Agastache (Huo Xiang)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Herba agastachis seu Herba pogastemonis |
| Botanical Name: | Pogostemon cablin Blanco Agastache rugosa (Fisch. et Mey.) O. Ktze. Agastaches seu Pogostemi |
| Common Name: | Agastache Patchouli Pogostemon Cablin |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Mingyi Bielu |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The aerial parts of the plant are gathered in summer or autumn, cut into pieces and dried in the shade. Whole plant is used, but leaves are the most aromatic. |
| Properties and Taste: | Pungent and slightly warm |
| Meridian: | Spleen, stomach and lung |
| Functions: | To transform dampness To dispel summer-heat To stop vomiting Helps throw off attacking pathogens by causing sweating |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Dampness blocking the spleen and stomach manifested as epigastric and abdominal distension, nausea, vomiting and poor appetite. *Use with Atractylodes rhizome (Cang zhu), magnolia bark (Hou po) and Pinellia tuber (Ban xia) in the formula Muhuanjin Zhenqi San. 2. Internal injury caused by raw and cold food and invasion by exogenous wind and cold in summer manifested as chills, fever, headache, epigastric fullness, nausea vomiting and diarrhea. *Use with Perilla leaf (Zi su ye), Pinellia tuber (Ban xia), Magnolia bark (Hou po) and Tangerine peel (Chen pi) in the formula Huoxiang Zhengqi San. 3. Vomiting: a) Vomiting caused by turbid dampness in the spleen and stomach. *Use alone or with Pinellia tuber (Ban xia) and Fresh ginger (Sheng jiang). b) Vomiting caused by damp-heat in the spleen and stomach. *Use with Coptis root (Huang lian), Bamboo shavings (Zhu ru) and Loquat leaf (Pi pa ye). c) Vomiting caused by weakness in the spleen and stomach. *Use with Pilose asiabell root (Dang shen) and Licorice root (Gan cao). d) Vomiting caused by pregnancy. *Use with Amomum fruit (Sha ren) and Pinellia tuber (Ban xia). |
| Dosage: | 5-10 g |
| Cautions: | This plant strongly stimulates movement within the body, and as a result it must be used carefully when there is deficient yin with heat signs or if there is Stomach heat. |