Tangerine peel is the fruit peel of the citrus plant from the Rutaceae family and its various related citrus species. It is also known as Chenpi because it is considered more effective when aged for medicinal use, and it is one of the six aged herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. The tangerine peel produced in the Xinhui region of Guangzhou is of superior quality and is also referred to as Guang Chenpi or Xinhui peel. It is commonly used raw or stir-fried.
I. Efficacy and Application
Tangerine Peel has a pungent and bitter taste, and a warm nature. It belongs to the Spleen and Lung meridians, and is a Qi-regulating herb for both the Spleen and Lung meridians.
Efficacy: It can regulate qi and harmonize the middle, dry dampness, and transform phlegm. Its characteristics include being adept at regulating the qi mechanism of the middle jiao and effectively dispelling damp phlegm, making it a key herb for treating spleen and stomach distension and fullness, as well as phlegm-dampness. Huang Yuanyu described it as an excellent herb for moving stagnation and regulating qi.
It is commonly used for the treatment of abdominal distension and fullness, reduced appetite with vomiting and diarrhea, cough with excessive phlegm, and other conditions.
Summary of Famous Works by Renowned Authors:
The Classic of Materia Medica: "(In ancient texts, only orange peel is discussed, without distinction between aged tangerine peel and green tangerine peel) It primarily treats accumulations and heat in the chest, promotes digestion. Long-term use eliminates foul odors, directs qi downward, and connects with the spirit."
Bie Lu: "It lowers qi, stops vomiting and coughing, eliminates bladder heat retention, water retention, and five types of strangury, promotes urination, treats spleen's inability to digest food, qi rushing to the chest, vomiting and cholera, stops diarrhea, and removes tapeworms."
"Compendium of Materia Medica": "Treats vomiting, retching, acid reflux, occasional clear water vomiting, phlegm obstruction, malaria, constipation, and breast abscess in women. When added to food, it neutralizes the toxicity of fish and crab."
Changsha Materia Medica: "Descends turbid yin to stop vomiting and retching, moves stagnant qi to relieve depression and fullness, excels at opening the chest and diaphragm, and most effectively clears phlegm and saliva."
"Compendium of Materia Medica": "Regulates the middle and soothes the diaphragm, guides stagnation and dissolves phlegm, promotes urination and breaks up masses, unblocks and harmonizes the five viscera, and governs all diseases, all of which rely on its function of regulating qi and drying dampness."
II. Compatibility and Application
1. Used for abdominal distension and fullness, belching, nausea, vomiting, and other symptoms caused by stagnation of spleen and stomach qi. Tangerine peel has a fragrant aroma and warm nature, capable of promoting movement and descending, with the functions of regulating qi, invigorating the spleen, and harmonizing the middle to relieve diaphragm discomfort. For treating abdominal distension, fullness, or pain, it is often combined with qi-regulating and pain-relieving herbs such as bitter orange and costus root.
If treating stomach disharmony and descent, nausea and retching, it is often combined with ginger, known as Tangerine Peel Decoction.
Huang Yuanyu said, "Tangerine peel breaks up congestion and sweeps away turbid stasis, while ginger lowers rebellious qi and moves stagnant accumulations."
If treating vomiting with phlegm-heat, it is often combined with bamboo shavings and coptis, as in Warm Gallbladder Decoction.
If treating abdominal pain and diarrhea caused by liver qi invading the spleen, it is often combined with Atractylodes macrocephala, white peony root, and Saposhnikovia divaricata, which is the formula known as Tong Xie Yao Fang.
If treating spleen and stomach qi deficiency with indigestion, it is often combined in the Four Gentlemen Decoction, known as Yi Gong Powder.
For treating chest and hypochondriac distension and fullness, alternating chills and fever, nausea and retching, and epigastric hardness and fullness, it is often combined with Platycodon Root, Pinellia Tuber, and Immature Bitter Orange, known as Platycodon Decoction.
Huang Yuanyu said, "It lowers turbidity and stops vomiting, moves stagnation and transforms phlegm, while being harmonious and smooth, not to the extent of breaking qi and damaging the upright, making it an excellent medicine for moving stagnation and regulating qi."
Wang Ang said, "Bitter can dry and purge, warm can tonify and harmonize. With tonifying herbs, it tonifies; with purging herbs, it purges; with ascending herbs, it ascends; with descending herbs, it descends. It is a herb for the qi aspect of the spleen and lung."
2. For symptoms such as chest tightness, abdominal distension, poor appetite, fatigue, loose stools, thick and greasy tongue coating due to damp turbidity obstructing the middle, as well as phlegm-damp stagnation, lung failing to diffuse and descend, cough with copious phlegm, and rebellious qi. Tangerine peel can both regulate qi and dry dampness. To treat the above symptoms caused by damp stagnation in the spleen and stomach, it is often combined with Atractylodes, Magnolia Bark, and Licorice, forming the famous formula Ping Wei San, which dries dampness and strengthens the spleen.
If treating hiccup due to spleen deficiency and stomach rebellion, and turbid yin failing to descend, it is often combined with ginseng, licorice root, bamboo shavings, and fresh ginger, which is Tangerine Peel and Bamboo Shavings Decoction.
If treating chest obstruction and shortness of breath, it is often combined with ginger and immature bitter orange, known as Tangerine Peel, Immature Bitter Orange, and Ginger Decoction.
If there is stagnant phlegm and retained fluid in the chest and epigastrium, and after spontaneous vomiting of fluid, there is a sensation of deficiency and fullness in the chest and epigastrium, with inability to eat, one can add ginseng, white atractylodes, and poria to the Tangerine Peel, Immature Bitter Orange, and Fresh Ginger Decoction, which is then known as the Waital Poria Decoction.
In the treatment of damp phlegm syndrome, characterized by cough with copious phlegm, nausea and vomiting, chest and diaphragm fullness and oppression, heavy sensation in the limbs, or dizziness and palpitations, white and slippery or greasy tongue coating, and slippery pulse, it is often combined with Pinellia ternata, Poria cocos, and ginger, forming the renowned formula for drying dampness and resolving phlegm, Er Chen Tang.
The Pearl Bag: "With licorice, it tonifies the lungs; without licorice, it purges the lungs."
Wang Ang said, "When aged, the fierce qi dissipates, eliminating the risk of dryness and dispersion. The same applies to Pinellia, hence the name Er Chen Tang."
3. For relieving stagnation caused by tonics. Tangerine peel has the function of regulating qi. When used together with large doses of qi-tonifying herbs, it can not only invigorate the spleen and stomach but also achieve the effect of tonifying without causing stagnation.
For the treatment of spleen deficiency with qi sinking syndrome, manifested as reduced appetite, fatigue and weakness of limbs, shortness of breath and reluctance to speak, as well as prolapse of the anus, uterine prolapse, chronic diarrhea and dysentery, metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, it is often combined with ginseng, astragalus, angelica, licorice, and atractylodes, which is known as the Buzhong Yiqi Decoction. In the formula, astragalus is used in large doses to tonify the middle and replenish qi, raise yang and consolidate the exterior, thus serving as the sovereign herb; ginseng, roasted licorice, and atractylodes tonify qi and strengthen the spleen, serving as minister herbs; angelica nourishes blood and harmonizes the nutrient aspect, and also assists ginseng and astragalus in tonifying qi and nourishing blood, while tangerine peel regulates qi and harmonizes the stomach, preventing the other herbs from causing stagnation, collectively serving as assistant herbs; a small amount of cimicifuga and bupleurum raise yang and lift the sinking, assisting the sovereign herb in elevating the sunken middle qi, and roasted licorice also harmonizes all the herbs, collectively serving as envoy herbs. The formula has a clear intention, rigorous compatibility, with each herb fulfilling its role as sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy, making it a model for learning prescription formulation.
III. Usage and Dosage
Tangerine peel is often used in decoctions and can also be made into pills or powders. The usual dosage in decoctions ranges from a few grams to over ten grams; for treating phlegm and fluid retention in the chest, it can be used in doses of several tens of grams or more, as seen in the formula Waitai Fuling Decoction.
Wang Ang said: For treating phlegm cough, soak in child's urine; for treating phlegm accumulation, stir-fry with ginger juice; for treating the lower jiao, stir-fry with salt water. Remove the skin of the kernel and stir-fry before use.
IV. Application Notes
Tangerine peel is pungent, dispersing, warm, and drying. Its warm nature can promote heat, so it should be used with caution in cases of red tongue with little moisture and internal excess heat.
Li Dongyuan said, "With Atractylodes macrocephala, it tonifies the spleen and stomach; without Atractylodes macrocephala, it purges the spleen and stomach, but do not use it excessively."
Wang Ang said: "Excessive and prolonged consumption damages the body's vital energy."
Attached Medicines: The Efficacy and Application of Tangerine Seed, Tangerine Peel, and Tangerine Leaf
1. The Efficacy and Application of Tangerine Seed
Tangerine seed is the seed of the tangerine. It has a bitter taste and a neutral nature. It belongs to the liver meridian. Its functions include promoting qi circulation, dispersing nodules, and relieving pain. It is commonly used in the treatment of conditions such as hernia, testicular swelling and pain, and breast lumps.
The orange seed has a strong effect in breaking qi, so the dosage should not be too large, typically ranging from a few grams to over ten grams. It should be used with caution in individuals with weak constitutions.
2. The Efficacy and Application of Tangerine Peel
After removing the inner white part of the tangerine peel and drying it, it becomes tangerine red. It is named tangerine red because the white part is removed and the red part is retained. It has a bitter taste and a pungent, warm nature. Its functions include regulating qi and soothing the middle, drying dampness, and resolving phlegm. It is commonly used to treat conditions such as cough with excessive phlegm and food stagnation without signs of heat.
Li Dongyuan said: "If tonifying the spleen and stomach, do not remove the white part (i.e., tangerine peel); if regulating the chest and lung qi, it is necessary to remove the white part (i.e., red tangerine peel)."
Wang Ang said: "When used in tonifying medicine, the white part is retained; when used in medicine for descending qi and resolving phlegm, the white part is removed."
3. The Efficacy and Application of Orange Leaves
Tangerine leaf is the leaf of the tangerine tree. It has a pungent taste and a bitter, neutral nature. It belongs to the liver meridian. Its functions include soothing the liver and promoting qi flow, reducing swelling, and dissipating nodules. It is commonly used in the treatment of conditions such as hypochondriac pain, breast abscess, breast lumps, and abdominal masses.
Wang Ang said: "Removing the white part yields tangerine peel, which can also dispel cold and release the exterior. The seeds treat hernia pain, and the leaves disperse breast abscesses. All can enter the Jueyin channel, regulate liver qi, reduce swelling, and dissipate toxins."
Practical Notes on Traditional Chinese Medicine: Second Draft at Noon on January 21, 2021#TCM Practical Notes#
