ChuanxiongCHUANXIONG RHIZOMA
Source
This product is the dried rhizome of the plant Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort., belonging to the Umbelliferae family.
Related Names
Xionglingzi, Xiongren, Xiongqiong, Huoxiong, Duxiong, Fuxiong, Jingxiong, Taixiong, Xixiong, Que Naoxiong, Jiuyuanmiao, Jiu Xiong, Shanjuxiong, Shanjuxiong.
Production Area and Growth Environment
Mainly produced in Dujiangyan City, Pengzhou City, and Chongzhou City in Sichuan Province. Also found in Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, and Hubei. Mostly cultivated.
Chuanxiong prefers a mild climate with abundant rainfall, sufficient sunlight, and a relatively humid environment.
Harvesting and Processing
Harvest in summer when the nodes on the stem are significantly prominent and slightly purple. Remove soil, sun-dry, and then bake, removing the fibrous roots.
Identification of Characteristics
This product is an irregular, nodular, fist-shaped mass, with a diameter of 2-7 cm. The surface is gray-brown or brown, rough and wrinkled, with many parallel raised nodes. The top has a depressed, round stem scar, and the underside and nodes have many small tuberous root scars. It is solid, not easily broken, with a cross-section that is yellow-white or gray-yellow, scattered with yellow-brown oil chambers, and the growth rings appear wavy. It has a strong aroma, a bitter and spicy taste, with a slight numbing sensation on the tongue and a mild sweetness aftertaste.
Processed Slices
Irregular thick slices, with an outer skin that is yellow-brown or brown, featuring wrinkled patterns. The cross-section is yellow-white or gray-yellow, scattered with yellow-brown oil spots, showing distinct wavy ring patterns or polygonal textures. The longitudinal cut edges are uneven, resembling a butterfly shape, commonly referred to as “butterfly slices,” with a cut surface that is gray-white or yellow-white, scattered with yellow-brown.
Properties and Channels
Spicy, warm. Enters the Liver, Gallbladder, and Pericardium meridians.
Characteristics
This product is spicy and warm, dispersing and moving, entering the blood and qi, ascending to the head and descending to the blood sea. It is effective in promoting blood circulation and qi movement, dispelling wind, and alleviating pain. It treats blood stasis and qi stagnation-related pains, especially suitable for cold conditions, earning it the title of “qi medicine in the blood.” It is best for headaches due to wind-cold and blood stasis, and can also be selected according to symptoms for wind-heat, wind-damp, and blood deficiency types, hence the saying “headaches are never far from Chuanxiong.”
Functions
Invigorates blood circulation, promotes qi movement, dispels wind, and alleviates pain.
Indications
(1) Irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, difficult labor, postpartum stasis abdominal pain.
(2) Chest obstruction and heart pain, lateral rib pain, limb numbness, traumatic injuries, sore and swollen pain.
(3) Headaches, rheumatic pain.
Usage Precautions
This product is spicy and warm, thus not suitable for those with yin deficiency and excess heat, qi deficiency with profuse sweating, qi counterflow with vomiting, excessive menstruation, and hemorrhagic diseases.
Pharmacology
This product can inhibit vascular smooth muscle contraction, dilate coronary arteries, increase coronary blood flow, reduce peripheral vascular resistance, improve microcirculation, inhibit platelet aggregation, and prevent thrombosis. It also promotes hematopoiesis in the bone marrow, has sedative effects, relieves spasms, regulates immune function, and exhibits anti-radiation and anti-tumor properties.
Editor: Science and Education Department
