ABSTRACT
By reviewing ancient materia medica， medical books and modern literature， the name， origin， quality evaluation， producing area and processing methods of Huoxiang herbs were systematically investigated and researched， so as to provide reference and basis for the development and utilization of famous classical formulas containing Huoxiang herbs. Through the herbal textual research， it can be seen that most of materia medica in past dynasties have taken Huoxiang as the nominal rectification， and the mainstream base used is Pogostemon cablin. In order to distinguish another plant of the same family， Agastache rugosa， which has been widely used in Chinese folk since the Ming dynasty， and respect geo-authentic region， Pogostemonis Herba is also named Guanghuoxiang. Pogostemonis Herba is native to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries， and was introduced to China as a spice through Guangdong and other places in the early days， and has been successfully cultivated in the south of China since the Song dynasty. The medicinal parts are mostly dried aboveground parts， and the leaves and stems are also separated for medicine sometimes. The geo-authentic region of Pogostemonis Herba is Guangdong in the past dynasties， and it is currently cultivated in Guangzhou， Zhaoqing， Zhanjiang of Guangdong province and Hainan province， with the most famous one cultivated in Shipai. Pogostemonis Herba is mainly planted by cutting propagation. It usually sprouts in February and is harvested in June. The main processed method in region is stuffy dry， which is placed in the sun and repeatedly suffocated until it has an aromatic smell and the color turns yellow. The processing method is mostly to use the raw product as medicine after being selected. Based on the research results， it is suggested that the leaves of P. cablin are used in Yangweitang， for Huopo Xialingtang， it is recommended to choose the raw product of A. rugosa that is removed the roots and old stems.