Knowledge Base/Herbs/Qingpi (Immature Tangerine Peel)
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理气药 · Qi-regulating

Qingpi (Immature Tangerine Peel) qīng pí · 青皮

Citrus reticulata (immature pericarp)

Nature and flavour. Bitter, pungent, warm; Liver, Gallbladder and Stomach systems.

Grouped with the herbs that drain the Liver and break up stagnant Qi, and with those that disperse accumulation and food retention. The texts are consistent on one comparison: this is the immature peel and it is the more forceful, more breaking of the two, while the mature peel, chen pi, is the gentler one used for the Spleen and Stomach. Anyone who assumes they are interchangeable has misread the materia medica.

性味归经。苦、辛，温；归肝、胆、胃经。

传统上列入疏肝破气、消积化滞一类。历代文献在一点上一致：青皮为幼果或未成熟果皮，其性较峻，以「破气」见长；陈皮为成熟果皮，性较缓和，主理脾胃。以为二者可以互换，是读错了本草。

Classical category · no formulas, no dosages, no herb-drug combinations are given.
Safety. Because it is described as breaking Qi, the classical caution is against its use where Qi is depleted, and against its use in pregnancy. As a citrus peel it is also the part of the fruit that carries surface residues, so peel that was not grown and handled as food is not the right material for a tea. This entry does not claim any drug interaction and does not give an amount; anyone taking regular medicine should ask a pharmacist before adding any herb.

因其「破气」之性，传统上气虚者不宜，孕妇不宜。作为柑橘类果皮，它正是果实上最易残留附着物的部位，非按食用标准种植和处理者不宜用来泡饮。本条不主张任何药物相互作用的说法，也不列用量；正在规律服药者，加用任何草药前应先咨询药师。

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