HomeTraditional Chinese Medicine HerbsSzechwan Lovage Rhizome

Szechwan Lovage Rhizome

Latin Pharmaceutical Name

Chuanxiong Rhizoma

Chinese Name

川芎

Category

Roots and rhizomes

Szechwan Lovage RhizomeMore Info

Production Regions

Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei.

Macroscopic Features

Irregular knotty fist-shaped pieces, 2~7cm diameter. Externally yellowish-brown, rough and wrinkled, with numerous parallel raised ring nodes; depressed semi-circular stem scars at the apex, many remnants of roots on the ring nodes and bottom. Firm texture, difficult to break; fractured surface is yellowish-white or grayish-yellow, scattered yellowish-brown oil cavities, the cambium forms an undulating ring. Potent aromatic odor; bitter, acrid taste, mildly numbs the tongue, with a slightly sweet aftertaste. Decoction pieces have uneven edges, irregular butterfly-like thin slices.

Quality Requirements

Superior medicinal material is large, full, firm, oily, potent aromatic with yellowish-white fractured surface.

Properties

Acrid; warm.

Functions

Invigorates the blood, eliminates stasis, moves qi, opens stagnation, dispels wind, relieves pain. Apply to chest impediment and heartache, chest pain, swollen pain of falls wound, irregular menses, amenorrhea, dysmenorrheal, abdominal mass and pain, headache, wind-damp impediment.

Processed Form

Jiu chuang xiong: Spray the chuan xiong slices with yellow rice wine, cover a little while, fry till slightly burnt, take out and cools (every 100 jin of chuan xiong slices with 12 jin and 8 liang of yellow rice wine).

Technical Terms

'Butterfly slices’: Chuan xiong consists of irregular knotty fist-shaped pieces; after being sliced longitudinally into decoction pieces, the edges are irregular and the shape of the slices is similar to a butterfly.

Origin

The dried rhizomes of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort.(Apiaceae).

Szechwan Lovage RhizomeHerbs in the formula

Pubescent Angelica and Mistletoe Decoction

Action：Dispels wind-dampness, relieves pain, boosts the liver and kidney, supplements qi and blood.

Indication：This formula is indicated for long-term bi syndrome associated with deficiency of the liver and kidney and insufficiency of qi and blood. The symptoms include pain and flaccidity of the waist and knees, disorder of flexion and extension of the joints, numbness, fear of cold with a preference for warmth, palpitations, and shortness of breath. The tongue is pale with a white coating and the pulse is thready and weak.

View Details Dampclearing formulas

Sour Jujube Decoction

Action：Nourishes blood and calms the mind, clears heat and relieves vexation.

Indication：Suan Zao Ren Tang is indicated for deficiency of liver-blood with internal deficiency heat. The symptoms are vexation, insomnia, palpitations, restlessness, dizziness, dry throat, dry mouth, a red tongue, and a wiry, thin pulse.

View Details Sedative and tranquilizing formulas

Yang-Supplementing and Five-Returning Decoction

Action：Supplements qi, invigorates blood, and unblocks the collaterals.

Indication：Bu Yang Huan Wu Tang is indicated for wind-strike due to qi deficiency and blood stasis marked by hemiplegia, deviation of the mouth and eye, sluggish speech, involuntary salivation from the mouth, frequent urination or enuresis, a dark tongue body with a white coating, and a slow, weak pulse.

View Details Blood-regulating formulas

Channel-Warming Decoction

Action：Warms the channels and dissipates cold, dispels stasis and nourishes blood.

Indication：Wen Jing Tang is indicated for deficiency-cold of the chong and ren mai, obstructive blood stasis marked by menstrual spotting or purple menses with blood clots. There may be irregular menstruation such as advanced, delayed, or prolonged periods, or having a period twice a month. There may also be inhibited menses, fever at night, vexatious heat in the palms, dry lips and mouth, distention and fullness of the lower abdomen, a dark red tongue, and a thready, choppy pulse. Infertility due to deficient cold of the uterus may also manifest.

View Details Blood-regulating formulas

Constraint-Resolving Pill

Action：Moves qi and resolves constraint.

Indication：Yue Ju Wan is indicated for the pattern of six constraints. The symptoms are chest oppression, epigastric and abdominal distention or pain, eructation with fetid odor, acid swallowing, nausea, vomiting, and indigestion.

View Details Qi-regulating 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

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

Blood Stasis-Expelling Decoction

Action：Invigorates blood, dissolves stasis, and moves qi to relieve pain.

Indication：Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang is indicated for blood stasis in the chest. Symptoms include chest pain, headache, and chronic stabbing pain at a fixed location, continual hiccups or choking when drinking water, nausea, internal heat, dizziness, severe palpitations, insomnia, dreaminess, impatience, irascibility, tidal fever at night, dark lips or eyes, a dark red tongue with ecchymosis or purple spots, and a choppy or wiry, tight pulse.

View Details Blood-regulating formulas

Engendering and Transforming Decoction

Action：Nourishes the blood and dissolves blood stasis, warms the channels and relieves pain.

Indication：Patterns of blood deficiency, congealed cold, and blood stasis marked by inhibited lochia after childbirth and cold pain in the lower abdomen.

View Details Blood-regulating formulas

Four Substances Decoction

Action：Supplements and regulates the blood.

Indication：Si Wu Tang is used to treat patterns of ying-blood deficiency and stagnation manifesting dizziness, blurred vision, palpitations, insomnia, a lusterless complexion, menstrual irregularities, oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea, abdominal pain around the navel or mass (s) formed within the abdomen, a pale tongue, pale lips and nails, a thready, wiry pulse or thready, choppy pulse.

View Details Tonic 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

Eight-Gem Decoction

Action：Boosts qi and supplements blood.

Indication：Ba Zhen Tang is intended for a syndrome of qi and blood deficiency marked by pale or withered-yellow complexion, dizziness, auditory vertigo, lassitude of the four limbs, shortness of breath, reluctance to speak, palpitations, and decreased food intake. The tongue is pale with a thin, white coating and the pulse is thready, weak or deficient, big, and weak.

View Details Tonic 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