Zhi Chuntang TCM Hospital
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One Medicinal Herb – Gan Jiang (Dried Ginger)
Medicinal Part: The dried rhizome of the ginger plant (Zingiber officinale).
Properties and Taste: Pungent in flavor, hot in nature. It enters the Spleen, Stomach, Heart, and Lung meridians.
Functions
Warms the middle and disperses cold; revives yang and unblocks the vessels; warm the lungs and transform phlegm. It is indicated for cold pain in the abdomen; vomiting; diarrhea; yang deficiency with counterflow; cough with cold phlegm; and cold dampness causing pain. Gan Jiang warms the middle, disperses cold, dries dampness, and resolves phlegm. It is used for cold pain in the abdomen, vomiting, diarrhea, cold limbs with weak pulse, and cough with phlegm.
Indications
1. Used for yang deficiency syndrome. This herb is pungent and hot, capable of reviving yang and unblocking the vessels. Therefore, it can be used to treat heart and kidney yang deficiency, with internal cold leading to yang collapse and weak pulse, often combined with Fu Zi (Aconite) as in Si Ni San (Four Reversal Decoction).
2. For cough and asthma due to cold phlegm, with cold body and back, and clear, thin phlegm. This herb is pungent and hot, good at warming the lungs and transforming phlegm, often used with Xi Xin (Asarum), Wu Wei Zi (Schisandra), and Ma Huang (Ephedra) as in Xiao Qing Long Tang (Minor Blue Dragon Decoction).
3. Treatment of external injuries with purulent infections: Use fresh ginger mixed with Gan Jiang powder to apply to the wound, covering with sterile dressing, changing the dressing 2-3 times daily.
Dosage and Administration
Internal use: Decoction, 3-10g; or in pills or powders. External use: Appropriate amount, decocted for washing; or ground into powder for application.
Precautions
Contraindicated in cases of yin deficiency with internal heat, and blood heat disorders. Pregnant women should use with caution.
Collection and Processing
Harvest the rhizomes from late October to late December when the stems and leaves have withered, removing the stems, leaves, and fibrous roots, and drying them. After drying, remove dirt and coarse skin, and clean thoroughly.
Identification
Ginger is a perennial herb, 50-80 cm tall. The rhizome is thick, with a yellowish-white cross-section and a strong pungent aroma. Leaves are alternate, arranged in two rows, without petioles, nearly clasping the stem; leaf tongue is 2-4 mm long; leaf blade is lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 15-30 cm long and 1.5-2.2 cm wide, tapering to a point, with a narrow base, leaf sheath-like clasping the stem, glabrous. Flower stalks emerge from the rhizome, 15-25 cm long; spike-like inflorescence is oval, 4-5 cm long; bracts are ovate, about 2.5 cm long, pale green with light yellow edges, and a small pointed tip; calyx tube is about 1 cm long with 3 short lobes; corolla is yellow-green, tube 2-2.5 cm long, with 3 lobes, lanceolate, less than 2 cm long, the middle lobe of the lip is oval and shorter than the corolla lobes, with purple stripes and light yellow spots, the lateral lobes are ovate, yellow-green with purple edges; there is 1 stamen, dark purple, anther about 9 mm long, with the connective enveloping the style; ovary has 3 chambers, glabrous, style 1, stigma nearly spherical. Capsule. Seeds are numerous, black. Flowering period is in August.
Production Areas
Grown in most regions of the country, widely cultivated in central, southeastern, and southwestern China. Major production areas include Sichuan and Guizhou.
The Story of Gan Jiang
In the Qing Dynasty, the folk doctor Wu Jutong, from Huai’an, was born during the Qianlong and Daoguang eras, and was an outstanding TCM expert in warm disease theory. His contributions to TCM include innovations in legislation and theoretical improvements, especially in the treatment of warm diseases, leaving behind many formulas that further refined the basic treatment methods for exogenous and febrile diseases.
It is said that one day Wu Jutong went out and saw a crowd gathered around a village woman. Upon closer inspection, he found that she was pale and unconscious on the ground. Wu Jutong quickly pushed through the crowd and inquired about the situation. From her husband, he learned that the woman had been suffering from diarrhea for several days and suddenly fainted that morning. They had called the local doctor, but to no avail. Wu Jutong approached and felt her limbs were cold as a corpse, with a faint pulse that seemed nearly gone. In a moment of urgency, without any needles or medicine, he remembered he had a piece of ginger on him, so he took it out and instructed her husband to prepare a decoction immediately. After the woman drank the ginger soup, within a short time, she slowly opened her eyes, her limbs gradually warmed up, and soon she could sit up. The onlookers were amazed and praised, asking what this miraculous medicine was. In fact, the piece of ginger Wu Jutong had was just a common piece of dried ginger.
If a patient already has insufficient yang in the Spleen and Stomach, and excessively consumes cold drinks or watermelon in summer, leading to coldness in the Spleen and Stomach and abdominal pain, or if a patient gets chilled in cold weather or rain, the cold can invade the body. In such cases, Gan Jiang can warm the middle and restore the body’s warmth, allowing for quick recovery. Therefore, Gan Jiang has the function of warming the middle and dispersing cold.
Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that Gan Jiang is pungent and hot; it enters the Lung, Spleen, Heart, and Stomach meridians. It can warm the middle, revive yang, and warm the lungs to transform phlegm, treating symptoms such as stomach cold pain, lung cold cough, and cold-induced fainting. The typical dosage is 3-10g, decocted for drinking, and it is contraindicated for pregnant women.
Warm Reminder: The various prescriptions and remedies mentioned in this article are for reference and study by professional TCM practitioners only and should not be used as prescriptions. Please do not self-medicate; this platform does not bear any responsibility for any consequences arising from this.
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Huaxian Zhi Chuntang TCM Hospital
Dedicated to the development of TCM culture | Serving the health of the people
Address: Northwest corner of Huazhou Road and Huitai Road, Huaxian
Phone: 0372-8706889