The efficacy and function of Sichuan costusroot[picture]

Sichuan costusroot [picture] is a very common Chinese medicinal material in daily life. It has high medicinal and nutritional value to the human body and is not too difficult to purchase. Let’s analyze several aspects of Sichuan wood fragrance [picture].

【English Name】 Sichuan Dolomiaea Root

[Source] It is the root of Dolomiaea souliei (Franch.) Shih, a plant of the Asteraceae family. Dig up the roots between September and December, wash them, and dry them in the sun or on a low fire.

[Original form] Perennial herb, almost stemless. The roots are thick and cylindrical. The leaves are clustered, rosette-shaped, ovate-lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate or elliptical, 20-30 cm long, 10-20 cm wide, pinnately fissured, with 5-7 pairs of lobes, or undivided, with irregular serrations on the edges of the lobes, and hairy on both sides; the petiole is 8-20 cm long. Several head inflorescences are clustered at the top of the branches; the involucral bracts are 6 layers, leathery, green with purple, with convex tips and eyelashes on the edges; all flowers are tubular, purple, and about 4 cm long. Achenes are flat and ribbed; pappus is awn-shaped. The flowering period is from July to August, and the fruiting period is from August to September.

[Habitat distribution] Growing in alpine grasslands above 3000m above sea level. Mainly produced in Sichuan.

[Properties] The roots are cylindrical or semi-cylindrical with longitudinal grooves, 10 to 30 cm long and 1.5 to 3 cm in diameter. The surface is yellow-brown to dark brown, rough, with dense rhombus-shaped reticulations composed of fiber bundles. Sometimes the root head is charred and sticky. It is light, hard and brittle, difficult to break; the cross section is uneven, the bark is yellow-brown, the wood is yellow-white, and punctate oil chambers and radial cracks can be seen, some are hollow in the center, the smell is aromatic and specific, the taste is bitter, and it sticks to the teeth when chewed.

[Chemical composition] Contains volatile oil; the commercial costusroot root contains mokko lactone.

[Nature and flavor] Warm in nature, spicy and bitter in taste.

[Functions and indications] Promotes qi circulation and relieves pain, harmonizes the stomach and relieves bloating, and stops diarrhea. Used for abdominal distension, intestinal rumbling, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, dysentery and tenesmus.

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] According to "Jingzhu Materia Medica", Sichuan costusroot clears heat from basil. The Tibetan wood fragrance planted in the same garden is different in species, but its leaf stems are smaller than that of Tibetan wood fragrance. Its roots are single, white, and very hard, shaped like the roots of licorice, and have a very spicy taste. It is recorded in the "Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Tree" that Bugamola can make skinny people fat. It is recorded in "The Metaphor of Snail Eyes" that Bugamola is shaped like the root of fly grass. Rangjun Duoji said: "Chuanmuxiang treats rib pain." According to research, this product is consistent with the records in "Jingzhu Materia Medica".

Sichuan costusroot [picture] is a medicinal material that has existed for a long time. It is recorded in many Chinese medicine books, which shows that Sichuan costusroot [picture] does have good medicinal value.