Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Shi Liu Pi is the dried rind, or outer peel, of the pomegranate fruit. It is a single herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, not a mixed formula. Its other common name is pomegranate rind.
It is used mainly to firm up long-running diarrhoea and to help push out intestinal worms. Classical texts also use it for rectal prolapse (when part of the bowel slips out of the anus) and for heavy vaginal discharge.
The traditional record is long and wide, but human trial evidence for the rind itself is very thin. A long history of use is not proof that something works, and that point applies to every section below.
The rind is strongly astringent. That means it tightens and dries tissue, which is the traditional reason it is given for watery stools.
In lab terms, the peel is packed with tannins. Tannins bind to proteins in the gut lining and may make it less leaky, which could slow down loose stools.
The rind also holds small amounts of natural alkaloids (plant chemicals that act on nerves). In animal work these can paralyse worms, which is the old reason for its use against tapeworm. These are ideas from laboratory and animal studies, not proven effects in people.
You will mostly find Shi Liu Pi as dried, cut pieces of rind for making a decoction (a tea simmered for a while). Chinese pharmacies also sell a charred version, Shi Liu Pi Tan, which is seen as more drying.
Other forms include powders, capsules and liquid extracts. Pomegranate juice and seed oil are not the same thing — they come from other parts of the fruit and are not used this way. Peel powder is also made into mouth rinses and skin washes.
Pomegranate rind appears in the Ming Yi Bie Lu, a Chinese drug text from about the 5th century, and has stayed in use ever since for loose stools and worms. Ayurvedic, Unani and old European practice used the same peel for the same two problems, which is why its traditional standing is broad.
See a doctor if your diarrhoea lasts more than two days, or if you see blood in your stool, run a fever, or cannot keep fluids down.
Go to an emergency department if you get blurred sight, double vision, bad dizziness, strong muscle weakness or repeated vomiting after taking it. Take the packet with you.
Also book an appointment if you think you have worms. You need a proper test and a modern worm medicine, not this herb.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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