Learn About Chinese Herbs -Fang Feng (Saposhnikovia divaricate)-
Fang Feng (Saposhnikovia divaricate)
This product is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. The Shennong Materia Medica, listed as the top grade. Li Shizhen said: The defender of the imperial also, its skill to heal the wind is the most important, hence the name Fang Feng.
Source： Saposhnikovia divaricata (Turcz.) Schischk, a perennial herb in the family Apiaceae of dried roots, all wild.
Plant morphology： Perennial herb with a single stem and fibrous brownish-yellow coarse hairs on the head of the root. The basal leaves have long stalks, slightly hugging the stem at the base, and the leaves are triangular and ovate, with two or nearly three pinnate splits. The stems produce smaller leaves and are born on the leaf sheath. Inflorescences of compound umbels, apical. The flowers are white, double hanging fruit.
Origin
East Fang Feng is produced in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning.
Western Fang Feng is produced in Inner Mongolia and Hebei.
Water Fang Feng is produced in Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Bianshui and other places in Henan.
Trait identification
· East Fang Feng： Conical, about 20~25cm long, about 1cm in diameter, gray-yellow or gray-brown surface, blunt tip at the top, dense thin links whose appearance is similar to earthworms, they are commonly known as "earthworm head" or "flagpole top". The thin links have some yellow fibrous hairs, which are remnants of vascular bundles at the base of the leaves. There are many longitudinal wrinkles under the thin links and there are transverse long skin holes. Crunchy and easy to break. There is a yellow center in the middle of the section (core part), a brown ring outside the heart (forming layer), and the outermost layer is light brownish yellow (skin layer), with fissures. Slightly aromatic. Sweet taste and slightly bitter.
· West Fang Feng： Also known as Ko Fang Feng , the shape is basically the same as the east Fang Feng, but the top link is smaller, and there are more residual vascular bundles (commonly known as broom heads). The skin color is lighter and there are more longitudinal wrinkles. The cross-section and odor are also the same as those of the east Fang Feng.
The above two have roots that are hypertrophied, straight, fine and soft skin, yellow-white cross-section, yellow center color, and chrysanthemum heart is preferred.
· Water Fang Feng： Also known as water Fang Feng. Slender strip, unevenly curved, about 15~25cm long, about 0.5cm in diameter. The epidermis is earthy yellow, with a short reed at the apex and many longitudinal wrinkles below. There are few small manifold roots and slightly raised whisker root marks. The texture is flexible and easy to break, the section is light brownish yellow, with a yellow center and sweet taste. It is best to have a uniform length of strips, no reed head, soft body, yellow-white cross-section, and yellow pattern in the middle.
Main ingredients： Contain volatile oil, mannitol.
Pharmacological action
（1） Sweating and antipyretic: Animal experiments have confirmed moderate antipyretic effects.
（2） Analgesia.
（3） Diuresis.
（4） Antiviral effect: During animal experiments it is shown to have an inhibitory effect on influenza viruses.
Preparation： Slice for raw use.
Taste： Bittersweet and warm.
Attributed Meridian： To the bladder, lungs, liver, and spleen meridians.
Function： Publish dispersion, victory wet and spasmodic.
Indications： Headache, dizziness, joint pain, tetanus and other symptoms caused by external wind chill or rheumatism.
Clinical application： This product is the main drug for wind removal. Mainly treats external wind chill, wind heat, rheumatism and other diseases.
（1） It is used to treat external wind chill, wind heat, joint and muscle rheumatism. The main function is to dispel wind (that is, relieve the symptoms caused by wind and evil through antipyretic, sweating, analgesic and other effects). The medicinal properties of Fang Feng are relatively mild, the sweating power is not as good as Ma Huang and Gui Zhi, and the spiciness is not as good as Qiang Hua, so it is called "the emollient in wind medicine". It is often used with Jing Jie to treat colds. The difference between Fang Feng and Jing Jie is: Fang Feng is warmer than Jing Jie, and can overcome humidity (that is, to treat symptoms caused by wet), so the treatment of rheumatic paralysis pain uses Fang Feng instead of Jing Jie. If you feel cold and evil outside, wet cold, cold and sweat, it is equipped with Cang Zhu, and for example in the Hai Zang Shen Zhu soup formula.
（2） It is used to treat migraine. With Bai Zhi, Chuan Xiong, especially those with cold type physique and headache, dizziness, or headache related to rheumatism are more suitable.
（3） For itching. Often used with Jing Jie and Bo He, its effect is still in the category of wind dispelling (Chinese medicine believes that itch is also a "wind" typing).
（4） It is used to treat dysenteric diarrhea (i.e., bowel sounds heard, abdominal pain, pain during diarrhea). Traditional Chinese medicine believes that this kind of diarrhea has "wind" and "wet stagnation" in the intestines, so the treatment uses Fang Feng and Bai Zhu to achieve the purpose of dispelling wind and dampness, and an example being the Tong Xie Yao Fang formula.
Dosage： 3~9g
Examples of prescriptions
（1） Shenshu Soup (from Wang Haizang): Fang Feng 6g Cang Zhu 6g Zhi Gan Cao 3g Cong Bai 9g Sheng Jiang 9g Water cooked.
（2） Tong Xie Yao Fang (from "Jingyue Quanshu"): Fang Feng 9g Bai Zhu 9g Bai Shao 12g Chen pi 6g water cooked.
Note：
In addition to the above three types of Fang Feng, there are also different forms of Fang Feng produced in Sichuan, Yunnan, Xinjiang and other provinces. Such as Zhu Ye Fang Feng, Zhu Jie Fang Feng, Xi Ye Fang Feng, etc., but all belong to local produce and tend to be used locally. Henan's Bin Shui Fang Feng is mainly sold in the central and southern districts. East Fang Feng and Ko Fang Feng are sold throughout the country and exported. Beijing and Tianjin are accustomed to selling East Fang Feng and Ko Fang Feng.
The West Fang Feng is often mixed with the root of the umbrella plant Sha Hui Xiang (commonly known as white horse meat), and its root is thick and thin, and does not diverge. The outer skin is yellow-white, the leather is hard, broken with a wooden core, and can be split in two by hand from the upper part. Fang Feng cannot be split, so one has to pay attention to proper identification.
Case study: Pityriasis Rosea
Chief complaints： Red and very itchy rash on the back, abdomen and thigh areas for two weeks. The patient was diagnosed with pityriasis rosea by a dermatologist who believed that the cause was unknown and that there was no cure.
Date of first visit： Dec. 5, 2005
TCM diagnosis： floating pulse, tongue light red, coating thin and white.
TCM treatment principle： expel wind and detoxify to itching
TCM prescription： 1. She Tui 6g, Chan Tui 6g, Bai Xian Pi 10g, Ban Lan gen 15g, Fang Feng 6g, Qiang Huo 6g, Xu Chang Qing 6g. To make decoction, one dose a day, five consecutive doses. 2. Hibiscus tincture applied externally, twice a day.
The patient’s symptoms disappeared after five days of treatment
Follow-up date： Nov. 11, 2015 No recurrence so far.