Shi Da Gong Lao Gen

Shi Da Gong Lao Gen (十大功劳根) is the dried root and root bark of Mahonia bealei (Fortune) Carrière and Mahonia fortunei (Lindl.) Fedde, evergreen shrubs in the Berberidaceae native to central and southern China. These shrubs reach 1–4 m tall and bear stout, pithy stems and large pinnately compound leaves of 5–19 stiff, spiny-toothed, holly-like leaflets that are glaucous beneath in M. bealei. Erect terminal racemes of fragrant yellow flowers appear in autumn or winter, followed by clusters of glaucous blue-black berries. The wood and inner bark of roots and lower stems are bright yellow from high concentrations of berberine and related isoquinoline alkaloids; the dried root is used as a bitter anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agent comparable in actions to Huang Lian.