Pi Pa Ye (枇杷叶) — TCM Loquat Leaf for Lung-Heat Cough, Vomiting & Pi Pa Gao

At a Glance

• Herb: Pi Pa Ye
• Chinese name: 枇杷叶 (Pí Pá Yè)
• Latin name: Eriobotryae Folium
• Nature: Slightly Cold
• Taste: Bitter
• Meridian: Lung / Stomach
• Category: Herbs that Transform Phlegm and Stop Coughing
• Introduction: Pi Pa Ye (枇杷叶) is the dried leaf of Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. (loquat), a small evergreen tree native to southeastern China and widely cultivated across East Asia for its sweet yellow-orange fruits, leathery aromatic leaves, and ornamental beauty. Documented in the Mingyi Bielu, the leaf is classified as a bitter, cooling herb that descends Lung and Stomach Qi, clears Heat from both organs, and stops cough — making it particularly suited for Heat-pattern respiratory and digestive conditions where rebellious Qi causes cough or vomiting. Ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, quercetin, and bitter amygdalin in the leaf hairs contribute to anti-inflammatory, antitussive, antiemetic, and hypoglycemic effects in modern pharmacology. The leaf hairs must be removed by brushing before decoction — they cause throat irritation if not properly processed — and honey-processing enhances the moistening, cough-stopping action for dry Lung presentations.

Action

• Clears Lung Heat and stops cough — Heat-pattern cough with yellow sputum, dry cough
• Descends Lung Qi — stops cough from rebellious Lung Qi
• Clears Stomach Heat and descends Stomach Qi — vomiting, hiccup, nausea from Stomach-Heat
• Moistens the Lung — dry cough from Lung Heat consuming fluids (honey-processed form)

Clinical Application

• Lung-Heat cough with yellow sputum or dry cough: combined with Sang Bai Pi, Zhi Mu, Huang Qin
• Autumn dry-Lung cough: combined with Sha Shen, Mai Dong, Chuan Bei Mu
• Vomiting and nausea from Stomach-Heat: combined with Zhu Ru, Huang Lian
• Hiccup from Stomach Qi rebellion with Heat: combined with Shi Di
• Diabetes-related thirst (消渴) with Stomach-Heat: combined with Shi Gao and Zhi Mu

Precautions

• Dosage: 6–10 g in decoction; must remove leaf hairs by brushing before use (causes throat irritation)
• Honey-processed (蜜炙枇杷叶) for dry cough and Lung-Yin deficiency; raw for Stomach vomiting and Heat excess
• Avoid in Cold-pattern cough or vomiting — cooling nature will worsen
• Always brush or singe off the woolly dorsal leaf hairs before decocting — a critical processing step often omitted in careless preparation
• Fruit (枇杷) is food-safe and eaten freely; only the leaf has medicinal toxicity concerns from the hairs

Formula

• Chuan Bei Pi Pa Gao (川贝枇杷膏) — Pi Pa Ye + Chuan Bei Mu + others; most popular OTC cough syrup in China
• Pi Pa Ye San (枇杷叶散) — Pi Pa Ye + Sang Bai Pi + Huang Qin; Lung-Heat cough
• Combined with Sha Shen and Mai Dong for Yin-deficiency dry cough from autumn dryness
• Combined with Zhu Ru and Huang Lian for Stomach-Heat vomiting

Combinations

• Loquat Leaf (枇杷叶) + Mulberry Root Bark (桑白皮) + Coptis Rhizome (黄连) + Phellodendron Bark (黄柏) + Ginseng (人参) + Licorice Root (甘草) → Pi Pa Qing Fei Yin (枇杷清肺饮) — clear lung heat, treat lung-heat acne and rosacea
• Loquat Leaf (枇杷叶) + Sichuan Fritillaria (川贝母) + Adenophora Root (沙参) + Ophiopogon Root (麦冬) → Chuan Bei Pi Pa Gao (川贝枇杷膏) — clear lung, nourish yin, stop dry heat cough
• Loquat Leaf (枇杷叶) + Bamboo Shavings (竹茹) + Aged Tangerine Peel (陈皮) → descend stomach qi, stop nausea and vomiting from stomach heat
• Loquat Leaf (枇杷叶) + Reed Rhizome (芦根) + Imperata Root (茅根) → clear stomach and lung heat, stop thirst and vomiting in febrile disease
• Loquat Leaf (枇杷叶) + Mulberry Leaf (桑叶) + Chrysanthemum (菊花) → disperse wind-heat, clear lung, stop cough from wind-heat invasion; processing: honey-fried Loquat Leaf (蜜炙枇杷叶) for cough — enhances moistening and antitussive; raw for stomach heat and vomiting; preparation note: leaf hairs (茸毛) MUST be brushed off before decoction — cause throat irritation and coughing if not removed; wrap in gauze when decocting

Pharmacological Effects

• Antitussive
  • ursolic acid + flavonoids — reduce airway inflammatory cough trigger
  • inhibit COX-2 and 5-LOX mediated airway irritation
  • honey-fried form enhances this via mucilage coating of airway mucosa
• Expectorant
  • essential oils — stimulate bronchial gland secretion
  • thin mucus
  • promote mucociliary clearance
• Anti-inflammatory
  • ursolic acid — potent
  • inhibits NF-κB, AP-1, iNOS
  • reduces IL-6, TNF-α
  • reduces neutrophil infiltration
  • anti-asthmatic in animal models
• Antiemetic
  • bitter compounds — regulate gastric motility
  • inhibit 5-HT3
  • descend rebellious stomach qi
• Antiacne / anti-sebaceous
  • 枇杷清肺饮 mechanism: ursolic acid reduces sebum production
  • antibacterial against Cutibacterium acnes
  • anti-androgenic effect reduces sebocyte activity
• Antitumor
  • ursolic acid — induces apoptosis, inhibits angiogenesis
  • active in vitro against liver, gastric, lung, breast cancer
• Hypoglycemic
  • corosolic acid — activates GLUT4 translocation
  • reduces postprandial blood glucose
  • insulin-sensitizing
• Antioxidant
  • chlorogenic acid, quercetin
• antibacterial; antiviral

Classic Description

• Ming Yi Bie Lu: ‘Governs sudden unrelenting dry retching; descends qi.’
• Ben Cao Gang Mu: ‘Loquat Leaf treats diseases of the lung and stomach — the benefit derives primarily from its ability to descend qi. When qi descends, fire also descends: what counterflowed no longer counterflows, what vomited no longer vomits, what thirsted no longer thirsts, what coughed no longer coughs.’
• Ben Cao Jing Shu: ‘Loquat Leaf governs sudden unrelenting dry retching and hiccups… Its bitterness enables downward drainage and its fragrant pungency harmonizes the stomach — hence sudden unrelenting dry retching and hiccups both stop; when lung qi counterflows it causes cough, and since this herb can descend qi, it treats cough as well.’
• Shi Liao Ben Cao: ‘Decocted as a drink: governs thirst conditions; treats cough from lung heat qi and lung wind sores, and sores on the chest and face.’