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.