Common Name: Bai Ji Tian, Morinda officinalis, Translated as Clinging Halberd of Heaven, medicinal Indian mulberry root

 

Family: Rubiaceae

 

Part used:  Root

 

Active constituents:  Rudiadin, physcion, monotropein, asperulosidetetraacetate, palmitic acid, morindin, tertraacetate, beta-sitosterol, monoscaccharide, polysaccharide, cardiac glycoside, flavones, amino acid, anthraquinone, minerals: K, Ca, Mg, Vitamin C.

 

Actions:  Yang Tonifying herb. Tonic, increase weight gain; tonic to the pituitary and adrenal cortex;  TCM Actions: 1.tonify the Kidney and assists Yang; 2. Dispel wind and transform Damp; 3. Strengthen the sinews and bones; 4. increase mental powers; 5. quiet and soothe the Five Organs

 

Indications:  Soreness and weakness of the back and hind limbs due to a deficiency of Kidney yang; wind/cold/damp pain in lumbar region, hip, stifle, hock with difficulty walking; muscle spasms and cramps, joint pain, difficulty flexing the joints, and muscle atrophy;  infertility, impotence, premature ejaculation, ear-ringing from Kidney yang deficiency; urinary incontinence and frequency;  to strengthen bone degeneration and help in repair of bone fractures

 

Cautions & Contraindications:  Deficient Yin with heat or Damp-Heat; do not use as a single-herb remedy some consider slightly toxic so combine with Glycyrrhiza, Gan Cao, to help neutralize any possible toxicity; it should be used in combination with yin, jing or blood tonics

 

Side Effects: May cause internal fire of heat; no toxicity reported feeding at a rate of 250 g/kg.

 

Herb Drug interactions:  Possible antagonizes Dan Shen

 

Dose (Human and Veterinary):  (Xie) Horses and cows: 15-30 g; Llamas, alpacas, goats, sheep, and pigs: 5-10 g; camels: 30-60 g; dogs: 1-5 g; cats: 0.5-2 g; rabbits: 0.5-1.5 g; Birds: 0.1-1.5 g (Chen): Human:  10-15 grams in decoction.  It can also be used in medicinal tincture, and in pill or powder form.

 

Notes:  Good quality is thick, large, interconnected and purple.

 

Energetics:  Slightly warm, pungent, sweet

 

Channels: Kidney, Live

 

Xie: Combinations: for sore and weak low back due to Kidney Yang deficiency: use with Dipsacus, Xu Duan and Eucommia, Du Zhong

For wind/cold/damp: combine with: Cibotium, Gou Ji; Loranthus, Sang Ji Sheng; Cyathula, Niu Xi; or Eucommia, Du Zhong; Dipsacus, Xu Duan; and Cyathula, Niu Xi  Kidney deficiency: Combine with Ginseng, Ren Shen; Cistanche Rou Cong Rong; and Cuscuta, Tu Si Zi or Epimedium Yin Yang Huo and Dioscorea, Shan Yao Urinary incontinence:  combine with Psoralea, Bu Gu Zhi and Rubus, Fu Pen Zi; Alpinia, Yi Zhi Ren or San Piao Xiao, Ootheca Mantidis, Tu Si Zi, Cuscuta seed. Bone fractures: with Dipsacus, Xu Duan Renal diseases: with Cornus, Shan Zhu Yu

 

Chen and Chen: Irregular Menstruation, clear vaginal discharge: with Rou Gui, Cortes Cinnamomi, Wu Zhu Yu, Evodia fruit; Gao Liang Jiang, Rhizoma Alpiniae officinarum, salt, and warm, grain-based liquor. Impotence: combine with Ren Shen, Ginseng; Lu Rong, Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum; Shan Yao, Dioscorea, and Yin Yang Huo, Epimedium.

 

 History: Ba Ji Tian was accidentally used.  Zhuge Liang’s (181-234 CE) army had been waiting in the cold during a storm and had starting eating a white purple root, tender texture, fleshy appearance with a sweet and spicy tastes.  It was popular as it was warming so everyone ate great amounts.  But after a few days of eating great quantities, there was an embarrassing side-effect.  The men developed painful long-standing erections.  All the men were groaning so badly, they scared the enemy away; winning the battle.  Zhuge Liang’s summarized the battle by saying, “Ba Ji pointed to the sky, gave man’s power, and made the enemy run away.”  Ba Ji literally refers to a halberd, which is a spear-like weapon. The character reversed is the slang for a male’s penis.   Bai Ji Tian has often been used in formulas that tonify the Kidney Yang.  It is taken as a tonic to strengthen the mind and vertebral column.  It is also good for both male and female fertility; it can lower blood pressure

 

Chen and Chen: In men, the chief manifestations of Kidney yang deficiency are impotence, spermatorrhea, pre-mature ejaculation and urinary incontinence.  In women, it manifests in deficiency and cold signs such as infertility, blood clots during menstruation, dull lower abdominal pain and coldness.  Ba Ji Tian tonifies blood and jing essence at the same time. The unprocessed herb is commonly used to warm the yang of the Kidney Spleen and Stomach; Frying it with salt increases its warmth, but not its drying influence; this it more strongly tonifies the kidney and strengthens the muscles and tendons.  Long-term use of the salt-fried herb is also effective for treating premature ejaculation and incontinency caused by yang deficiency.

The yang-tonifying function is not as strong as Yin Yang Huo or Lu Rong but Bai Ji Tian has a nourishing function to tonify jing and blood, which prevents the creation of a deficient fire in the body.