Herbal Textual Research on Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix in Famous Classical Formulas / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

By referring to the materials of ancient materia medica， prescriptions and medical books， combining with modern literature， this paper made textual research on the name， origin， producing area， quality evaluation， harvesting and processing methods of Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix in famous classical formulas， so as to provide a basis for the selection and use of Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix in the development of famous classical formulas. Through textual research， it can be seen that Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix is the correct name in all dynasties， but it still has many aliases. The main strain of Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix was Ligusticum sinense and L. jeholense， in addition， there are also L. tenuissimum， Sinodielsia yunnanensis， and Conioselinum vaginatum， L. sinense var. hupehense used in different regions. Since modern times， the textual examination of its scientific name is more complicated. Different foreign scholars have given many scientific names from their local observation， but most of them do not match the actual situation of Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix in ancient China. It is probably because they did not collect the original plants of Chinese Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix and conduct accurate identification. After the founding of the People's Republic of China， the L. sinense and L. jeholense was identified as the original plants through systematic investigation and arrangement of Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix. Since modern times， L. sinense is distributed in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River and the south of the region， a small amount of production in Sichuan， Hubei， Hunan and Jiangxi. L. jeholense is distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and the north of the region， mostly produced in Liaoning and Hebei. The ancient harvesting period of Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix was concentrated in January and February according to the lunar calendar with thick roots， dry， fragrant， heavy quality as the best. But now the collection of roots and rhizome more than concentrated in spring before seedling emergence and autumn when leaves were gone， and take the large， dry， yellow， strong， fragrant， less roots， residual short as the best. In the past dynasties， raw products were the main processing methods， and there were also roasting， grinding and so on. Based on the research results， it is suggested that the raw roots and rhizomes of L. sinense and L. jeholense should be used in the development of famous classical formulas.