Sang Bai Pi (Bark of Mulberry Root)

Chinese Herb Actions

Chinese Herb Dosage

• What is the dosage of Sang Bai Pi?

  9–15 g in decoction. It is often honey-fried (mi zhi) to moderate its cold nature and enhance its cough-stopping action when treating cough without pronounced heat.

  Source: owner’s Five Branches notes (3–5 qian) with standard materia medica ranges. Reference only — not a prescription.

Chinese Herb Contraindications & Cautions

• Are there cautions or contraindications for Sang Bai Pi?

  Sang Bai Pi is contraindicated for wind-cold cough. Because it is sweet and cold and drains Lung heat, it is not suited to cough from cold, and should be used with caution where there is Lung deficiency or cold without heat. Honey-frying it moderates the coldness in such borderline cases.

  Source: owner’s Five Branches notes (Contra: Wind-Cold cough).

Chinese Herb Toxicity & Overdose

• Low. No significant toxicity is reported for mulberry root bark at normal therapeutic doses; it is a commonly used, well-tolerated herb.

  Source: materia medica consensus; no toxicity signal in the reviewed research.

Herb-Drug Interactions

• No well-established clinical herb–drug interactions are documented. Laboratory research reports blood-pressure-lowering and anti-inflammatory activity (see Research), so practitioner caution is reasonable alongside antihypertensive medication. (Flagged for practitioner confirmation — absence of documented interactions is not proof of safety.)

Western / Biomedical Research

Chinese Herb Clinical Studies & Research

Provided as research context — a summary of published biomedical study, not a therapeutic or medical claim.

• Is there modern research on Sang Bai Pi (Morus alba root bark)?

  Yes, though it is largely preclinical. Pharmacology reviews describe mulberry root bark (Mori Cortex) as traditionally relieving cough and asthma, promoting water passage, lowering blood pressure, and acting against inflammation, with its prenylated flavonoids the most-studied constituents. In an animal model of airway inflammation, an ethanol extract of the root bark inhibited bronchitis-like symptoms, and flavonoids such as kuwanon E, kuwanon G, and norartocarpanone reduced IL-6 production in lung epithelial cells.

  • Anti-inflammatory mechanism: constituents including kuwanon T and sanggenon A suppress the NF-κB pathway and iNOS expression in laboratory studies.
  • Limitations: the evidence is chiefly in vitro and animal work; human clinical data are limited.

  Sources: PMID 38694910 (review of Morus alba medicinal parts incl. Mori Cortex, DOI 10.3389/fphar.2024.1364948); PMID 23806866 (root barks & flavonoids inhibit airway inflammation). Research context, not a therapeutic claim.

Chinese Herb Notes

• How is Sang Bai Pi different from similar cough herbs, and what is it combined with?

  Sang Bai Pi is the go-to herb for heat-type cough and cough with edema, distinguishing it from the other cough-and-wheeze herbs by pattern. It is chosen when the cough or wheeze arises from Lung heat, and especially when there is accompanying water swelling.

  How it compares:

  • vs Pi Pa Ye — Pi Pa Ye is better for a dry cough; Sang Bai Pi is for heat-induced cough and cough with edema.
  • vs Xing Ren — Xing Ren is directed at cough with wheezing generally; Sang Bai Pi targets the Lung-heat and water-accumulation pattern.
  • vs Ting Li Zi — Ting Li Zi drains the Lungs and reduces edema far more harshly (very cold, for excess phlegm-water); Sang Bai Pi is gentler and heat-clearing.

  Common combination: with Di Gu Pi (the Xie Bai San framework) to drain heat from the Lung and stop cough and wheezing.

  Source: owner’s Five Branches notes (cough-herb differentiation: Sang Bai Pi vs Pi Pa Ye vs Xing Ren; Ting Li Zi category entry).