Qi Regulating Herbs: Qing Pi

青皮 qing pi (percarpium citri reticulatae viride)

blue green peel / unripe tangerine peel

Qing Pi "possesses the just-ripening characteristic of spring-time wood" (Bensky) and therefore it relates to the liver. It is also "qing" color, the color associated with the liver.

Bitter, acrid, warm

Travels to the Liver/Gallbladder, and Stomach

Qing Pi's main Qi Regulating function is to direct qi downward, dredging the liver, thereby breaking up liver qi stagnation, and also harmonizing the stomach.

It functions to resolve all the typical liver qi stagnation symptoms: distension/pain in chest & hypochondriac regions, as well as breast distension and pain, emotional distress/irritability.

Qing Pi also works to reduce food stagnation that is causing pain/distension or that has has progressed to blood stasis causing clumps and nodules.

As a harsh qi mover, Qing Pi reduces phlegm. Caution with qi deficient patients.

In recent clinical studies Qing Pi has proven to increase blood pressure, helpful in situations where patients have a drop in blood pressure due to shock. This, of course, means that it would not be wise to give Qing Pi to a patient with already high blood pressure (caution in HTN).

From yinyanghouse.com:

• Chen Pi vs. Qing Pi
• Chen Pi - more harmonious/moderate, enters qi level of the spleen and lung, vertical (coughing/vomiting).
• Qing Pi - scatters and unblocks, harsher, used to break up qi stagnation--primarily in the Liver and Gallbladder channels, horizontal (pain).

Qi Regulating Herbs: Ju Hong, Ju He, Ju Ye

Oh how to get these straight? Hong He Ye! My head spins around the tangerine plant with so many parts! On top of that, neither Bensky nor Chen devotes a full entry to these (except for Ju Hong, which has a truncated entry in Bensky). Ju Hong is the only one of the three that is on the state board exams, so, I suppose, in some ways it is the most important. Ju Hong is also the closest to Chen Pi, both being part of the peel of the tangerine. And Chen Pi is a fully respected herb with a fully developed entry in Bensky and Chen. (Hm. Is his name John Aged???)

So here goes.

Ju Hong: Much the same as Chen Pi, Ju Hong goes to the lung and stomach (but not the spleen, like Chen Pi), and is bitter, acrid, and warm (like Chen Pi) but not said to be aromatic (though in place I read it is MORE aromatic). It is more drying than Chen Pi, and less harmonizing - meaning it is less effective at harmonizing the middle burner and regulating the spleen and stomach. Ju Hong is primarily used for vomiting, belching, and treating phlegm damp coughs.
Ju Hong means "Tangerine Red" - a descriptor for the outer most part, the "reddest" part of the tangerine peel. In my samples though, Ju Hong has way more of the white stuff attached to it, and the Chen Pi sample looks like the one that is just the outer most red part. Maybe they're mixed up, or maybe it's just me!


Ju Ye: "Tangerine Leaf" Without a clear entry in Bensky, I'm not sure, but I think Ju Ye goes only to the liver. It is bitter, acrid, and neutral. Ju Ye is said to "dredge the liver to promote qi movement" resulting in a reduction in swellings (specifically, masses/tumors of the breast), turbidity, and stagnation.


Ju He: "Tangerine Pit" Also neutral, Ju He goes to (I think) the Kidney channel and maybe to the UB and Liver. These are the seeds of the tangerine and must be crushed to be ingested, or applied topically. Ju He dissipates clumps / nodules (it looks like a little clump/nodule); and for testicular or breast swelling (hernia, mastitis). Ju He activates qi circulation, specifically liver qi stagnation with a phlegm obstruction.

Qi Regulating Herbs: Chen Pi

陈皮 chen pi percarpium citri reticulatae

acrid, bitter, warm, and aromatic

spleen/stomach, lung

"aged peel" (the dried, aged peel of the tangerine)

Chen pi gets the qi flowing by way of drying damp obstruction and directing downwards. The herb is mild, and used for mild qi stagnation in the middle jiao.
Above: little tangerine man with a full belly

Functions:

1. Regulates qi of middle jiao / regulates spleen stomach qi by directing qi downward. Acts on problems such as bloating, distension, poor appetite, nausea, vomiting, belching, due to both spleen and stomach deficiencies (resulting in an accumulation of damp) as well as the liver overacting on the spleen.

2. Related to the above, Chen Pi dries damp and dissolves phlegm due to its warm, bitter nature. It warms / dries the yang, and indirectly relieves a phlegmy cough (weak spleen creates the phlegm, which is then stored in the lungs, and the lung qi fails to descend).

3. Chen Pi can be mixed into formulas of tonifying herbs to prevent the newly generated qi from stagnating.

In short, Chen Pi 1. disperses clumped qi, 2. disperses cold, and 3. dries damp, thereby transforming phlegm/cold damp that causes poor digestion, focal distension and fullness.

Ways to remember...

Chen Pi - Stuck Qi

A tangerine looks like a distended belly

The citrus fruit causes the phlegm, and the peel relieves it

If you knock a tangerine off the table it will drop heavily on the ground (directs qi downwards)