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This product is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine. It is classified as a superior herb in the “Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic”. Originally named “Zhu”, it was mentioned in Liang’s Tao Hongjing’s “Record of Famous Physicians” that there are two types of Zhu: Bai (Bai Zhu – White Atractylodes) and Chi (Cang Zhu – Atractylodes lancea). Currently, Cang Zhu is further divided into two categories: one produced in East China and South China, which, when sliced, produces white mold resembling hair, is called Mao Cang Zhu (Hairy Atractylodes). The other type is produced in Northeast China and East China, which does not produce white mold when sliced and is called Shan Cang Zhu (Mountain Atractylodes).
Alias: Mao Cang Zhu (Hairy Atractylodes), Bei Cang Zhu (Mountain Atractylodes).
Source: Dried rhizomes of perennial herbaceous plants in the Asteraceae family: Mao Cang Zhu (Atractylodes lancea (Thunb) DC.), Guan Cang Zhu, and Bei Cang Zhu (Atractylodes chinensis (DC.) Koidz.) All are wild.
Harvesting and Storage: After 2-3 years of cultivation, from early September to early November or the following February to March, excavate the rhizomes, remove residual stems, shake off the soil, dry in the sun, remove the roots, or dry until 90% dry and then scorch off the fibrous roots with fire, and then dry completely.
Production Areas: Mao Cang Zhu is mainly produced in the Maoshan area of Jiangsu Province (hence the name Mao Cang Zhu), in the Xiangfan area of Hubei Province, and in Xinyang and Nanyang areas of Henan Province. It is also produced in Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and other provinces. Shan Cang Zhu is mainly produced in North China and Northeast provinces, with production also in Shandong, Shaanxi, Gansu, and other areas.
Identification of Characteristics:
(1) Mao Cang Zhu: The rhizome is irregularly nodular or slightly cylindrical, sometimes curved, usually with one branch, 3-10 cm long and 1-2 cm in diameter. The surface is yellow-brown to gray-brown, with fine longitudinal wrinkles and a few residual fibrous roots. The nodes often have shallow transverse grooves, and the internodes have round stem scars, often with residual stem bases at one end. Sometimes, white crystalline fluff can be seen on the surface. The texture is solid, easily broken, and the fracture surface is slightly uneven, appearing whitish or yellowish-white, with numerous orange-yellow or brown-red oil chambers (commonly known as vermilion dots). When exposed for a while, white needle-like crystals may appear. The cross-section does not show blue fluorescence under ultraviolet light (254nm). It has a strong aroma, with a slightly sweet, bitter, and spicy taste.
(2) Bei Cang Zhu: The rhizome is often in a lump-like form, sometimes cylindrical and nodular, often curved with short branches, 4-10 cm long and 0.7-4 cm in diameter. The surface is black-brown, with oil chambers on the outside, and does not produce crystals upon standing. The aroma is weaker, with a bitter and spicy taste.
(3) Guan Cang Zhu: The rhizome is mostly cylindrical and nodular, 4-12 cm long and 1-2.5 cm in diameter, with a deep brown surface. The texture is lighter, with a fibrous fracture surface. It has a unique aroma and a spicy, slightly bitter taste.
The best quality is solid, with many vermilion dots on the fracture surface and a strong aroma.
Main Components: Contains volatile oils, primarily including cangzhu alcohol (C15H26O) and cangzhu ketone (C15H20O). Also contains a large amount of vitamin A and vitamin D (but the water decoction does not contain vitamin A).
Processing:
1. Cang Zhu: Remove impurities, soak in water until 70-80% translucent, take out, and slice after fully moistening, then dry in the sun.
2. Fried Cang Zhu: Take Cang Zhu slices, moisten with rice wash water, and stir-fry in a pot over low heat until slightly yellow; or take cleaned Cang Zhu, soak in rice wash water, then take out, steam in a steamer until fully cooked, slice, and dry.
3. Charred: Take Cang Zhu slices, stir-fry over high heat until the surface is charred black, and the inside is dry yellow, then take out and dry.
4. Salted: Take Cang Zhu, stir-fry over high heat until the outer skin is charred black, add salt water, stir-fry until dry, and take out. For every pound of Cang Zhu, add 5 qian of salt and an appropriate amount of water.
5. Cang Zhu is dry in nature, so it is soaked in glutinous rice wash to remove its oil, sliced, and dried. It can also be stir-fried with sesame oil to reduce its dryness.
Taste and Properties: Spicy, bitter, and warm.
Meridians Entered: Enters the Spleen and Stomach meridians.
Functions: Dries dampness, strengthens the spleen, dispels wind, scatters cold, and brightens the eyes.
Indications: Spleen dampness causing dysfunction in transportation, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal distension, diarrhea; joint and limb pain.
Pharmacological Effects:
1. Anti-hypoxia effect: In a potassium cyanide-induced hypoxia model in mice, the acetone extract of Cang Zhu at 750 mg/kg significantly increased the survival time of mice and reduced the relative mortality rate. The main active component of Cang Zhu’s anti-hypoxia effect is β-eucalyptol.
2. Effects on the digestive tract: The volatile oils in Cang Zhu have a carminative and stomach-strengthening effect, and the bitter components also promote appetite. Experiments have shown that Cang Zhu has a significant effect against acetylcholine-induced intestinal spasms. It reduces the spontaneous movement of the isolated small intestine in normal rabbits. It can relax the intestinal muscles induced by the sympathetic neurotransmitter adrenaline, and Cang Zhu preparations can promote the recovery of the amplitude suppressed by adrenaline. Additionally, Cang Zhu can counteract hydrochloric acid-induced acute gastritis and pyloric ligation-induced gastric ulcers in rats by antagonizing cholinergic effects; Cang Zhu alcohol also promotes gastrointestinal motility and has a slight contraction effect on gastric smooth muscle.
3. Cardiovascular effects: Cang Zhu has a mild inhibitory effect on the heart of frogs and a slight dilating effect on the blood vessels of the hind limbs. Small doses of Cang Zhu extract administered intravenously can slightly increase blood pressure in rabbits, while large doses can decrease blood pressure.
4. Central inhibition: A small amount of Cang Zhu volatile oil has a sedative effect on frogs, while also enhancing spinal reflexes; larger amounts exhibit inhibitory effects, leading to respiratory paralysis and death. The inhibitory components are mainly β-eucalyptol and Mao Cang Zhu alcohol. Mao Cang Zhu and its β-eucalyptol also have an anti-convulsant effect against electric shock-induced spasms in mice.
5. Effects on the liver: A daily dose of 10 g of raw Cang Zhu/kg administered to mice for 7 days significantly promotes liver protein synthesis. The raw herb and its components, cangzhu alcohol, cangzhu ketone, and β-eucalyptol, have significant preventive effects against carbon tetrachloride-induced damage to primary cultured mouse liver cells.
6. Effects on blood sugar: Oral or subcutaneous injection of Cang Zhu decoction or alcohol extract at 8 g/kg causes a slight increase in blood sugar in normal rabbits. A decoction at 10 g/kg also produces the same effect; however, in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits, blood sugar initially rises and then decreases within 10 days of administration, with blood sugar continuously declining, showing significant differences. After stopping the medication for 7-14 days, blood sugar does not return to pre-treatment levels. Cang Zhu glycosides have a blood sugar-lowering effect in mice, rats, rabbits, and dogs, while also reducing muscle glycogen and liver glycogen, inhibiting glycogenesis, decreasing oxygen consumption, and increasing blood lactate levels. Its blood sugar-lowering effect may be related to its inhibition of the Pasteur effect in the body. It acts as a competitive inhibitor at the same mitochondrial receptor point as adenine nucleotides, thereby inhibiting oxidative phosphorylation and interfering with energy transfer processes.
7. Effects on the urinary system: Experiments in rats show that Mao Cang Zhu decoction does not have a diuretic effect but significantly increases the excretion of sodium and potassium.
8. Antibacterial and disinfecting effects: Prepared Cang Zhu is placed in a covered enamel container, soaked in 95% alcohol, with a dosage sufficient to submerge the Cang Zhu, and soaked for 8-10 hours. After taking out the Cang Zhu, it is placed on the floor of the prepared sterilization room and ignited until it turns to ash. The results show that the number of bacteria significantly decreased after sterilization compared to before, with satisfactory sterilization effects.
Clinical Applications: An important herb for dispelling dampness, applicable for both internal and external dampness. Previous experience states: “Cang Zhu is most effective for treating external dampness.”
1. Used to treat indigestion (commonly referred to as dampness obstructing the middle burner), with symptoms of fullness and discomfort in the stomach, loss of appetite, vomiting, or diarrhea, often combined with Hou Po (Magnolia Bark) and Chen Pi (Dried Tangerine Peel), as in Ping Wei San (Ping Wei Powder); if there is a tendency towards heat stagnation, it can also be combined with Xiang Fu (Cyperus) and Shen Qu (Fermented Barley) and Zhi Zi (Gardenia).
2. Used to treat diarrhea, especially summer watery diarrhea with significant damp-heat, combined with Yin Hua (Honeysuckle) and Fu Ling (Poria).
3. Used to treat rheumatism, especially muscular rheumatism. Often combined with Ma Huang (Ephedra), Gui Zhi (Cinnamon Twig), and Yi Ren (Job’s Tears) to enhance analgesic effects. If it is heat bi with fever, thirst, joint redness, swelling, and severe pain, with a yellow tongue coating and rapid pulse, it can be combined with Shi Gao (Gypsum) to clear heat, as in Bai Hu Jia Cang Zhu Tang (White Tiger Decoction with Cang Zhu).
4. Used in surgery, it has certain effects on treating jaundice and perianal tuberculosis. It can also treat lower limb abdominal distension and pain due to damp-heat resembling erysipelas, often combined with Huang Bai (Phellodendron) and Niu Xi (Achyranthes) and Sheng Yi Ren (Raw Job’s Tears), as in Si Miao Wan (Four Marvels Pill).
5. Used in ophthalmology to treat night blindness and corneal softening after measles, utilizing its vitamin A content, often taken in pill or powder form (there are reports of effective results using decoction). It can be used alone as a fine powder or combined with Mu Zei (Equisetum). Prescription: Cang Zhu 120 g, Mu Zei 60 g, ground into a fine powder; take 3-6 g mixed with vegetables at mealtime, or combined with ram liver.
Additionally, it can be used for strengthening the body. It treats mental fatigue, weakness of limbs, especially in cases of deficiency and cold, combined with Shu Di Huang (Rehmannia) and Gan Jiang (Dried Ginger).
Precautions: Cang Zhu is relatively spicy and dry, so it is not suitable for those with yin deficiency, blood dryness, or those experiencing hemoptysis or epistaxis.
Note: Cang Zhu and Hou Po can both transform dampness. When treating fullness and vomiting in the gastrointestinal tract, they are often used together, but Cang Zhu is more effective in dispelling wind and drying dampness; for warming the middle and relieving fullness, Cang Zhu is not as effective as Hou Po.
Dosage:Internal use: decoction, 3-9 g; or in pills or powders.
Storage: Store in a cool, dry place.
Formulas:
1. Ping Wei San (Ping Wei Powder) for treating disharmony of the spleen and stomach, loss of appetite, fullness and stabbing pain in the heart and abdomen, bitter mouth, nausea, and frequent diarrhea: Cang Zhu (remove rough skin, soak in rice wash for two days) 5 jin, Hou Po (remove rough skin, prepare with ginger juice, stir-fry until fragrant), Chen Pi (remove white) each 3 jin 2 liang, Gan Cao (stir-fried) 30 liang. Grind into a fine powder. Each dose is 2 qian, boiled with one cup of water, adding two slices of fresh ginger and two jujubes, simmer until reduced to 70%, remove ginger and jujubes, and take warm before meals; adding a pinch of salt and boiling water is also acceptable. (From “Jufang” Ping Wei San)
2. Bai Hu Jia Cang Zhu Tang (White Tiger Decoction with Cang Zhu) for treating Taiyin spleen meridian dampness, water leakage, slight heaviness and fullness, weakness and lack of strength, loss of appetite, and frequent diarrhea: Cang Zhu 2 liang, Shao Yao (Peony) 1 liang, Huang Qin (Scutellaria) 0.5 liang. Grind and take 1 liang each time, adding a pinch of light-flavored cinnamon, 1.5 cups of water, boil until reduced to 1 cup, and take warm. (From “Suwen Bingji Baoming Ji” Cang Zhu Shao Yao Decoction)
3. For treating summer heat diarrhea, strengthening the spleen and warming the stomach, promoting appetite, and treating food injuries, with chest and abdomen fullness: Shen Qu (stir-fried), Cang Zhu (soaked in rice wash overnight, dried) each in equal parts ground into powder. Make into pills the size of a wutong seed. Each dose is 30 pills, taken with rice drink. (From “Jufang” Qu Zhu Wan)
4. For treating diarrhea: Cang Zhu 2 liang, Xiao Jiao (Small Pepper) 1 liang (remove seeds, stir-fry). Grind into a very fine powder, make into pills the size of a wutong seed. Each dose is 20 pills or 30 pills, taken with warm water before meals. If there is persistent dysentery, add Gui Zhi (Cinnamon Twig). (From “Suwen Bingji Baoming Ji” Jiao Zhu Wan)
5. For treating stagnant fluid in the diaphragm, which has formed a cyst: Cang Zhu 1 jin, remove skin, cut, and grind, using half a liang of raw sesame oil and 2 cups of water, grind and filter to extract juice, with 15 jujubes (remove skin and pits), grind into a paste, mix with sesame juice, and form into pills the size of a wutong seed. Take 50 pills on an empty stomach with salt soup, increasing to 100 or 200 pills. Avoid peaches, plums, and sparrows. (From “Benshi Fang”)
6. For treating spleen meridian dampness, loss of appetite, damp swelling, weakness of limbs, food injury, excessive alcohol consumption, and labor fatigue: Fresh white Cang Zhu 20 jin, soak to remove rough skin, wash and dry, chop, soak in rice wash overnight, wash clean, use 1 bucket of creek water, boil the medicine over low heat until half dry, remove the residue, then add 3 jin of stone heather leaves (remove red skin), 1 jin of mulberry seeds, 0.5 jin of Angelica, and 4 liang of licorice, chop and grind, boil until yellow, filter through cloth, and boil until it becomes a thin paste. Each time, take 3-5 qian with good wine on an empty stomach, or with rice soup if not drinking alcohol. For swelling, use white soup; for vomiting, use ginger soup. (From “Huo Ren Xin Tong” Cang Zhu Paste)
7. For treating damp-heat with excessive sweating: Zhi Mu (Anemarrhena) 6 liang, Gan Cao (stir-fried) 2 liang, Shi Gao (Gypsum) 1 jin, Cang Zhu 3 liang, and Jing Mi (Japonica Rice) 3 liang. Grind into powder the size of a soybean. Each dose is 5 qian, boiled with 1.5 cups of water until 80-90% reduced, remove the residue to obtain 6 fen of clear juice, and take warm. (From “Lai Zheng Huo Ren Shu” Bai Hu Jia Cang Zhu Tang)
8. For treating seasonal epidemics, headache, stiff neck, fever with chills, body aches, and wind-cold, nasal congestion, heavy voice, cough, and dizziness: Cang Zhu (soaked in rice wash overnight, cut, and dried) 5 liang, Gao Ben (remove soil), Xiang Bai Zhi (Angelica Dahurica), Xi Xin (remove leaves and soil), Qiang Huo (remove reed), Chuan Xiong (Szechuan Lovage), Gan Cao (stir-fried) each 1 liang. Grind into fine powder. Each dose is 3 qian, boiled with 1 cup of water, adding 3 slices of fresh ginger and 3 inches of green onion, boil until reduced to 70%, and take warm at any time. If feeling wind-cold and nasal congestion, just use green onion tea to take. (From “Jufang” Shen Zhu San)
9. For treating colds: Cang Zhu 1 liang, Xi Xin 2 qian, and Bai Zi Ye (Platycladus) 3 qian. Grind into fine powder, taken four times a day, 1.5 qian each time, mixed with hot water, using green onion as a guide, eaten raw. (From Inner Mongolia “New Medical Method of Traditional Chinese Medicine”)
10. For treating body pain due to dampness: Cang Zhu, soaked and cut, boiled in water, take the concentrated juice to make a paste, and take with white soup. (From “Simple and Convenient Prescriptions”)
11. For treating joint and bone pain due to damp-heat: Huang Bai (stir-fried) and Cang Zhu (soaked in rice wash and stir-fried). Grind these two ingredients into powder, and take with boiling water mixed with ginger juice. Both ingredients have a strong energy, and for those with strong exterior energy, add a little wine as an aid. (From “Dan Xi Xin Fa” Er Miao San, also known as “Shi Yi De Xiao Fang” Cang Zhu San)
12. For nourishing deficiency, brightening the eyes, strengthening bones, and nourishing blood: Cang Zhu (soaked) 4 liang, Shu Di Huang (Rehmannia) 2 liang. Grind into powder, make into pills the size of a wutong seed. Each time, take 30-50 pills with warm wine, three times a day. (From “Pu Ji Fang”)
13. For treating wind swelling of the gums: Large Cang Zhu, cut into two pieces, with a hole in the middle, filled with salt, wrapped in wet paper, burned until charred, ground finely, and used to wipe away wind and saliva, which will heal. Rinse with salt water. (From “Pu Ji Fang” Cang Zhu San)
14. To control malaria symptoms or for prevention: Cang Zhu, Bai Zhi (Angelica Dahurica), Chuan Xiong, and Gui Zhi in equal parts ground into powder, each use 1 gram, wrapped in four layers of gauze into a long shape, inserted into the nostrils 1-2 hours before a malaria attack, for 5 hours or 1 day. (From “Shanxi Traditional Chinese Medicine”)
Example Formulas:
1. Ping Wei San (Ping Wei Powder) (From “Jufang”): Cang Zhu 9 g, Hou Po 6 g, Chen Pi 6 g, Gan Cao 3 g, decoct and take.
2. Bai Hu Jia Cang Zhu Tang (White Tiger Decoction with Cang Zhu) with modifications: Cang Zhu 9 g, Sheng Shi Gao 30 g (crushed and decocted first), Zhi Mu 12 g, Gan Cao 6 g, Sang Zhi 12 g, Fang Ji 9 g, Yin Hua Teng 9 g, decoct and take.
3. Si Miao Wan (Four Marvels Pill) (From “Dan Xi Xin Fa”): Cang Zhu, Huang Bai, Niu Xi, Sheng Yi Ren in equal parts ground into powder, made into pills, each dose 6-9 g, taken with hot water.
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