Hippophae, Sea Buckthorn, Star Bu སྟར་བུ

Star Bu  (Tibetan)
Sha Ji  沙棘 (TCM)
Flora von Deutschland (10), Kohler, 1882

Hippophae rhamnoides
(Photo by AnRo0002) (Wikimedia)

Botanical name:
Hippophae spp.
Three types are used in Tibetan Medicine:
  1. H. rhamnoides (Large Star bu)
  2. H. salicifolia (Medium Star bu)
  3. H. tibetana (Small Star bu)

Parts used:
Fruit

Temperature & Taste:
Warm, moist. Slightly sweet, sour.

Uses:
1. Tonifies Qi, Generates Fluids:
-used for Qi deficiency with damage to fluids; after chronic disease, strong Heat, or Febrile disease.
-Diabetes

2. Benefits the Lungs, Stops Cough, clears Cold Phlegm:
-chronic Cough, Bronchitis, especially for profuse Cold Phlegm
-difficulty Breathing from Cold-Phlegm

3. Warms and Strengthens Stomach and Spleen:
-Indigestion, abdominal pain from Food Stagnation (Chinese Pharmacopeia)
-chronic Diarrhea or Dysentery with food stagnation
-Enteritis, Colic in Tibetan Medicine
-more recently for Gastro-duodenal Ulcers

4. Moves the Blood, clears Stasis (TCM, Tibetan):
-Amenorrhea, Dysmenorrhea
-Bruising, Hematoma, Trauma, Tumors; used for blood stagnation in TCM and Tibetan Medicine
-poor blood circulation causing thickening of the blood

5. Clears Heat:
-Fever (Tibetan Medicine)
-taken to prevent infection during epidemics
-topically for burns including sunburn and radiation burns


DOSE:
3–9 grams

Main Combinations:
1. Damage to fluids after febrile disease, with Ophiopogon Mai Men Dong
2. Cough and Wheezing from excess Cold Phlegm, with Astragalus Huang Qi, Atractylodes Bai Zhu and Pinella Ban Xia
3. Lung heat Cough, Bronchitis, Asthma with Licorice, Raisin, Emblic Myrobalan and Costus (as in Sea Buckthorn 5 of Tibetan Medicine)
4. Dysenteric disorders, with Pulsatilla Bai Tou Weng
5. Menstrual disorders associated with Blood stagnation, with Ligusticum Chuan Xiong, Angelica Dang Gui and Cyperus Xiang Fu
6. Hematoma and Bruising, with Dragons Blood, Frankincense and Myrrh

Major Formulas:
Sea Buckthorn 5 (Star bu 5)
Pacific 11 (Zhi byed bcu gcig)
Principle 25 (Gtso bo nyer lnga)


Cautions:
Not used in internal Cold or Fire from excess

Main Preparations used: