桑白皮

桑白皮为桑树（Morus alba，即白桑）根部剥取的白色内皮，因其色白、取自根部而得名，是桑树全株入药部位中最重要的一种。

桑树自古便是与养蚕业密不可分的重要经济作物，桑叶饲蚕、桑皮入药、桑枝入方，一株桑树几乎全身皆可利用，是中华农耕文明中'桑蚕文化'的重要载体。

Mulberry root bark is the white inner bark stripped from the roots of the mulberry tree (Morus alba, white mulberry). It is named for its white color and its origin from the root, making it one of the most important medicinal parts of the entire mulberry tree.

The mulberry tree has long been an economic crop inseparable from silk cultivation. Its leaves feed silkworms, its bark serves as medicine, and its branches enter herbal formulas — nearly every part of the tree can be put to use, making it an important vessel of the 'mulberry-silkworm culture' within Chinese agrarian civilization.

《本草纲目》称桑白皮'甘寒，能泻肺气之实,消痰止咳'，古时医家常以其配伍地骨皮、甘草等药，治疗肺热咳喘、痰黄气急之症，是清泻肺热的常用药材。

经典方剂'泻白散'即以桑白皮为主药，配伍地骨皮、甘草，专治肺热喘咳、皮肤蒸热之症，是流传千年的清肺经典验方。

The Bencao Gangmu describes mulberry root bark as 'sweet and cold, able to drain excess lung qi and dissolve phlegm to stop cough.' Physicians of old commonly combined it with lycium root bark and licorice to treat lung-heat cough and wheezing with yellow phlegm and rapid breathing — a commonly used herb for clearing and draining lung heat.

The classic formula 'Xiebai San' (White-Draining Powder) takes mulberry root bark as its principal ingredient, paired with lycium root bark and licorice, specifically to treat lung-heat wheezing cough and steaming heat of the skin — a classic lung-clearing formula passed down for a thousand years.

桑白皮兼有利水消肿之效，古时医家常用其治疗水肿、小便不利之症，尤其对肺气不宣所致的水肿尤为适宜，取其泻肺利水之功。

民间亦有用桑白皮煎汤内服，调理面目浮肿、全身水肿之症的经验，因其药性平和、甘寒不伤正，历代沿用不衰。

Mulberry root bark also disinhibits water and reduces swelling. Physicians of old commonly used it to treat edema and difficulty urinating, particularly well-suited for edema caused by unfree lung qi, drawing on its function of draining the lungs and disinhibiting water.

Folk practice also includes decocting mulberry root bark for internal use to treat facial puffiness and generalized edema. Because its properties are gentle and its sweet-cold nature does not harm the body's righteous qi, it has remained in continuous use throughout the ages.

桑白皮多在冬季桑树落叶后采挖根部，剥取白色内皮，去除粗糙的栓皮层，切成丝状或段状，晒干后方可入药。

老药工鉴别桑白皮讲究'色白质厚、纤维细密',认为色泽愈白、纤维愈细密者药力愈纯,这一经验标准至今仍是判断桑白皮品质的重要依据。

Mulberry root bark is typically harvested in winter after the mulberry tree's leaves have fallen, when the roots are dug up and the white inner bark is stripped away, the rough corky outer layer removed, then cut into strips or segments and sun-dried before being fit for medicinal use.

Veteran herb dealers judge quality mulberry root bark by the standard 'white in color, thick in substance, fine and dense in fiber,' believing that the whiter the color and the finer the fiber, the purer the medicinal potency — a criterion that remains an important basis for judging mulberry root bark quality to this day.

现代研究发现桑白皮含有黄酮类、多糖类等成分，具有一定的降压、利尿、抗炎作用，与古人'泻肺利水'之说相互印证，也让这味传统药材在现代方剂中仍占有一席之地。

如今桑白皮仍常用于呼吸系统疾病及水肿的辅助调理方剂之中，延续着这味源自桑蚕文化的古老药材跨越千年的实用价值。

Modern research has found that mulberry root bark contains flavonoids, polysaccharides, and other compounds with certain antihypertensive, diuretic, and anti-inflammatory properties — corroborating the ancient claim of 'draining the lungs and disinhibiting water,' and securing this traditional herb a place in modern formulas.

Today, mulberry root bark is still commonly used in supportive formulas for respiratory conditions and edema, continuing the practical value of this ancient medicine, rooted in mulberry-silkworm culture, across a thousand years.