Medicinals
chái hú / 柴胡 / 柴胡 / bupleurum [root];
Latin pharmacognostic name: Bupleuri Radix
Alternate English names: hare's ear root
Alternate Chinese names: 柴草 chái cǎo; 茈胡 chái hú; 柴草 chái cǎo; 茹草 rú cǎo; 山菜 shān cài
Origin: Plant
Use: medicinal
Category: Exterior-resolving agents / Cool acrid exterior-resolving agents
Properties: Bitter, acrid; slightly cold.
Channel entry: liver and gallbladder channels.
Indications:
- Harmonizes and resolves the exterior and abates heat: External contractions with heat effusion; lesser yáng patterns with
alternating heat effusion and aversion to cold . - Courses the liver and resolves depression: Binding depression of liver qì.
- Uplifts yáng qì: Qì vacuity fall.
Dosage & Method:
Oral: 3–10g in decoctions. To resolve the exterior and abate heat, unprocessed chái hú should be used. When prepared with vinegar, it has a stronger ability to course the liver and resolve depression.
Warning:
Chái hú is upbearing and dispersing; it should be used with caution in ascendant hyperactivity of liver yáng, liver wind stirring internally, yīn vacuity with effulgent fire, counterflow qì ascent, and liver fire flaming upward.
Product Description:
The roots are long and contorted, 5–10 cm long and 1.5 cm thick, sometimes with branch roots. The head of the root has the remains of leafstalks. The skin is brown with marked transverse creases near the head. The lower half of the root has irregular lengthwise wrinkles. Any branch roots are usually removed. Bupleurum root is light and brittle and snaps to reveal a pale brown and white wood. It is cut into fine slices, which clearly reveal the medullary rays and the layered quality of the wood.
Quality:
Good quality roots are long and thick, without any fine roots. They should be pale in color, slightly aromatic, and have a slightly bitter flavor.
Product Area:
Bupleurum chinense: Liáoníng, Gānsū, Héběi, and Hénán); Bupleurum scorzoneraefolium: Húběi, Jiāngxī, and Sìchuān.
Etymology:
This plant, originally called 茈胡 (chái hú) and also called 茹草 (rú cǎo), is said traditionally to be eaten as food (茹) when young and tender, and used as firewood (柴) when old.