Shu Qi Gen (Antifeverile Dichroa Root)

Name

Chang Shan (Radix Dichroae), recorded in the Shennong Bencao Jing.

Source and quality

Plant

The root of the deciduous undershrub Dichroa febrifuga Lour., family Saxifragaceae.

Where it is grown

Mainly produced in the provinces south of the Yangtze River, and in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.

Harvest

Lifted in autumn.

Smell and taste

Faint smell; bitter.

Better grade

Firm and chicken-bone shaped, with a pale yellow surface and cross-section, and smooth.

Processing

Used unprocessed, or dry-fried with liquor.

Nature and action

Bitter, acrid, cold and toxic; enters the liver, stomach, spleen and lung channels. Induces vomiting and checks malaria.

When it is used

Phlegm-fluid retained in the chest

When used raw, Chang Shan can promote vomiting of phlegm-fluid because its emetic action is strong. It is combined with Gan Cao and Feng Mi to strengthen the emetic effect: for copious phlegm in the chest it is combined with Gan Cao, reduced, and taken with Feng Mi as in Qian Jin Fang.

For wind stroke, phlegm misting the heart, epilepsy, mania, shock, and other syndromes with excessive phlegm-fluid retained, it is combined with other emetic herbs, such as Li Lu in Dan Xi Xin Fa.

Malaria

It is good at checking malaria and is indicated for that disease. For the various forms of malaria it can be used alone, as in its alcoholic preparation from Zhou Hou Fang, or combined with other herbs that check malaria, such as Cao Guo and Bing Lang in the formula Jie Nue Qi Bao Yin from Yi Lian Fang.

Dose

Decoction 3~9 g. The raw herb is used to induce vomiting; the form dry-fried with alcohol is used to check malaria. Take the medicine half a day, or two hours, before the malaria attack begins.