Sichuan Qiang Huo (Cylindrical, slightly curved, brownish-brown, short and raised ring-shaped nodes, silkworm bamboo joints)

Gong Qiang Huo

Western Qiang Huo

Western Qiang Huo

Qiang Huo Slices

Gong Qiang Huo Slices (Clear radial fissures)

Silkworm Qiang Huo

Western Qiang Huo Slices

Western Qiang Huo Slices

【Naming】

Qiang Huo

 【Source】

Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic

 【Commonly Used Degree】

A

 【Botanical Origin】

The rhizome and root of Notopterygium incisium Ting. or Notopterygium forbesii Boiss. of the family Apiaceae.

 【Characteristics】

Qiang Huo medicinal materials have silkworm Qiang, strip Qiang, etc. due to different medicinal parts and shapes.
(1) Silkworm Qiang: Also known as screw Qiang. It is a dried rhizome, shaped like a silkworm, cylindrical or slightly curved, about 4~10㎝ long and about 1~2㎝ in diameter. The top has stems and leaves or residual base. The surface is brownish-brown with numerous dense and raised segments. The nodes are densely covered with warty protruding fibrous root scars. The quality is light and easy to break.
(2) Strip Qiang: It is a dried root and branch root. It is cylindrical or branched, 3~17㎝ long and about 0.7~1.7㎝ in diameter. The top may occasionally have rhizomes. The surface is brownish-brown with longitudinal lines and warty protruding fibrous root scars. The upper end is thicker and has sparse raised segments. The quality is loose and brittle, and it is easy to break.
Prepared slices are transverse or oblique thin slices, round or oblate, about 1㎜ thick. The surface is chrysanthemum-patterned with numerous radial fissures. The cortex is brownish-red, the xylem is white, and the central pith is brown to black, or loose and hollow.

 【Identification】

《Universal Relief Prescriptions》: “Qiang Huo with black skin, light body, and bamboo joints is the best.” 《Essentials of Materia Medica》: “Roots with dense nodes are the best.” 《Identification of Good and Bad》: “The best is one with a glossy appearance and a purplish-black outer skin with nodes.”
The best is when the root strips are plump, the silkworm shape has screw lines, the strips are thick and long, the color is brownish-yellow to purplish-brown, the cross-section has a chrysanthemum pattern, and the aroma is clear and strong. Second-best is a loose, hollow body with long shedding sections (long internodes) and a smooth, black-brown outer skin. It is generally believed that the quality of silkworm-shaped Qiang is the best, followed by bamboo-joint Qiang, and the worst is the large-headed Qiang. In terms of origin, Sichuan Qiang is the best, followed by Western Qiang.

 【Identification Terminology】

1. Big-headed Qiang: A type of Qiang Huo medicinal material, derived from broad-leaved Qiang Huo. Its characteristic is that the root head is significantly thick and large, or in the shape of a mass or spindle, the segments are irregularly shaped, and there are many branches.
2. Bamboo-joint Qiang: A type of Qiang Huo medicinal material product, characterized by sparsely growing root and stem segments, relatively long and regular internodes similar to bamboo joints, and multiple dot-like or nodular protruding root marks on the segments, as well as broken scales.
3. Strip Qiang: A type of Qiang Huo medicinal material product, derived from broad-leaved Qiang Huo. Its characteristic is that it has a small amount of short rhizomes, mostly in the shape of strips, nearly cylindrical or conical.
4. Silkworm Qiang (Screw Qiang): A type of Qiang Huo medicinal material product, characterized by root and stem segments in a screw-like pattern, very short internodes, tight segments, slightly like a silkworm body, stem marks at the top, and a special fragrance.
5. Vermillion dots: Reddish-brown small dots on the cross-sections of Qiang Huo, Cang Zhu, Mu Xiang, etc., which are oil chambers and their secretions.

 【Chapter】

Rhizomes