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Fritillaria, Bei Mu 贝母

Bei Mu (TCM)
A bhi kha  ཨ་བི་ཁ་  (Tibetan, F. cirrhosa)
A bhi sa mchog (Tibet, F. delavayi)
Kshira Kaakoli (Ayurveda, F. cirrhosa)
F. cirrhosa, Chuan Bei Mu
Hooker, Icones Plantarum 1852
F. thunbergii, Zhe Bei Mu
Thunberg, Icones plantarum japonicarum, 1800
F. thunbergii
(Photo by Piropiro77) (Wikimedia)

Left: A number of varieties and grades of Bei Mu; Right: close-up (Chengdu Medicine Market. Adam, 2017)
Botanical name:
Fritillaria spp.
A number of species are used:
  1. Chuan Bei Mu: F. cirrhosa (syn. F roylei), F. unibracteata, F. przewalskii, F delavayi
  2. Zhe Bei Mu: F. thunbergii (syn. F. verticillata var. thunbergii)
  3. Hubei Bei Mu: F. hupehensis
  4. Yi Bei Mu: F. walujewii, F. pallidiflora
  5. Ping Bei Mu: F. ussuriensis
The first 2 are most used and have similar, but distinctly different uses (see below)
In older TCM texts, these were all used synonymously.
F. cirrhosa and F. delavayi are used in Tibetan Medicine.

Parts used:
Dried bulb

Temperature & Taste:
Cool, dry. Bitter
Chuan Bei Mu is less Cold, and also slightly Sweet, therefore more strengthening.
Zhe Bei Mu is more Cold and Bitter, therefore better to clear Heat.

Classification:
P. Clears Hot Phlegm

Uses:
1. Clears Phlegm-Heat, Stops Cough: (TCM, Ayurveda, Tibetan)
-Cough, chronic Cough, Cough with Blood-streaked sputum
-Bronchitis, Asthma, Tuberculosis
-Chuan Bei Mu (F. cirrhosa et. al.) is stronger for this function

2. Clears Phlegm-Heat, Reduces Masses:
-Phlegm-Heat nodes, nodules, swellings, Scrofula
-Breast Abscesses
-Zhi Bei Mu (F. thunbergii) is stronger for this function

3. Resists Poison, Heals Fractures: (Tibet)
-Cranial Fractures and Poisoning (Tibetan Medicine, F. cirrhosa)
-Deficient Heat disorders (Tibet)


Difference between Chuan Bei Mu and Zhe Bei Mu
1. Chuan Bei Mu: more moistening and strengthening, better for dry and chronic Cough, Asthma and Tuberculosis with Lung weakness
2. Zhe Bei Mu: more effective for clearing Heat and dispersing Lumps. Better for acute Heat-type Cough with thick, yellow, hard-to-clear sputum and for Phlegm-Heat Lumps, Nodes and Scrofula.

Hubei Bei Mu and Yi Bei Mu are also listed separately in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. They are less commonly used and are more similar to Zhe Bei Mu in effect, lacking the tonic qualities of Chuan Bei Mu
DOSE:
Decoction 3–9 grams
Powder: 2–5 grams

SUBSTITUTE:
1. To clear Phlegm and reduce Nodules, Pinellia Ban Xia can usually substitute
2. In Tibetan Medicine, Lillium spp. is substituted.
3. Withania is used as a substitute in Ayurveda.

Main Combinations:
1. Cough
i. with copious sputum, Fritillaria Chuan Bei Mu with Almond kernel (Xing Ren)
ii. acute Cough with Heat, Fritillaria Zhe Bei Mu with Forsythia Lian Qiao and Burdock seed (Niu Bang Zi)
iii. from Heat, Fritillaria Zhe Bei Mu with Coptis Huang Lian and Scutellaria Huang Qin
iv. from Yin deficient Heat with sputum that is hard to clear, Fritillaria Chuan Bei Mu with Anemarrhena Zhi Mu
2. Scrofula, Abscess:
i. combine Fritillaria Chuan Bei Mu and Fritillaria Zhe Bei Mu
ii. Fritillaria Zhe Bei Mu with Figwort root (Xuan Shen), Self Heal (Xia Ku Cao)
iii. Fritillaria Zhe Bei Mu with Kelp (Kun Bu) and Sargassum (Hai Zao)
iv. Fritillaria Zhe Bei Mu with Dandelion (Pu Gong Ying) and Chrysanthemum flower (Ju Hua)

Major Formula:
Bai He Gu Jin Tang
Bo Ying Compound
Ling Jiao Gou Teng Tang
Bei9 Mu Gua Lou San
Qing Fei Tang
Xiao Luo Wan
Sang Xing Tang


Cautions:
1. Not used for Cold-Phlegm disorders (unless corrected).
2. Fritillaria is traditionally considered Incompatible with Aconite

Main Preparations used: