Medicinals
zhāng nǎo / 樟脑 / 樟腦 / camphor
Latin pharmacognostic name: Camphora
Alternate English names:
Alternate Chinese names:
Origin: Plant
Use: medicinal
Category: External medicine agents / Toxin-drawing, putridity-transforming, and flesh-engendering agents
Properties: Acrid, hot; toxic.
Channel entry: heart and spleen channels.
Indications:
- Eliminates dampness and kills worms (external use):
Scab and lichen;damp sores . - Warms, pervades, and relieves pain (external use):
Injury from knocks and falls ; toothache. - Opens the orifices and repels foulness; relieves pain (internal use): Sand distension with abdominal pain,
vomiting and diarrhea , and clouded spirit.
Dosage & Method:
Grind to a powder and apply sprinkled on cloth or mixed with fluid (e.g., sesame oil). The oral dose is 0.1–0.2g, taken in powder form or dissolved in liquor.
Warning:
Contraindicated in qì vacuity and yīn depletion, in the presence of heat, and in pregnancy. Do not exceed the stated dose.
Quality:
Clean white translucent camphor is the best.
Product Area:
Mainly produced in Táiwān, Guìzhōu, Guǎngxī, Fújiàn, Jiāngxī, and Sìchuān, but also in Guǎngxī, Zhèjiāng, ānhuī, Yúnnán, and Húnán.