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Prepared
Aconite Root (fu zi)
Radix
Aconiti Praeparata
Properties:
The herb is pungent in flaour, hot in nature, and toxic.
It acts on the heart, spleen kidney channels. Being
extremely pungent, the herb is good at supplementing fire
and Yang, dispersing yin-cold, helping heart-yang, warming
spleen-yang and kidney-yang, dispersing cold alleviating
pain, and recuperating depleted Yang to rescue patients
from collapse. Therefore, it is used to treat cold
syndrome in the upper, the lower, the interior and the
exterior.
Effects:
Supplementing fire and Yang, dispersing cold, alleviating
pain, and recuperating depleted Yang to rescue patients
from collapse.
Indications:
1. To treat
deficiency of Yang-Qi and excessive Yin-cold in the
interior with symptoms of cold limbs, profuse sweating and
indistinct pulse, i. e Yang depletion, the herb is often
used in combination with dried ginger and liquorice for
strengthening the effects of recuperating depleted Yang to
rescue patients from collapse, such as Sini Decoction.
2. The herb is
often used in combination with Chinese cassia bark,
prepared rehmannia root, dogwood fruit and other herbs for
supplementing fire and Yang, warming and replenishing
essence and blood, to treat cold pain in the waist and
knee, aversion to cold, cold limbs, frequent micturition,
impotence, sterility and other syndromes caused by
deficiency of kidney-yang and decline of the fire from the
gate life; with dangshen, white atractylodes rhizome and
dried ginger for warming and replenishing the spleen and
kidney, dispersing cold and arresting diarrhea, such as
Fuzi Lizhong Pill, to treat Yang-deficiency of the spleen
and kidney, cold pain in the stomach and abdomen, loose
stool, cold body and limbs; and with atractylodes rhizome,
poria and other herbs for warming Yang, inducing diuresis
and alleviating edema, to treat deficiency of kidney-yang,
impaired water metabolism, edema and dysuria.
3. The herb can be
used in combination with cinnamom twig, white atractylodes
rhizome, clematis root and other herbs for dispersing cold
and alleviating pain, to treat arthralgia due to wind-cold
or excessive cold; and with cinnamom twig, chuanxiong,
Chinese angelica root and other herbs for warming the
channels, dispersing cold, regulating menstruation and
alleviating pain, to treat cold menses, stagnation of
blood, dysmenorrhea and amenorrhea.
Dosage and
Administration: 3-15g. When
prepared for a decoction, the herb should be boiled for
30-60 minutes in order to reduce its toxicity, before
other drugs are added.
Precautions:
Contraindicated in pregnancy. In properties, the herb is
opposite to pinellia tuber, mongolian snakegourd fruit,
fritillary bulb, ampelopsis and hyacinth bletilla, and
rhinoceros horm.
Appendix: Aconite Root
Aconite root is divided into Sichuan aconite root and wild
aconite root. Sichuan aconite root is the axial root of
the perennial herbaceous plant Aconium carmichaeli debx.
of family Ranunculaceae; and wild aconite root is the
tuber of Aconitum rusnezoffii Reichb. Similar to prepared
aconite root in nature, flavour, channel tropism and
effects, aconite root is particularly good at expelling
wind, removing dampness, dispersing cold and alleviating
pain. However, in toxicity, aconite root is stronger than
prepared aconite root, and wild aconite root is stronger
than prepared aconite root, and wild aconite root is
stronger than Sichuan aconite root . The dosage is 3-9g
for Sichuan aconite root and 1.5-4.5g for wild aconite
root orally taken. When prepared for a decoction aconite
root should be boiled for 30-60 minutes in order to reduce
its toxicity before other drugs are added. Its precautions
are the same as those of prepared aconite root.
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