August 1st, 2007 
Von 
Wallich’s barberry, Wallich’s barberis.
Description:
Erect evergreen shrub, much-branched, 2-3m. high; bark greyish; wood yellow. Stems rigid, downy when young. Leaves in tufts of 2-5, narrow, subsessile, having branched spines at the base; margins sharply toothed Flowers in short-stalked raceme, yellow, axillary. Berry ovoid, red at first, turning black on ripening.
Flowering period:
May – July.
Distribution:
Grows wild in the hills up to 1500m.
Parts used:
The roots, collected in autumn, are sun-dried or heat-dried.
Chemical composition:
The roots contain alkaloids: berberine, oxyacanthine and umbellantine.
Therapeutic uses:
The roots possess antibacterial properties and are useful for treating diarrhoea, dysentery, ophthalmia and dyspepsia. They are available in decoction, powder or tablet form and are administered orally in doses of 4 to 6g per day. The alcoholic maceration is employed as a gargle for toothache and is orally administered for headache, vertigo and photopsia.
Source: Medicinal plants in Viet Nam (Institute of Materia Medica – HANOI – WHO/WPRO, 1990, 444 p.)
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