ABSTRACT
To compare herbalogy literature through the ages, ancient prescription literature, modern national pharmacopoeia and modern Chinese materia medica, we can confirm that the core of the traditional functions about atractylodes macrocephala have been recorded in modern national pharmacopoeia and Chinese materia medica. But atractylodes macrocephala's effects in treating anemofrigid-damp arthralgia, vomit, abdominal crymodynia, hypochondnrium or abdominal mass, chills and fever, all anemo-illness, dead muscle, gastric heat, spasm, jaundice, violent pathogenic wind, headache, five kinds of strain and seven impairments, therm-disease, epidemic pathogenic factors from mountains, knob and boss, agerasia and so on, were not included nowadays. By analysing the syndrome of the compatibility in ancient prescriptions including atractylodes macrocephala, some functions can be extracted, such as eliminating fever, calming down wind and stopping spasm, stopping cough, stopping wheez, calming the nerves, stopping bleeding, alleviating pain, promoting the production of body fluid. Whether atractylodes macrocephala has those functions need to be confirmed through empirical study and clinical research.