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Alternate Chinese names: 制附子 zhì fù zǐ; 熟附子 shú fù zǐ 熟附 shú fù; 附片 fù zǐ

Kingdom: Plant

Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: Aconitum carmichaeli Debx. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)

Origin in unofficial sources: Aconitum carmichaeli Debx.

Use: Medicinal and alimentary

Category: Interior-warming agents

Properties: Acrid and sweet; hot; toxic.

Channel entry: Heart, spleen, and kidney channels.

Actions and indications:

• Returns yáng and stems counterflow: Yáng collapse.
• Supplements fire and assists yáng: Yáng vacuity.
• Warms the channels, disperses cold, eliminates dampness, and relieves pain: Cold impediment.
• Disperses cold and frees the network vessels: Yīn flat-abscesses.
• Strengthens supplementing actions: When using Rén shēn (人参 Ginseng Radix, ginseng) and Huáng qí (黄芪 Astragali Radix, astragalus [root]) a small quantity of fù zǐ is sometimes added to strengthen the supplementing action of these medicinals.

Dosage and method: Oral: 3–15g. fù zǐ and its related medicinals chuān wū and cǎo wū (see Associated Medicinals below) should be predecocted for 30–60 minutes to reduce their toxicity.

Warnings: Contraindicated in pregnancy, in yīn vacuity with exuberant yáng, and in true heat and false cold. Symptoms of overdose due to the toxins in fù zǐ include drooling, nausea and vomiting, clouded head, flowery vision, dry mouth, numbness and tingling of the limbs and entire body, slow pulse, panting, convulsions, unclear spirit-mind, urinary and fecal incontinence, decrease in blood pressure and body temperature, and arrhythmia. The toxicity of fù zǐ is reduced by combining it with gān jiāng (Zingiberis Rhizoma), gān cǎo (Glycyrrhizae Radix), and lǜ dòu (Phaseoli Radiati Semen) and is further reduced by the decoction process. Only the processed form should be used internally. Note also that the medicinal bái fù zǐ (Typhonii Gigantei Rhizoma), literally white fù zǐ, is a distinct substance unrelated to this agent.

Product description: The dried accessory tuber is roughly spindle-shaped, about 1.5–3 cm long and 1.5 cm in diameter. It has shoot scars at the top and a pointed tip at the bottom and is covered with numerous timorous protuberances. It comes in several forms. Hēi shùn piàn (黑顺片 Aconiti Radix Lateralis Denigrata, black sliced aconite [accessory root])XXX: Skinned, cut 2–5 mm longitudinal slices, black on the outside and blackish yellow on the cut edge. Bái fù piàn (白附片 Aconiti Radix Lateralis Alba, white sliced aconite [accessory root]): Skinned, cut in 5 mm transverse slices. Pào fù zǐ (炮附子 Aconiti Radix Lateralis Tosta, blast-fried aconite [accessory root]): Skinned, cut in 3–4 mm thick slices, yellow and slightly translucent. Taiwanese stone-baked aconite (tái wān bēi fù zǐ 台湾焙附子)XXX: 1 mm thick longitudinal slices, farinaceous in texture.

Quality: Fat hard tubers are the best.

Production area: Sìchuān and Shǎnxī (Shaanxi).

Etymology: The Chinese name fù zǐ 附子 means appendage, reflecting the fact that this is accessory tuber, rather than the main tuber.

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