Xi Xin (Asarum; Wild Ginger)

This product is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, and the ShenNong Materia Medica. The root is delicate and spicy, hence the name.

Alias: Liao Xi Xin

Source: Aristolochiaceae perennial herbaceous Asarum heterotropoides Fr. Schmidt var mandshuricum (Maxim.) Kitag., Han Cheng Xi Xin Asarum sieboldii Miq.var., Seoul Seoulense Nakai and Hua Xi Xin Asarum sieboldii Miq Dried whole grass with roots. In the past, the two kinds of Liao Xi Xin were the main ones. Wild or cultivated.

Plant morphology

· Liao Xi Xin: It is a perennial herb with most fine roots in the ground in clumps, with a specific spicy smell. 2~3 basal leaves, long petioles, usually glabrous or rare short hairs, leaf heart-shaped, full margin, dark green surface. The flowers are single, purplish-red, tubular, and the flowers are folded outward when the three lobes bloom. The fruit is a false berry.

· Hua Xi Xin: very similar to the previous species, but with a longer rhizome, dense internodes, dense or scattered hairs on the back of the leaves.

Origin: Liao Xi Xin produces Jilin Fusong, Linjiang, Liaoning, Gaiping, Haicheng, Dandong, Heilongjiang and other places. Hua Xi Xin is produced in Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and the amount is small. The fruits are dug in summer or early autumn, and the aboveground parts and sediment are cleaned and dried in shade.

Trait identification

· Liao Xi Xin: the rhizome is about 1~4cm long, and the internode length is 2~3mm. The flowers and leaves are wrinkled, and the leaves are gray-green. The root is slender about 10~15cm, about 1mm in diameter, gray-brown, dense on the rhizome, slightly constricted, curled into a clump. The aromatic taste is spicy and numb. The root color is gray yellow, the leaf color is green, and the taste is tingly, spicy, and numb.

· Hua Xi Xin: similar to Liao Xiaoxin, but the rhizome is longer, about 3~8cm, the internode length is only 1mm, the smell is weaker, and the numbing burning sensation is stronger.

The main components： Contain volatile oils, mainly methyl eugenol, L-octano, etc. In addition, it contains a phenol C10H10O4, carvacone (C10H14O), neutral crystal C10H9O3.

Pharmacological action： Disperses cold, expectorant, analgesic, its principle is:

（1） Antipyretic: Animal experiments have confirmed that it has a certain antipyretic effect.

（2） Antibacterial: Its ethanol infusion has a significant antibacterial effect on gram-positive bacteria and typhoid bacillus in vitro.

（3） Analgesia: has a local anesthetic effect.

Preparation： Cut for raw use.

Taste： Spicy and warm.

Attributed Meridian： To the lungs and kidneys.

Function： Dispel wind and cold, relieve pain, and dispel expectorant.

Main Uses： Wind chill and cold, nasal congestion, headache, wind chill and wet paralysis, breath reversal, phlegm, wheezing, toothache.

Clinical application

（1） It is used to treat phlegm-congealed cough (such as chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis and other coughs with a large amount of thin sputum). It has antitussive effect, often used with dried ginger and schisandra, and the experience of predecessors said: "dried ginger spicy schisandra is a good medicine for the treatment of phlegm and cough". However, tuberculosis cough and other dry coughs should not be used.

（2） It is more suitable for the treatment of external wind cold, especially nasal congestion and excessive discharge, and saliva (excessive discharge) in the pharynx. Or with Fang Feng, wattle mustard, or with laurel branch, ginger and other medicines, can enhance the sweating and anti-table effect, such as Xi Xin soup combination.

（3） It is used to treat headache and joint pain caused by rheumatism or influenza.

In addition, traditionally experienced TCM Doctors often uses Xi Xin as a hot medicine in combination with cold medicine to treat heat symptoms, so that way one cold and one hot, will cooperate with each other, and the effect is quite good. For example, plaster for toothache caused by stomach heat (periodontitis), and jaundice to treat sores in the mouth and tongue (stomatitis).

In terms of external use, it is reported that the use of Xi Xin externally on the belly button can treat aphthous stomatitis, the method is to use fine spices 9 ~ 15g, finely grinded, and water into a paste, add a small amount of glycerin or honey to evenly place gauze on the umbilicus, at least three days, the pain will be rapidly reduced, and the ulcer surface scar heals.

Caution for use： Qi deficiency, sweating, yin deficiency and yang, headache, yin deficiency cough or lung heat cough are contraindicated. This product should not be taken with quinoa. The dosage should not be too large, known as "the amount of fine spices is not enough money", "Materia Medica" said that "if the fine spices are used alone, they should not exceed half of the money dagger, and if they are too much, their qi will stagnate and become still, and those who do not have their qi flow resumed will die".

Dosage： 1~3g. Of fine spicy sexual taste is strong, the dosage should be less, generally use more 1.5~3g; people with deficiency of qi and blood on weekdays, sometimes only use 1g to achieve results, more than 1.5g can be done, but more should not be necessary.

Prescription example：

Xi Xin Soup ("Skilled Formulas"): Xi Xin 1.5g, Laurel branch 4.5g, Ban Xia 6g, Fu Ling 9g,Jie Geng 3g, ginger 6g, licorice 3g, cooked in water.

Annotations

At present, Liaoning Fengcheng and other places have been successfully cultivated Xi Xin, and the roots and leaves are coarser and bigger than those that are wild, but the fragrance is slightly worse.
There are still a variety of Xi Xin subspecies in various places, such as Duheng (Maxin) in Jiangsu, single-leaf Xi Xin and double-leaf Xi Xin in Shaanxi, Hubei, Sichuan and other places.

Case Study： Neck Back to Chest Pain

Patient: Ms. Wu， female， age 61

Date of first appointment: July 7th, 2022

Chief complaints： Neck, back pain that goes to the chest. Limited neck mobility.

Tongue diagnose： Pale and fat tongue, thick and white coating, clear teeth marks.

TCM syndrome differentiation： Qi and blood deficiency, cold and dampness blocking the channels

TCM diagnosis：1. cold and dampness type Bi Zheng (obstruction syndrome)，2. Xiong Bi (thoracic obstruction)

Treatment Principles： Tonify and Invigorate blood， expel cold and dampness, clear and activate channels

TCM prescription： Chuan Shan Long 10g, Ge Gen 10g, Ci Diao Gen 10g, Ji Xue Teng 20g, Dan Shen 10g, Ze Lan 10g, Chi Shan 10g, Fu Ling 10g, Gui Zhi 10g, Pei Lan 10g, Hu Zhang 10g, Sang Zhi 10g

Follow up: After 5 doses of the TCM formula, patient no longer have pain in the neck, back and chest region. Her neck mobility has been restored.