ABSTRACT
As a characteristic form of aromatic Chinese materia medica (CMM), volatile oil has a strong biological activity and can act on local or whole body to prevent and cure diseases. Volatile oil of CMM has been used for thousands of years, which can be easily found in amount of ancient medical books and CMM prescriptions and is the key material basis of CMM. At present, the research of volatile oil in CMM is still in the exploratory stage. However, it is relatively weak in the traditional treatment concept and application method of volatile oil in CMM, lack of excavation and carding of relevant ancient books and records. In this paper, taking ancient books as a tool, we summarized and analyzed the distribution, traditional application method and characteristics of violate oil in CMM from the aspects of both traditional function and modern pharmacological activities. The development prospects of violate oil in CMM were also explored, so as to provide reference for the historical inheritance and modern research and development of violate oil in CMM.