Ce Bai Ye Tan 侧柏叶碳 — Chinese Herbal Medicine

Ce Bai Ye Tan (侧柏叶碳) At a Glance

• Herb: Ce Bai Ye Tan
• Chinese name: 侧柏叶碳 (Ce Bai Ye Tan)
• Latin name: Cacumen Platycladi Carbonisatum
• Nature: Cold
• Taste: Bitter
• Meridian: Lung
• Category: Cooling blood and stopping bleeding

Ce Bai Ye Tan is the dry-fried, carbonized form of Platycladus orientalis leaf, a processing technique that intensifies its astringent, hemostatic action while retaining its cold nature. Its bitter taste descends into the Lung to clear fire and stop reckless movement of hot blood. Classical physicians applied it broadly across upper and lower bleeding disorders wherever heat is the root cause.

Actions & Therapeutic Effects

• Cools blood and stops bleeding
• Clears Lung fire and arrests hemoptysis
• Astrings to check uterine and intestinal bleeding
• Resolves damp-heat accumulation in the lower burner
• Calms rebellious Qi to reduce cough with blood-streaked sputum

Clinical Applications in TCM

• Hemoptysis from Lung fire: combine with Bai Mao Gen (白茅根) and Ou Jie (藕节) to cool and arrest
• Epistaxis due to blood heat: pair with Sheng Di Huang (生地黄) and Mu Dan Pi (牡丹皮)
• Uterine flooding (崩漏) with heat signs: use with E Jiao (阿胶) and Qian Cao Gen (茜草根)
• Bloody stool from intestinal heat: combine with Di Yu (地榆) and Huai Hua (槐花)
• Hematemesis with clots: combine with San Qi (三七) and Bai Ji (白及)
• Hematuria from heat in the lower burner: pair with Xiao Ji (小蓟) and Hua Shi (滑石)

Precautions & Safety

• Dosage: 6–12 g in decoction; as powder 1.5–3 g swallowed separately with warm water
• Contraindicated in cold-deficiency bleeding without heat signs; use with caution in Spleen Yang deficiency
• Prolonged use may impair digestion; monitor stool consistency in patients with weak Middle Jiao

Classical TCM Formulas

• Shi Hui San (十灰散): Ce Bai Ye Tan is a key component among the ten carbonised herbs for bleeding. Source: Shi Yao Shen Shu.
• Ce Bai Ye Tan San (侧柏叶炭散): Ce Bai Ye Tan powder — for epistaxis.
• Ce Bai Ye is more versatile as raw herb (promotes hair growth) than as the carbonised form (exclusively haemostatic).

Herb Combinations

• Ce Bai Ye Tan (侧柏叶炭) + Bai Mao Gen (白茅根) + Di Yu (地榆): the cooling-haemostatic triad for haemoptysis and haematemesis.
• Ce Bai Ye Tan (侧柏叶炭) + Xian He Cao (仙鹤草) + Ou Jie (藕节): stops bleeding for epistaxis and haematuria.
• Raw Ce Bai Ye cools Blood and promotes hair growth; Ce Bai Ye Tan astringes and stops bleeding.

Pharmacology & Research

Flavonoids (quercetin, myricetin): demonstrated hemostatic and anti-inflammatory activity in vitro.
Tannins: astringent action supports arrest of mucosal and capillary bleeding.
Essential oils: largely volatilized during charring; residual fraction retains mild antimicrobial properties.
Organic acids (amentoflavone): contributes to vascular tone and platelet aggregation support.

Classical Descriptions

• “Ce bai ye zhu tu xue, heng xue, xie xue, li xue, zhi xue.” — Ben Cao Gang Mu (本草纲目), Li Shi-Zhen, 1578