm or jaw, needs emergency care, and that comes first. As an Allium it can upset the stomach, it is toxic to dogs and cats, and it is warm, so it is classically avoided where there is heat or depleted Yin. No amount is given here.

最要紧的一条提醒压过其余全部：胸痛属急症，不是用草药处理的情形。凡胸部疼痛、压迫感或紧缩感，尤其伴有气短、出汗、疼痛放射至手臂或下颌者，须立即就医急救，这是第一位的。作为葱属植物，它可能引起胃肠不适，对犬猫有毒；性温，热证与阴虚者传统上不宜。本条不列用量。

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