Blood deficiency headache is a common type of headache among people today. Due to blood deficiency, insufficient blood cannot nourish the brain, resulting in this type of headache, known as blood deficiency headache. The “Lan Shi Mi Cang – Headache Chapter” states: “For blood deficiency headache, Dang Gui (Angelica Sinensis) and Chuan Xiong (Ligusticum Chuanxiong) are the main herbs.” Today, we will introduce this herb, Chuan Xiong.
Chuan Xiong is the rhizome of the perennial herb Ligusticum Chuanxiong, originally named Xiong Qiong, with a long history of medicinal use, first recorded in the “Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic” as a top-grade herb, widely applied. It is mainly produced in Sichuan, thriving in a mild climate with abundant rainfall and sufficient sunlight.
According to legend, during the early Tang Dynasty, the Medicine King Sun Simiao traveled with his disciples to collect medicinal herbs in Qingcheng Mountain, Sichuan. One day, the master and his disciple rested in a pine forest. Suddenly, they saw a large female crane playing with several chicks near a cave in the forest.
The Medicine King was captivated, but suddenly heard the chicks cry out, noticing that the female crane had its head down, trembling, and was continuously mourning. The Medicine King immediately understood that the female crane was suffering from a sudden illness.
The next morning, the Medicine King and his disciple returned to the pine forest. Not far from the crane’s nest, the moans of the sick crane were clearly audible. After another day, they returned again, but the moans from the crane’s nest had ceased. Looking up, they saw several white cranes soaring in the sky, dropping a small white flower and some leaves that resembled carrot leaves.
The Medicine King instructed his disciple to collect and preserve them. Days passed, and the female crane had completely recovered, leading the chicks to play as usual. The Medicine King observed that the white cranes loved to visit an ancient cave on a cliff, where a patch of greenery grew, with flowers and leaves resembling those that had fallen from the crane’s beak.
The Medicine King instinctively connected the crane’s recovery to this plant. After experimentation, he discovered that this plant has the effects of activating blood circulation, dispelling wind, and alleviating pain, and instructed his disciple to take this herb down the mountain to treat patients accordingly, which proved to be effective.
The Medicine King excitedly recited: “Qingcheng is serene, the first cave in western Sichuan. Where the immortal cranes pass, divine medicine descends from the heavens. Let’s name this herb Chuan Xiong!” Thus, it was named “Chuan Xiong”.
The “Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic” records Chuan Xiong: “It is pungent and warm. It is used to treat wind stroke entering the brain, cold obstruction, muscle spasms, traumatic injuries, and women’s blood stagnation leading to infertility.
One of the famous “Four Great Masters of the Jin and Yuan Dynasties”, Liu Wansu, the founder of the “Cold and Cool School”, believed it “ascends to the head and descends to the blood sea”, making it a “blood qi herb” and a key herb in gynecology for activating blood and regulating menstruation.
Chuan Xiong is known for its dispersing nature, moving without restraint, “warming and penetrating, its power ascends and descends, internally penetrating and externally reaching everywhere”, making it a crucial herb for treating headaches, whether due to wind-cold, wind-heat, wind-dampness, blood deficiency, or blood stasis, it can be used in combination according to the symptoms, and also treats wind-dampness pain.
In summary, Chuan Xiong has the following major effects:
1. Activating Blood and Promoting Qi:
① Used for angina pectoris in coronary heart disease.
② Used for diseases caused by qi and blood stagnation, such as early menstruation with heavy red flow, indicating blood heat, can be used with Sheng Di (Rehmannia), Mu Dan Pi (Moutan), and Dang Gui.
③ Used for dysmenorrhea, especially if there is severe lower abdominal pain before menstruation, and menstruation starts one day after the pain, can be used with Dang Gui, Tao Ren (Peach Kernel), and Hong Hua (Safflower).
④ Used for traumatic injuries and localized swelling and pain, can be used with Zhi Zi (Gardenia), Tao Ren, and Hong Hua.
2. Dispelling Wind and Alleviating Pain:
① Used for headache due to cold wind in colds, can be used with Jing Jie (Schizonepeta), Fang Feng (Siler), and Bai Zhi (Angelica Dahurica); for wind-heat headache, can be used with Ju Hua (Chrysanthemum) and Bo He (Mint).
② Used for wind-damp pain, can be used with Qiang Huo (Notopterygium), Du Huo (Angelica Pubescens), and Fang Feng.
3. Promoting Qi and Relieving Stagnation:
① Used for upper abdominal distension and pain due to cholecystitis, can be used with Chai Hu (Bupleurum) and Huang Qin (Scutellaria).
② Used for upper abdominal distension and pain, acid reflux, and heartburn due to gastritis, can be used with Pu Gong Ying (Dandelion) and Mu Xiang (Aucklandia).
Consumption Methods (Proven Recipes)
1. Blood Supplementing and Activating Soup
Main Ingredients: 1 chicken, appropriate amount of goji berries, a little cinnamon (do not add if pregnant), 8 grams of Chuan Xiong, 10 grams of Dang Gui, 12 grams of Shu Di Huang (Rehmannia), and 12 grams of Bai Shao (White Peony).
Method: Clean the processed chicken, blanch it in boiling water for one minute, then remove; wrap the cinnamon in a non-woven bag, add cold water back into the pot, place the chicken, Dang Gui, Chuan Xiong, Shu Di, Bai Shao, goji berries, and cinnamon, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer for two hours.
Effects:Supplementing blood, activating blood, and regulating menstruation. Shu Di can address symptoms such as pale complexion, dizziness, and irregular menstruation in women, and when combined with Dang Gui, it enhances the blood-supplementing and activating effects; Dang Gui mainly supplements blood and regulates menstruation, and also has the effect of nourishing the skin.
Bai Shao can nourish blood and soften the liver, effectively treating irregular menstruation; Chuan Xiong is a key herb in gynecology and an excellent remedy for headaches, also influencing the endocrine system, alleviating breast discomfort, anxiety, and depression during the premenstrual period.
2. Qi and Blood Supplementing Soup
Main Ingredients: Half a black-boned chicken, 10 grams of Dang Gui, 5 grams of Chuan Xiong, 8 grams of Bai Shao, 15 grams of Shu Di Huang, 3 grams of Ren Shen (Ginseng), 10 grams of Bai Zhu (Atractylodes), 8 grams of Fu Ling (Poria), 5 grams of Gan Cao (Licorice), a small piece of pork, appropriate amount of salt, a small piece of ginger, appropriate amount of water, and 2 tablespoons of cooking wine.
Method: In a pot, heat water, add the black chicken and pork, boil until foamy, then remove and rinse clean. Place in a steel bowl, add all the herbs and ginger, pour in about 2 tablespoons of cooking wine, and add some water, then place the bowl in a rice cooker with water up to the level for cooking two cups of rice.
Place the bowl with the chicken inside, cover, and press the cook button until it switches to warm mode (if you feel it needs more cooking, you can add more water and press the cook button again).
Effects: Using Ren Shen, Bai Zhu, Fu Ling, and Gan Cao to tonify the spleen and boost qi; Dang Gui and Bai Shao nourish the heart and liver, and adding Chuan Xiong to the blood aspect regulates qi, thus Dang Gui and Shu Di nourish without stagnation; adding ginger and jujube helps Ren Shen and Bai Zhu enter the qi aspect to harmonize the spleen and stomach.All ingredients combined achieve the effect of supplementing both qi and blood.
Contraindications
1. Not suitable for those with phlegm-heat cough.
2. Caution for those with excessive menstruation, pregnant women, and those with hemorrhagic diseases;
3. Avoid for those with yin deficiency and excess fire, and those with upper excess and lower deficiency or weak qi.
4. Long-term use may disperse true qi.
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