What is rhizoma chuanxiong herb?

Chuanxiong is a cultivated plant, mainly produced in Sichuan. It grows in a mild climate in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi and other places. It is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine plant. It is often used to invigorate blood and promote qi, dispel wind and relieve pain. Chuanxiong is pungent and fragrant. It can not only disperse and reach the top when walking but not keeping it, but also enter the blood, and reach the sea of blood when it goes down. It has a wide range of activating blood and removing blood stasis, and is suitable for blood stasis to block various diseases; it can cure head wind, headache, rheumatic arthralgia and other symptoms. In the past, Ligusticum chuanxiong was said to be the medicine of Qi in the blood.

Morphological characteristics of chuanxiong rhizome:

Perennial herb, 40-60 cm tall. The rhizomes are well-developed, forming irregular nodular fist-shaped masses with a strong fragrance. The stem is upright, cylindrical, with longitudinal stripes, the upper part is multi-branched, and the lower part of the stem is enlarged and disc-shaped (Lingzi). The lower part of the stem is the leaf with a stalk, the stalk is 3-10 cm long, and the base is enlarged into a sheath; the outline of the leaf is ovoid triangular, 12-15 cm long, 10-15 cm wide, 3-4 times triple-pinnately split, pinnacles 4-5 pairs, ovate-lanceolate, 6-7 cm long, 5-6 cm wide, terminal lobes linear-lanceolate to long ovate, 2-5 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, with small Pointy; the upper part of the stem leaves gradually simplified.

Compound umbels terminal or lateral; involucre 3-6, linear, 0.5-2.5 cm long; umbrella spoke 7-24, unequal length, 2-4 cm long, rough inside; small involucre 4- 8, linear, 3-5 mm long, rough; calyx teeth underdeveloped; petals white, obovate to heart-shaped, 1.5-2 mm long, apex with inverted small pointed; style base cone-shaped, style 2, long 2- 3 mm, recurved downward.

The young fruit is compressed on both sides, 2-3 mm long and 1 mm wide; tubing 1-5 in the dorsal groove, tubing 2-3 in the side groove, and tubing 6-8 on the commissure surface. Flowering period from July to August, young fruit period from September to October.

Pharmacological action of chuanxiong rhizome:

1. The effect on the central nervous system Ligusticum chuanxiong has obvious sedative effect. The volatile oil of Ligusticum chuanxiong has an inhibitory effect on animal brain activity in small amounts, and has an excitatory effect on the respiratory center of the brain, vascular motor center and spinal cord reflex center. Ligusticum chuanxiong decoction administered to rats and mice ig can inhibit their spontaneous activities, prolong the sleep time of mice caused by sodium pentobarbital, and can counteract the excitatory effect of caffeine (20mg/kg). But it can't fight the rat convulsions caused by pentylenetetrazol. Gavage of 25-50g/kg of Ligusticum chuanxiong decoction can inhibit the spontaneous activity of rats, and sedate mice more obviously than rats; it can also prolong the sleep time of pentobarbital, but it cannot antagonize the excitement of caffeine. , Nor can it prevent the convulsions or lethal effects of pentamethenetetrazole and cocaine. The volatile oil of Ligusticum chuanxiong produced in Japan has an inhibitory effect on the activity of the animal’s brain, and has an excitatory effect on the vasomotor center, respiratory center and spinal reflex of the brain. The increase in the dose will turn it into inhibition.

2. The effect on the cardiovascular system 2.1 The effect on the heart Chuanxiong decoction on the isolated toad and frog heart, when the concentration is 1O-5-10-4, the contraction amplitude increases and the heart rate is slightly slower.