Pinyin: Cao Wu / Wu Tou  Chinese: 草烏 / 烏頭
Pharmaceutical: Radix Aconiti Kusnezoffii seu Agrestis
Taxonomy: Aconitum Kusnezoffii seu Agrestis
English: Wild Aconite Root / Kusnezoff Monkshood Root / Monkshood Daughter Root

Tastes: Pungent, bitter, hot, toxic
Meridians Entered: Heart, Liver, Kidney and Spleen

Actions & Indications:

1. Disperses Cold, scours out Wind, overcomes Dampness and stops pain
   Almost exclusively used topically
   Gu Parasites / chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
2. Reduces swellings and treats abscesses and lesions
   Yin sores
   Stubborn sores that do not ulcerate
   Ulcerated sores that do not heal

Standard Dosage: 1.5-3g in decoction, or applied externally.
Cautions: The raw products should be used cautiously and decocted for a long time to detoxify prior to adding the other ingredients. It is antagonistic to Ban Xia, Gua Lou, Bei Mu, Bai Lian and Bai Ji.

This herb is prohibited from use in the UK under the banned and restricted herbal ingredients list issued by the MHRA. It is generally substituted with various Yang tonics depending on the presentation although none can imitate its powerful cardiovascular effects making them ineffective substitutes for rescuing devastated Yang. External use is permitted at 1.3% or below.

Pinyin: Bi Ba  Chinese: 蓽茇
Pharmaceutical: Fructus Piperis Longi
English: Long Pepper

Tastes: Pungent, hot
Meridians Entered: Spleen and Large Intestine

Actions & Indications:

1. Warms the Middle Jiao, disperses Cold from the Stomach and Intestines, Descends Qi and stops pain
   Cold congealing and leading to Qi Stagnation in the epigastrium and abdomen with nausea, vomiting, belching, acid regurgitation, loss of appetite and abdominal pain
   Stomach Cold
2. Treats toothache (topical)
   As a powder for toothache

Standard Dosage: 1.5-3g in decoction.

Pinyin: Hua Jiao / Chuan Jiao  Chinese: 花椒 / 川椒
Pharmaceutical: Pericarpium Zanthoxyli
Taxonomy: Zanthoxylum bungeanum seu schinifolium
English: Sichuan Pepper

Tastes: Pungent, warm
Meridians Entered: Spleen, Stomach and Kidney

Actions & Indications:

1. Warms the Middle Jiao, disperses Cold, dispels Dampness, relieves diarrhoea and alleviates pain
   Spleen and Stomach Deficiency Cold with Cold and pain in the abdomen, vomiting and diarrhoea
2. Kills Parasites and alleviates abdominal pain
   Abdominal pain due to roundworms
   Moist dermal ulcers
   Gu Parasites / chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)

Standard Dosage: 3-6g in decoction.

Pinyin: Xi Xin  Chinese: 细辛
Pharmaceutical: Herba cum Radix Asari
Taxonomy: Asarum sieboldii
English: Chinese Wild Ginger

Tastes: Pungent, warm, slightly toxic
Meridians Entered: Lung, Kidney and Heart

Actions & Indications:

1. Releases Exterior Wind and Cold
   As an adjunctive for any exterior Wind-Cold especially with Dampness in Lung or underlying Yang Deficiency
   Frequently used for Wind-Cold when the dominant symptoms are head and body aches
2. Disperses Wind-Cold and Internal Cold and alleviates pain
   Pain due to Wind and/or Cold anywhere in the body, particularly headache, painful obstruction, abdominal pain or headache due to obstruction of Fluids and Blood by Cold, often with anhydrous Wind-Cold-Damp Bipain
3. Warms the Lungs and transforms Phlegm and Thin Mucus (circulates water)
   Cough and Qi which surges upward and fullness in the chest in the chest with continuous cough from clumped Qi in the chest and diaphragm marked by copious, watery sputum due to Phlegm-Damp or Wind-Cold with congested fluids
4. Disperses and unblocks the Qi of the nasal orifices (clears the orifices of the head)
   Nasal congestion
   Oral pathology
   Loss of consciousness
5. Promotes healing of oral ulcerations
   Oral lesions or ulcerations
6. Relieves toothache
   Toothache
7. Aids fasting
   Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the superior class of herbs which can, with protracted taking, make the body light and prolong life. This may suggest it was part of supplementing the diet when engaging in an "avoiding grain" (Bigu 辟穀) fasting regime to cultivate life (Yangsheng 養生).

Standard Dosage: 1-3g in decoction.
Cautions: Traditionally contraindicated for headache due to hyperactivity of yang caused by yin deficiency and dry cough caused by lung dryness hurting yin. It is incompatible with Li Lu.

While not prohibited in the UK, the RCHM has enacted a voluntary ban by use due to possible fears of aristolochic acid. It is usually substituted with Gui Pi (Cinnamon Bark), or Rou Gui, or Gui Zhi and Qiang Huo for channel problems, Zi Su Ye and Bai Qian for lung issues, Gao Ban and Bai Zhi for treating the head and Cong Bai and Bai Zhi for the sinuses.