Huai Hua San: Herbal Relief for Bleeding and Hemorrhoids
Hongji Medical- Jan 30
- 5 min read
Huai Hua San, or Pagoda Flower Powder, is a time-tested Chinese herbal formula from Puji Benshi Fang, a classic text of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Known for clearing the intestines, stopping bleeding, dispelling wind, and promoting qi flow, it’s a go-to remedy for conditions like hemorrhoids, blood in the stool, and anal discomfort caused by wind-heat or damp-heat.
With just four herbs, this formula offers gentle yet effective relief, blending ancient wisdom with modern applications.
What’s in Huai Hua San?
Huai Hua San combines four herbs, each playing a specific role to address intestinal bleeding and discomfort. The ingredients and their dosages are:
Pagoda Flower (Huai Hua,): Bitter and slightly cold, stir-fried pagoda flower cools the blood, clears heat, and stops bleeding, targeting the liver and large intestine to relieve hemorrhoid bleeding.
Cypress Leaf (Ce Bai Ye): Bitter and cooling, roasted cypress leaf stops bleeding, clears blood stasis, and reduces inflammation, aiding in healing damaged blood vessels.
Black Mustard Seed (Jing Jie): Pungent and warm, black mustard seed dispels wind and promotes qi flow, easing intestinal discomfort.
Bitter Orange (Zhi Qiao): Bitter and cooling, stir-fried bitter orange with glutinous rice flour regulates qi, reduces bloating, and supports intestinal movement.
Preparation
Decoct the herbs in water and drink warm as a tea. Alternatively, the formula is available as ready-made pills (e.g., Sophora Japonica Pills) for convenience.
How It Works
Huai Hua San targets wind-heat or damp-heat in the intestines, a TCM condition where heat, wind, or dampness blocks blood flow, damages blood vessels, and causes bleeding.
This often manifests as hemorrhoids or blood in the stool, triggered by constipation, prolonged sitting, pregnancy, or spicy diets. The formula works by:
Cooling Blood and Stopping Bleeding: Pagoda flower and cypress leaf clear heat and stabilize blood vessels to halt bleeding.
Dispelling Wind: Black mustard seed clears wind-heat, reducing irritation and discomfort.
Promoting Qi Flow: Bitter orange regulates intestinal qi, easing bloating and promoting peristalsis to relieve constipation.
Reducing Inflammation: The herbs’ volatile oils provide antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, soothing inflamed tissues.
This balanced approach clears blockages, stops bleeding, and restores intestinal health, addressing both symptoms and root causes.
What Does It Treat?
Huai Hua San is used for intestinal conditions caused by wind-heat or damp-heat, with symptoms including:
Blood in the stool (bright red or dark, before or after defecation)
Hemorrhoid bleeding or pain
Anal fissures or swelling
Red tongue with yellow coating
Rapid pulse
These symptoms often arise in hemorrhoids (internal, external, or mixed), colitis, or other conditions involving intestinal bleeding.
Modern Applications
Modern research highlights the antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and blood-regulating properties of Huai Hua San’s herbs, driven by their volatile oils.
Clinical studies, including one with 100 hemorrhoid patients, show significant improvements in bleeding, pain, and swelling, with added benefits for constipation. Key uses include:
Hemorrhoids: Reduces bleeding, swelling, and pain, while improving bowel regularity to prevent recurrence.
Colitis and Anal Fissures: Soothes inflammation and stops bleeding in inflammatory bowel conditions.
Other Bleeding Conditions: Treats blood in the stool from intestinal cancer or dysentery by clearing heat and stabilizing vessels.
Inflammatory Disorders: Manages oral ulcers, jaundice, epistaxis, or skin itching due to heat and wind.
Musculoskeletal Issues: Relieves joint pain, muscle soreness, or traumatic bleeding by clearing stasis and wind.
The formula’s ability to promote intestinal health and reduce inflammation makes it a versatile remedy for heat-related bleeding and discomfort.
Pathogenesis in TCM
In TCM, Huai Hua San addresses intestinal wind and visceral toxins, where wind-heat or damp-heat toxins block intestinal blood flow, damage vessels, and cause bleeding. This manifests as:
Intestinal Wind: Fresh, bright red blood before defecation, often from heat irritating the intestines.
Visceral Toxins: Stagnant, dark blood before or after defecation, tied to damp-heat accumulation.
Triggers include prolonged sitting, constipation, spicy foods, or pregnancy, which disrupt qi and blood flow. Huai Hua San clears heat, cools blood, and moves qi to restore balance.
Precautions
Cold Nature: The formula’s cooling herbs (pagoda flower, cypress leaf) make it unsuitable for long-term use or for bleeding due to qi deficiency (pale, weak pulse) or spleen-stomach cold (loose stools, cold limbs).
Yin Deficiency: Avoid in cases of yin deficiency (dry mouth, night sweats), as cooling herbs may worsen dryness.
Modern Availability: Huai Hua San powder is rare today; use ready-made Sophora Japonica Pills or consult a practitioner for custom decoctions.
Professional Guidance: Consult a TCM practitioner to ensure proper diagnosis and avoid misuse, especially for chronic conditions.
Conclusion
Huai Hua San is a potent Chinese herbal formula that clears the intestines, stops bleeding, and soothes discomfort. With pagoda flower, cypress leaf, black mustard seed, and bitter orange, it effectively treats hemorrhoids, blood in the stool, and related conditions caused by wind-heat or damp-heat.
Backed by modern research for its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, it remains a valuable remedy for intestinal and inflammatory disorders. When used under professional guidance, Huai Hua San offers natural relief, blending TCM tradition with contemporary health solutions.
Chinese Name | 槐花散 |
Phonetic | Huai Hua San |
English Name | Pagoda Tree Flower Powder |
Classification | Blood-regulating formulas |
Source | 《Experiential Formulas for Universal Relief》Pu Ji Ben Shi Fang《普濟本事方》 |
Combination | Sophorae Flos (Huai Hua dry-fried) 12g, Platycladi Cacumen (Ce Bai Ye baked) 12g, Schizonepetae Spica (Jing Jie Sui) 6g, Aurantii Fructus (Zhi Qiao dry-fried with wheat bran) 6g |
Method | Grind the medicinals into a fine powder, and take with rice soup before meals. (Modern use: grind the medicinals into a fine powder, take with warm water or rice soup. It can also be prepared as a decoction by adjusting the dosages according to the proportions of the original formula.) |
Action | Clears the intestines and stanches bleeding, scatters wind and moves qi. |
Indication | The formula is used for patterns of wind heat, and damp toxins obstructing the intestines damaging blood vessels. Bleeding that occurs either before or after defecation, blood stained stool, or hemorrhoid bleeding marks this pattern. The color of the blood can be either bright or dark, the tongue is red with a yellow coating, and the pulse is rapid. |
Pathogenesis | The indication of this formula is to treat intestinal wind or visceral toxins due to wind heat, or damp toxins obstructing the intestines and damaging the blood vessels. Generally speaking, “the blood from intestinal wind is fresh and bright red, and it bleeds in full fury before stool is evacuated. While the blood from viscera toxins is dark and defecated either before or after stool is evacuated.”《Convenient Reader on Established Formulas》Cheng Fang Bian Du《成方便讀》. The primary therapeutic principle is to cool the blood and stanch bleeding, which is assisted by scattering wind and moving qi. |
Application | 1. Essential pattern differentiation Huai Hua San is used to treat hemafecia due to intestinal wind or damp heat. This clinical pattern is marked by bloody stool, bleeding that is bright red in color, red tongue, rapid pulse. 2. Modern applications This formula may be used in the following biomedically defined disorders when the patient shows signs of wind heat or damp heat toxins obstructing the intestines and damaging the blood vessels: hemorrhoid, colonitis, intestinal cancer, or hematochezia originating elsewhere. 3. Cautions and contraindications Since these medicinals are cold and cool in nature, it should only be used for temporary administration rather than for long term use. It is not suitable for bloody stool due to qi deficiency or yin deficiency or weakness of the spleen and the stomach. |
