HomeTraditional Chinese Medicine HerbsIncised Notopterygium Rhizome and Root

Incised Notopterygium Rhizome and Root

Latin Pharmaceutical Name

Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix

Chinese Name

羌活

Category

Roots and rhizomes

Incised Notopterygium Rhizome and RootMore Info

Production Regions

Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu.

Macroscopic Features

Can qiang: Also called ‘luo si qiang' (screw-shaped qianghuo). Dried rhizome, shaped like a silkworm, cylindrical or slightly curled, about 4~10cm long, 1~2cm diameter. Apex has remnants of stem and leaves. Externally brown, with numerous densely and raised nodes. Nodes have densely raised verrucous scars of rootlets. Light and loose texture, easily broken, fractured surface is uneven, with obvious ‘chrysanthemum lines’ and numerous cracks, cortex is brownish-red; xylem is pale yellow, center has yellowish-white pith, all have ‘cinnabar spots (oil spots)’. Distinctive aroma, slightly bitter taste and numbing the tongue. Zhu jie qiang: rhizome has scattered ring-like nodes, similar to bamboo joints, and similar to can qiang, but slightly larger. Da tou qiang: rhizome has very enlarged nodes, irregular lumps, uneven size, apex has numerous remnants of stem base, other features are similar to can qiang. Strip qiang: dried roots and lateral roots, cylindrical or branched, 3~17cm long, 0.7~1.7cm diameter, apex occasionally has rhizome, externally brown, with longitudinal lines and verrucous rootlet scars, upper portion is relatively thick and large, with scattered raised nodes, loose and brittle texture, easily broken, fractured surface is uneven, cortex is pale brown, xylem is yellowish-white, with ‘chrysanthemum lines’, with faint ‘cinnabar spots’, center has no pith. Relatively faint and bland odor and taste.

Quality Requirements

Superior medicinal material has thick and strong strips, raised rings, dense and tight fractured surface, numerous cinnabar spots, potent aroma.

Properties

Acrid, bitter, warm

Functions

Disperses exterior cold, dispels wind damp, promotes joints, stops pain. Apply to exterior wind cold, headache without sweating, wind-cold and damp impediment, wind edema, sore and ulcer swelling toxin.

Technical Terms

'Cinnabar spots’: This refers to brown or yellowish-orange oil spots seen on the evenly cut fractured surface of medicinal materials, and is due to oil cells.

Origin

The dried root and rhizome of Notopterygium incisum Ting ex H. T. Chang. (Apiaceae)

Incised Notopterygium Rhizome and RootHerbs in the formula

Chinese Angelica Pain-Alleviating Decoction

Action：Drains dampness and clears heat, scatters wind and relieves pain.

Indication：Dang Gui Nian Tong Tang is indicated for patterns that arise due to a conflict between dampness and heat with concurrent external wind contraction. The symptoms are aching pain of limbs and joints, heavy sensation of the shoulder and back, swelling and pain of the feet, sores on the feet and knees. The tongue coating is white and greasy mixed with yellow and the pulse is wiry and rapid.

View Details Dampclearing formulas

Toxin-Resolving Powder

Action：Dissipates cold, removes dampness, boosts qi, and releases the exterior.

Indication：Bai Du San is indicated for the pattern of externally contracted wind-cold-dampness. The symptoms are strong aversion to cold, high fever, headache, neck stiffness and pain, body soreness and pain, absence of sweating, stuffy nose, harsh voice, cough with phlegm, pi, and distressed chest and diaphragm. The tongue is pale with a white coating, and the pulse is superficial and forceless upon pressing.

View Details Exterior-releasing formulas

Bupleurum and Pueraria Muscle-Resolving Decoction

Action：Releases the flesh and clears heat.

Indication：Chai Ge Jie Ji Tang is indicated for externally contracted wind-cold that has become constrained and transforms into a heat pattern. The signs and symptoms include gradually reducing aversion to cold and increasing body heat, absence of sweat, headache, eye pain, dryness of the nose, vexation, insomnia, dry throat, impaired hearing, orbit pain, a thin yellow tongue coating, and a superficial, slightly surging pulse.

View Details Exterior-releasing formulas

Notopterygium Dampness-Drying Decoction

Action：Dispels wind, overcomes dampness, and relieves pain.

Indication：Qiang Huo Sheng Shi Tang is indicated for bi syndrome caused by wind-dampness in the exterior. The symptoms are pain of the shoulder and back, headache and heavy body sensation, pain of the waist and spine that make the patient unable to turn over. The coating is white and the pulse is floating.

View Details Dampclearing formulas

True Jade Powder

Action：Dispels wind and dissolves phlegm, relieves spasms and arrests convulsion.

Indication：Yu Zhen San is indicated for tetanus. The symptoms are lockjaw, tightly-closed mouth and lips, stiff body, opisthotonus, and a wiry, tight pulse; there could even be gnashed teeth and a contracted tongue.

View Details Wind-calming formulas

Tea-Mix and Chuanxiong Powder

Action：Scatters wind and relieves pain.

Indication：Chuan Xiong Cha Tiao San is indicated for headaches caused by externally-contracted wind. The symptoms are headache in any part of the head, dizzy vision, and nasal congestion possibly accompanied by aversion to wind and fever. The tongue coating is thin and white, and the pulse is floating.

View Details Wind-calming formulas

Large Gentian Decoction

Action：Scatters wind and clears heat, nourishes and invigorates blood.

Indication：Da Qin Jiao Tang is indicated for an early stage of a wind attacking the channels and collaterals pattern. The symptoms are deviation of the eyes and mouth, difficulty in speaking due to stiff tongue, an inability to move the extremities, often accompanied by aversion to cold with fever, spasms and tension of the extremities, a white or yellow tongue coating, and a superficial, rapid pulse or wiry, thin pulse.

View Details Wind-calming formulas

Nine Ingredients Notopterygium Decoction

Action：Induces sweating, expels dampness, and clears internal heat.

Indication：Jiu Wei Qiang Huo Tang is indicated for an exterior pattern with externally contracted wind-cold-dampness complicated by interior heat. The symptoms are aversion to cold, fever, absence of sweating, headache, painful stiff nape, pain and soreness of the limbs and body, bitter taste, and thirst. The tongue coating is white or light yellow, and the pulse is superficial or superficial and tight.

View Details Exterior-releasing formulas