Qiang Huo (Notopterygium)

Name

Qiang Huo (Notopterygium rhizome and root, Rhizoma seu Radix Notopterygii), recorded in the Shennong Bencao Jing.

Source and quality

Plant

The dried rhizome and root of Notopterygium incisum Ting ex H. T. Chang or N. franchetii (often listed as N. forbesii), family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae).

Where it is grown

N. incisum is mainly from Sichuan, Yunnan and Qinghai. N. franchetii is mainly from Sichuan, Qinghai, Shanxi and Henan.

Harvest

Collected in spring and autumn.

Smell and taste

Aromatic; slightly bitter and acrid.

Better grade

Stout pieces with dark brown skin, many reddish spots on the cut face, and a strong smell.

Processing

Sliced; used unprocessed.

Nature and action

Acrid, bitter, warm; enters the lung and bladder channels. Releases the exterior and disperses cold; expels wind-damp; eases pain.

When it is used

Wind-cold on the exterior

Qiang Huo is a strong cold-dispersing, damp-expelling, pain-easing herb. It fits an exterior wind-cold pattern that also has damp: chills and fever, no sweat, headache, stiff nape, heavy aching limbs. It is often paired with other wind-cold and damp-expelling herbs — for example Fang Feng and Chuan Xiong in Jiu Wei Qiang Huo Tang, or Du Huo, Gao Ben and Fang Feng in Qiang Huo Sheng Shi Tang.

Wind-cold-damp bi (aching joints and flesh)

Because it enters the taiyang bladder channel and is good for headache, shoulder and upper-back pain, it is especially used when the ache sits in the upper body. It is often combined with wind-damp and blood-moving herbs, as in Juan Bi Tang with Fang Feng and Dang Gui. For headache from wind-cold or wind-damp it is commonly used with Chuan Xiong, Bai Zhi and Gao Ben.

Dose

Decoction 3–10 g.

Cautions

Use carefully in blood deficiency: the herb is strongly acrid, aromatic, warm and drying. Large amounts can provoke vomiting, so it is a poor fit when the spleen and stomach are already weak.