Costus Root (Muxiang)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Radix Aucklandiae seu Vladimiriae |
| Botanical Name: | Aucklandia lappa Decne. Vladimiria souliei (Franch.) Ling |
| Common Name: | Aucklandia root Costus root |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Shennong Bencao Jing |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The roots are dug in October and can be used raw or baked. |
| Properties and Taste: | Pungent, bitter and warm |
| Meridian: | Spleen, stomach, large intestine, and gall bladder |
| Functions: | To regulate qi in the spleen and stomach To stop pain |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Qi stagnation in the spleen and stomach manifested as poor appetite, epigastric and abdominal distension and pain, borborygmus and diarrhea. *Use with Poria (Fuling), Bitter orange (Zhiqiao) and Tangerine peel (Chenpi). 2. Damp-heat dysentery manifested as tenesmus and abdominal pain. *Use with Rhubarb (Dahuang) and Areca (Binglang) in the formula Muxiang Binglang Wan. |
| Dosage: | 3-10 g |
| Cautions: | The raw herb is used for qi stagnation, and the baked herb is used for diarrhea. |