Medicinals
rǔ xiāng / 乳香 / 乳香 / frankincense;
Latin pharmacognostic name: Olibanum
Alternate English names: olibanum
Alternate Chinese names: 乳头香 rǔ tóu xiāng; 西香 xī xiāng; 天泽香 tiān zé xiāng; 摩勒香 mó lè xiāng; 多伽罗香 duō gā luó xiāng; 马尾香 mǎ wěi xiāng; 熏陆 xūn lù
Origin: Plant
Use: medicinal
Category: Blood-Quickening Stasis-dispelling agents / Blood-quickening pain-relieving agents
Properties: Acrid, bitter; warm.
Channel entry: heart, liver, and spleen channels.
Indications:
- Quickens the blood, moves qì, relieves pain, and disperses swelling:
Injury from knocks and falls ,welling- and flat-abscesses (yōng jū), amenorrhea, menstrual pain, stasis and pain in the heart and abdomen,concretions and conglomerations , wind-damp impediment (fēng shī bì) pain. - Dispels putridity and engenders flesh: Enduring ulcerated sores that fail to close.
Dosage & Method:
Oral: 3–10g, in decoctions, powders, or pills. The dosage can be lowered in combination with mò yào. For internal use, it is stir-fried and is often used in pill or powder form.
Warning:
Rǔ xiāng easily irritates the stomach and causes nausea or vomiting in patients with weakness of the stomach, so it should be used with care. It is contraindicated in pregnancy and in the absence of stasis. Avoid high doses.
Product Description:
This resin comes in nipple or teardrop shapes or irregular lumps, 0.5–3 cm long. It is pale yellow with a faint green hue and is semitranslucent. There is white dust on the surface. It is brittle, and the broken edge usually has a waxlike appearance, though rarely it has a glass-like luster. It has a delicate aroma, and when processed it turns to a blackish brown and glistens.
Quality:
Semitranslucent pale-yellow resin in granular form, and with powder that sticks to the fingers and a good aroma is classed as top-grade frankincense (dī rǔ xiāng). Unevenly sized and broken granules are called coarse frankincense (yuán rǔ xiāng).
Product Area:
Mediterranean islands and coastal regions.
Etymology:
Rǔ xiāng 乳香, literally ""nipple aroma,"" reflects the form and odor of this item.