Ligusticum Root (Gaoben)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Rhizoma Ligustici |
| Botanical Name: | Ligusticum sinense oliver Ligusticum jeholense Nakai et Kitag |
| Common Name: | Ligusticum root |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Shennong Bencao Jing |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The roots are dug in spring. After the fibrous roots have been removed, they are dried in the sun. Then, after soaking them in water, the roots are cut into slices. |
| Properties and Taste: | Pungent and warm |
| Meridian: | Urinary bladder |
| Functions: | To expel cold and release the exterior To expel wind and dampness To stop pain |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Headache due to invasion by wind and cold manifested by pain at the vertex and migraine headache. *Use with Dahurian angelica root (Baizhi) and Chuanxiong rhizome (Chuanxiong). 2. Wind-cold-damp bi syndrome manifested as joint pain and pain in the limbs. *Use with Ledebouriella root (Fangfeng), Notopterygium root (Qianghuo), Clematis root (Weilingxian) and Atractylodes rhizome (Cangzhu). |
| Dosage: | 2-10 g |
| Cautions: | This herb is contraindicated during heat syndromes, as well as in headache due to blood deficiency. |