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Atractylodes (Cāngzhú) is a perennial herb from the Asteraceae family, with its dried rhizome being spicy and bitter, warm in nature, and entering the Spleen and Stomach meridians. It has the functions of strengthening the Spleen, drying dampness, resolving depression, and dispelling filth.
Atractylodes is one of the commonly used herbs in clinical practice. Professor Wang Qingguo, a master of traditional Chinese medicine at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, primarily utilizes its nine major effects in clinical settings.
1. Expelling Dampness and Promoting Bowel Movement
According to the “Medical Transmission Record”, “When the intestines are narrow, use Atractylodes”, meaning that for constipation with sticky stools, thin stools, and incomplete bowel movements occurring multiple times a day, Atractylodes is the remedy of choice. Professor Wang Qingguo has effectively treated this condition with Atractylodes as the main herb for many years. For those with the above symptoms, or if stools are not dry but sticky after several days, this herb should be added to the treatment. If there are no other symptoms, the Pingwei San formula can be used with Atractylodes increased to 30 grams, along with 3 grams of raw Rhubarb and 10 grams of fried Areca nut, achieving satisfactory results.
2. Strengthening the Spleen and Stopping Diarrhea
Atractylodes can both promote bowel movement and stop diarrhea due to its damp-drying properties. For those with Spleen Qi deficiency, poor transformation and transportation, and loose stools occurring multiple times a day, accompanied by fatigue and a pale tongue with a weak pulse, Professor Wang Qingguo often prescribes the Si Jun Zi Tang (Four Gentlemen Decoction) with an additional 20 grams of Atractylodes, along with Bai Bian Dou (White Hyacinth Bean) and fried Shan Yao (Chinese Yam) as the base formula, adjusting according to symptoms for satisfactory results. If there is a sinking of Middle Qi, add 3 grams of Sheng Ma (Cimicifuga) and 3 grams of Chai Hu (Bupleurum), and for hidden pain in the navel, add 10 grams of Wu Yao (Lindera) and 10 grams of Bai Zhi (Angelica Dahurica).
3. Drying Dampness and Opening the Appetite
Atractylodes has a fragrant and pungent flavor, dispelling filth and preventing epidemics, which can stimulate appetite and promote digestion. The “Famous Doctors’ Separate Record” states that it “warms the stomach and eliminates food stagnation”, which is indeed true. For those with fullness in the chest and abdomen, poor appetite, frequent nausea, belching, and indigestion, this herb is often combined with Sha Ren (Amomum), Huo Xiang (Agastache), Mu Xiang (Aucklandia), Ban Xia (Pinellia), and Jiao San Xian (Three Immortals) for expected results.
4. Drying Dampness and Stopping Vaginal Discharge
Women who are affected by dampness often experience vaginal discharge. Atractylodes is a key herb for treating dampness-related discharge. If there are no cold or heat symptoms, it can be treated with the Fu Qing Zhu Wan (Fu Qing’s Complete Discharge Decoction), combining this herb with Bai Shao (White Peony), Ren Shen (Ginseng), Shan Yao (Chinese Yam), and Chai Hu (Bupleurum). If there is heat, add Huang Bai (Phellodendron) and Ku Shen (Sophora), and for cold dampness, add Xiao Hui Xiang (Fennel) and Wu Yao (Lindera). Additionally, adding Xian He Cao (Agrimonia) and Ji Guo Hua (Cockscomb Flower) to this formula can enhance its efficacy.
5. Treating Gastric Prolapse
In the Song Dynasty, the famous physician Xu Shuwei suffered from a peculiar illness due to studying late at night and drinking alcohol before bed. After several years, he felt a constant gurgling in his stomach, bloating under the ribs, reduced appetite, and would vomit bitter gastric fluid every ten to fifteen days. In summer, only his right side would sweat. After seeking many famous doctors without success, he realized it was due to “dampness obstructing the stomach”. Following the principle of “using precise medicine”, he chose Atractylodes as the main herb, using one pound of Atractylodes, fifteen dates, and raw sesame oil to make small pills, taking 50 pills daily, later increasing to 100-200 pills per day. After several months, his condition gradually improved until he was cured.For this condition, Xu Shuwei believed it was due to “stagnation of fluids in the diaphragm… forming a habit of obstruction”. To treat this illness, he stated, “It is best to dry the Spleen to overcome dampness, and to elevate the earth to fill the cavity, then the disease will be eliminated. Thus, he used only Atractylodes, and after three months, the illness was resolved.” Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine Zhu Liangchun derived the principle of using Atractylodes for gastric prolapse from this case, achieving good results. Later, Professor Wang Qingguo learned from this experience and replicated it with success. It is important to note that Atractylodes is best taken in powdered form, 6 grams twice daily, combined with Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang (Tonifying the Middle and Benefiting Qi Decoction) with 30 grams of Zhi Shi (Bitter Orange) for optimal results.
6. Expelling Dampness and Alleviating Bi Syndrome
Atractylodes is pungent, dispersing, warm, and drying, expelling wind and dampness. It is often used with Qiang Huo (Notopterygium), Du Huo (Angelica Pubescens), and Wei Ling Xian (Clematis) to treat wind-damp Bi syndrome. Due to its ability to expel wind and dampness, it is particularly suitable for exterior wind-damp conditions. For example, the Shen Shu San formula uses Atractylodes as the monarch herb, combined with Qiang Huo, Bai Zhi, and Fang Feng (Saposhnikovia), to treat headaches, body pain, and stiffness of the neck, accompanied by chills, fever, and absence of sweating.
7. Lowering Blood Sugar
Modern research has found that Atractylodes has a blood sugar-lowering effect, as well as reducing muscle glycogen and liver glycogen, inhibiting glycogen production, leading to decreased oxygen consumption and increased blood lactate levels. When clinically applied, combining it with Xuan Shen (Scrophularia) enhances the blood sugar-lowering effect. For example, Atractylodes combined with Huang Qi (Astragalus), Sha Shen (Glehnia), Tian Dong (Asparagus), Mai Dong (Ophiopogon), Xuan Shen, Sheng Di (Rehmannia), Shan Yu Rou (Cornus), and Wu Wei Zi (Schisandra) forms the Jin Shui Xiang Sheng Yin (Golden Water Generating Decoction), treating type 2 diabetes with Qi and Yin deficiency, achieving an efficacy rate of up to 92%, making it worth trying clinically.
8. Treating Night Blindness and Dry Skin
Atractylodes contains a large amount of Vitamin A, which is effective in treating night blindness and corneal softening, as reported in multiple studies. Nowadays, night blindness and corneal softening are rarely treated with traditional Chinese medicine, but when treating skin diseases, combining it with Vitamin A can provide auxiliary benefits. Therefore, Professor Wang Qingguo often uses Atractylodes in treating blood deficiency and wind-dry skin diseases, such as dry eczema, neurodermatitis, and senile pruritus, to achieve supportive effects. Reports indicate that using 1000 grams each of Atractylodes and Ji Xue Teng (Spatholobus), along with 500 grams each of Dang Gui (Angelica Sinensis) and Yi Yi Ren (Job’s Tears), to make a paste, treats ichthyosis with an efficacy rate exceeding 80%.
9. Treating Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Some have used Atractylodes combined with Xiang Fu (Cyperus) and Wen Dan Tang (Warm Gallbladder Decoction), along with Chuan Xiong (Chuanxiong), Dang Gui, and fried Shan Zha (Hawthorn) to treat polycystic ovary syndrome with effective results. The “Compendium of Materia Medica” states that Atractylodes “treats damp phlegm retention, or combined with blood stasis forming cysts”, and the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome is indeed related to the obstruction of phlegm, dampness, and blood stasis, making it effective for treatment. Professor Wang Qingguo has clinically treated this condition, particularly when phlegm and dampness are predominant, using this formula combined with kidney-tonifying and liver-soothing herbs, achieving effective results, with patients restoring ovulation and successfully conceiving.
Usage Instructions:1. Before the Han Dynasty, Atractylodes and Bai Zhu (White Atractylodes) were not differentiated. The “Shennong’s Herbal Classic” only mentions the term “Zhu”, while the “Famous Doctors’ Separate Record” first records the red and white Atractylodes, and it was not until the “Zhenghe Materia Medica” that the names Cang and Bai were proposed.Atractylodes and Bai Zhu are both rhizomes of plants in the Atractylodes genus of the Asteraceae family, both having the effect of strengthening the Spleen and drying dampness, treating Spleen deficiency with excess dampness. However, Bai Zhu not only has the effect of strengthening the Spleen and drying dampness but also tonifies Qi, stops sweating, and calms the fetus, with a stronger tonifying effect, often used for deficiency conditions; while Atractylodes primarily dries dampness and strengthens the Spleen, also inducing sweating and dispelling pathogens, thus mainly used for excess conditions.2. Atractylodes is used in decoctions at 10-15 grams, and in pills or powders at 3-6 grams. It is contraindicated for those with Yin deficiency and internal heat, or Qi deficiency with excessive sweating.■【Source: China Traditional Chinese Medicine News, Author: Wang Qingguo, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine】Related Articles You May Like, click to read the original text:Fu Qingzhu has a formula that can not only save unhappiness but also save infertility!Song Baishan discusses: For infertility, I often use several formulas.//////////
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