The Efficacy of Fuzi (Aconite): Nourishing Fire and Assisting Yang, Dispelling Cold and Alleviating Pain

The efficacy of Fuzi (Aconite) in Traditional Chinese Medicine includes reviving yang, nourishing fire, dispelling cold, and alleviating pain. Clinically, Fuzi can be decocted to improve the body’s constitution, particularly for treating weak patients. It is effective in treating edema due to kidney yang deficiency, as well as male impotence, female cold in the uterus, and symptoms of coldness throughout the body, especially spasms of the meridians caused by external cold pathogens. Fuzi can also treat and improve heart failure, particularly in correcting crises due to significant decline in heart function. The contraindications for Fuzi mainly stem from its toxicity, which can easily cause symptoms such as nervous excitement and paralysis. Therefore, it should not be used by pregnant women or those with excessive internal heat. Fuzi should not be combined with herbs such as Banxia (Pinellia), Guo Lou (Trichosanthes), Bei Mu (Fritillaria), and Bai Ji (Bletilla). Its clinical use is best conducted under the guidance of a physician.

What the doctor says:

1. Efficacy and Function: Nourishing Fire and Assisting Yang, Dispelling Cold and Alleviating Pain

Fuzi enters the heart, kidney, and spleen meridians and is characterized by its extreme heat. It can assist heart yang to open the meridians, nourish kidney yang to benefit fire, and rescue the lost original yang. It has a positive effect on symptoms such as poor appetite, loose stools, heaviness in the body, clear and frequent urination, tinnitus, and vivid dreams caused by heart and kidney yang deficiency. Additionally, Fuzi can warm the meridians, dispel cold, and alleviate pain, relieving symptoms such as cold limbs, abdominal pain, lower back and knee pain, and headaches.

2. Precautions

1. Suitable Population: Those with heart yang deficiency, kidney yang deficiency.

2. Contraindicated Population: Pregnant women, those with yin deficiency and yang excess.

3. Foods to Avoid: Spicy foods, white liquor, Fang Feng (Siler), Licorice, Ginseng, Banxia, Guo Lou, Bei Mu, Bai Lian, Bai Ji.

Fuzi is extremely hot and should not be consumed in large quantities with spicy and hot foods, such as chili and white liquor. Excessive consumption can lead to internal heat, resulting in symptoms like red, swollen eyes and constipation. Furthermore, Fuzi is antagonistic to Fang Feng, Licorice, Ginseng, and Banxia, Guo Lou, Bei Mu, Bai Lian, Bai Ji, and should not be taken together.

4. Methods of Consumption

Decoction

Take an appropriate amount of Bu Gu Zhi (Psoralea), Rou Gui (Cinnamon), Fuzi, and Licorice, place them in a clay pot, and decoct with water for about 20 minutes, then strain and drink. Fuzi is toxic, and specific usage methods and dosages should follow medical advice.

Porridge

Prepare an appropriate amount of japonica rice, Fuzi, dried ginger, and scallions. Wash the rice clean, place it in a pot, add an appropriate amount of water, Fuzi, dried ginger, and scallions, and cook for forty minutes before serving.

Soup

Prepare an old hen, an appropriate amount of Fuzi, salt, scallion segments, ginger, and cooking wine. Clean the hen, place it in cold water, add scallion segments, ginger, and cooking wine to remove the fishy smell, boil vigorously, then rinse with cold water. In a pot, add water, the hen pieces, and Fuzi, and cook for forty minutes before adding appropriate seasonings and continuing to cook for another twenty minutes before serving.

【Pharmacological Knowledge】

【Herbal Name】 Fuzi (Aconite)

【Alias】 Cezi, Huzhang, Shou Bai Fuzi, Hei Fuzi, Ming Fu Pian, Diao Fu, Chuan Fuzi.

【Source】 Processed product of the tuberous roots of the plant Aconitum carmichaelii Debx from the Ranunculaceae family.

【Distribution】 Grows in mountainous grass slopes, shrubs, and forest edges. Distributed in provinces such as Yunnan, Sichuan, Hubei, Guizhou, Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, and Liaoning. Sichuan and Shaanxi are the main cultivation areas, where the main root (mother root) is processed into Chuan Wu, and the lateral root (child root) is processed into Fuzi.

Harvesting and Processing Harvest from late June to early August, removing the mother root, fibrous roots, and soil, commonly referred to as “mud Fuzi“. Process into the following specifications: (1) Select large, uniform mud Fuzi, wash clean, soak in edible saltwater overnight, then add salt and continue soaking, taking out daily to dry, gradually extending the drying time until the surface of Fuzi shows a large number of crystalline salt particles (salt frost), and the texture becomes hard, commonly referred to as “salt Fuzi“. (2) Take mud Fuzi, wash clean according to size, soak in edible saltwater for several days, boil with the soaking liquid until thoroughly cooked, then remove, rinse, cut into slices about 0.5 cm thick, soak in water, dye with coloring liquid to a dark tea color, steam until oil surface and gloss appear, then dry or continue drying, commonly referred to as “black shun slices”. (3) Select uniform-sized mud Fuzi, wash clean, soak in edible saltwater for several days, boil with the soaking liquid until thoroughly cooked, then remove the skin, cut into slices about 0.3 cm thick, soak in water, steam until cooked, and dry, commonly referred to as “white Fuzi slices”.

【Pharmacological Research】 Cardiotonic; anti-myocardial ischemia; anti-shock; inhibits coagulation and anti-thrombus formation; anti-inflammatory; analgesic; local anesthesia; enhances humoral immunity; stimulates spontaneous contraction of intestinal tubes, inhibits gastric emptying; relieves asthma and relaxes bronchi; has effects against smooth muscle spasms.

——– Efficacy and Formulas ——–

【Nature and Taste】 Hot in nature, pungent and sweet in taste, with great toxicity. Enters the heart, kidney, and spleen meridians.

【Efficacy and Function】 Revives yang, rescues from collapse, nourishes fire, assists yang, dispels cold, and alleviates pain. It belongs to warming interior medicines.

【Clinical Applications】 Dosage of 3-15 grams, decocted first, and cooked for a long time. Used for yang collapse, cold limbs, weak pulse, heart yang deficiency, chest obstruction and heart pain, deficiency cold vomiting and diarrhea, abdominal cold pain, kidney yang deficiency, impotence, cold water edema, yang deficiency with external pathogens, and cold damp obstruction pain.

【Usage Contraindications】 Contraindicated for those with yin deficiency and yang excess, true heat with false cold, and pregnant women. It is not advisable to drink alcohol while taking the medicine, nor to use white liquor as a guide. It should not be used with Banxia, Guo Lou, Tian Hua Fen, Bei Mu, Bai Lian, Bai Ji.

【Compatible Formulas】 For reference only

① For treating vomiting, sweating, fever, chills, and cold limbs: Licorice 60g (roasted), dried ginger 45g, Fuzi (raw, peeled, broken into eight pieces) one piece. Combine these three ingredients, boil with three liters of water, and reduce to one liter and two cups, then strain. Take warm. (From “Shang Han Lun” Si Ni Decoction)

② For treating children’s diarrhea: Fuzi 15g, He Zi (Terminalia) fruit 30g, Zao Xin Tu (earth from the stove) 30g. Grind into powder. Form into pills the size of millet, and take with clear rice soup. (From “Deng Shen Chuan Xin Lu” He Wan)

③ For treating vomiting and nausea: One large Fuzi, one piece of ginger (finely shredded). Boil and grind into a paste, take with rice drink. (From “Experience Formulas”)

④ For treating yin deficiency toothache: Grind raw Fuzi into powder, mix with saliva and apply to the soles of the feet, very effective. (From “Hua Tuo Shen Yi Mi Chuan”)

⑤ For treating stroke and cold limbs: 0.3g raw Fuzi, 0.15g Mu Xiang (Saussurea). Grind finely, take 1.5g each time, with two slices of ginger, decoct. (From “Pu Ji Fang” Fuzi San)

【Processing Methods】

Processed Fuzi slices

Take clean river sand, place it in a frying container, heat with strong fire until flexible, add clean Fuzi slices, stir-fry continuously until puffed and slightly discolored, remove, sift out the sand, and cool.

Lightly processed Fuzi slices

Take clean salt Fuzi, soak in clean water, changing the water 2-3 times daily until the salt is removed, then boil with Licorice and black beans until thoroughly cooked, cut open and taste to ensure no numbness on the tongue, then remove, discard Licorice and black beans, cut into thin slices, and dry. Sift out debris. For every 100kg of salt Fuzi, use 5kg of Licorice and 10kg of black beans.

Compound Preparations

Si Ni Decoction

Revives yang and rescues from collapse. It is used for heart and kidney yang deficiency with cold collapse syndrome. Symptoms include cold limbs, aversion to cold, curled up posture, mental fatigue, pale complexion, abdominal pain with diarrhea, vomiting without thirst, white slippery tongue coating, and weak pulse.

Shen Fu Decoction

Benefits qi, revives yang, and stabilizes collapse. It is used for sudden yang collapse syndrome. Symptoms include cold limbs, profuse sweating, weak breathing, and a pulse that is about to disappear.

Zhen Wu Decoction

Warms yang and promotes water metabolism. It is used for yang deficiency with water retention syndrome. Symptoms include aversion to cold, cold limbs, difficulty urinating, palpitations, dizziness, unsteadiness, heavy and painful limbs, swelling, and more severe symptoms below the waist; or abdominal pain, diarrhea, or cough with nausea.

Ma Huang, Xi Xin, and Fuzi Decoction

Assists yang and releases the exterior. It is used for those with a constitution of yang deficiency and external wind-cold syndrome; sudden hoarseness, or even loss of voice.

Fuzi Li Zhong Wan

Warms the middle and strengthens the spleen. It is used for spleen and stomach deficiency cold, abdominal cold pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and cold hands and feet.

Specific Usage

When decocting Fuzi for internal use, the common dosage is 3-15g.

For external use, take an appropriate amount of Fuzi, grind into fine powder, and apply to the soles of the feet to treat yin deficiency toothache.

Through different processing methods, black Fuzi slices, white Fuzi slices, lightly processed Fuzi slices, and processed Fuzi slices can be produced. Different processing methods yield different effects, but the usage methods remain consistent; specific usage should follow medical advice.

Fuzi is generally used in soups and decoctions, but can also be made into powders or pills. However, the use of herbal materials must be based on syndrome differentiation and treatment, and should be used under the guidance of a professional TCM practitioner. Self-medication or reliance on herbal remedies and advertisements is strongly discouraged.

Note: Due to the high toxicity of Fuzi, when used in decoctions, it should be boiled for 30-60 minutes to reduce its toxicity, and should be tasted until there is no numbness or spiciness.

Common herbal combinations are as follows:

• Fuzi combined with dried ginger: Fuzi is good for reviving yang and rescuing from collapse, while dried ginger primarily warms the middle and can also revive yang. The combination greatly enhances the power of reviving yang and warming the middle, effective for yang collapse and middle jiao cold syndrome.

• Fuzi combined with Xi Xin and Ma Huang: Fuzi nourishes yang and dispels cold; Xi Xin is good for expelling wind-cold from the Shaoyin meridian; Ma Huang is effective for opening the pores and dispersing cold. The combination is excellent for nourishing yang and dispersing cold, effective for yang deficiency with external wind-cold.

Additionally, Fuzi has some dietary therapeutic value, commonly used in the following ways:

• Porridge: Use Fuzi 10g, dried ginger 15g, and japonica rice 100g to make porridge. It is used for internal cold abdominal pain, diarrhea, and loose stools.

• Soup (Lamb Soup with Fuzi): Use Fuzi 25g and lamb 1000g to make soup. It is used for yang deficiency with aversion to cold, cold limbs, frequent nighttime urination, or abdominal cold pain and back pain.

• Infused liquor: Fuzi can be infused with Du Zhong (Eucommia), Niu Xi (Achyranthes), Yin Yang Huo (Epimedium), and Du Huo (Angelica) for treating lower back and knee pain.

Precautions

• Should not be used with Banxia, Guo Lou, Tian Hua Fen, Guo Lou Pi, Guo Lou Zi, Bei Mu, Bai Lian, Bai Ji.

• Pregnant women should avoid use, and those with yin deficiency and yang excess should also avoid it.

• Salt Fuzi has a slight odor, salty and numbing, with a prickly sensation on the tongue; the best quality is large, heavy, gray-black, and has a surface covered with salt frost. Black Fuzi slices (black shun slices) have a slight odor and a mild taste; the best quality is black-brown skin with a shiny, oily cut surface. White Fuzi slices have a slight odor and a mild taste; the best quality is large, yellow-white, and semi-transparent with an oily sheen.

• Raw products for external use; internal use must be processed. If taken in excess or if processing or decocting methods are improper, it can cause poisoning.

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Note:Do not use medications without professional guidance; follow medical advice.