Bai Cao Shuang
StarPulvis Fumi Carbonisatus (herb-soot / plant chimney-soot, amorphous carbon)
☯ TCM Properties
Controls bleeding and disperses Accumulation
Traditional Chinese Uses
Bai Cao Shuang ("hundred herbs frost") is the fine plant soot scraped from chimneys and the bottoms of cooking pots after prolonged burning of grasses and wood — essentially amorphous carbon. Pungent and warm, entering the Liver, Lung and Stomach channels, it belongs to the Blood-regulating herbs that stop bleeding. Following the TCM principle that charred, black substances arrest hemorrhage, it is used both internally and topically for many kinds of bleeding, including hematemesis, epistaxis, uterine bleeding and metrorrhagia, bloody dysentery and bleeding hemorrhoids.
It also disperses accumulation and checks diarrhea and dysentery, and is applied externally to sores, eczema and wounds to stop bleeding and dry Dampness. Commonly given powdered, wrapped in decoction, or dusted on affected areas.
Botanical Description
Bai Cao Shuang ('hundred herbs frost') is not a plant but a processed mineral-organic substance: the fine, light, sooty deposit scraped from the underside of chimneys, stove-tops, and cooking-pot bottoms after the prolonged burning of grasses, straw, weeds, and miscellaneous herbaceous fuel. Traditionally collected from rural earthen or brick stoves, the soot is a black, weightless powder consisting largely of amorphous carbon together with condensed pyrolysis residues of the burnt plant material. It is sieved free of grit before use. In Chinese medicine it is administered internally to stop bleeding (haematemesis, epistaxis, uterine bleeding) and used externally on sores and ulcers; modern preparations are rare because of the changing technology of domestic cooking.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 6-15g | Daily | — | — | — |
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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