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

ABSTRACT

Through reviewing ancient and modern literature， the textual research of Anemarrhenae Rhizoma（AR） has been conducted to verify the name， origin， changes in production areas， quality evaluation， harvesting and processing methods， so as to provide reference for the development and utilization of the famous classical formulas containing AR. Through the herbal textual research， AR was first published in Shennong Bencaojing， and has been used as the proper name for this herb for generations， and the mainstream source of AR used for generations is the rhizome of Anemarrhena asphodeloides. The high-quality production areas that have been revered throughout the ages are Hebei， Shanxi， Shaanxi， Inner Mongolia and Fangshan district of Beijing， etc. In recent times， AR produced in Yixian county of Hebei province（Xiling Zhimu）， is better known and is regarded as a very good source. At present， cultivated AR is mainly produced in Yixian county and Anguo of Hebei province， Bozhou of Anhui province and other places. The medicinal parts of AR in ancient and modern times are all rhizomes， and the quality is better if it has thick flesh， hard wood， yellow outer color and white section color. The harvesting time recorded in ancient medical books is usually in lunar February and August， with exposure to dryness， while modern harvesting is spring and autumn. The processing methods of the past dynasties were mainly to remove the hair when using， avoid iron when cutting， process with wine or salt water， while the two main specifications in modern times are raw and salted products. Based on the systematic research， it is recommended that the dried rhizome of A. asphodeloides in the famous classical formulas be used for AR. If the original formula specifies processing requirements， it should be operated according to the requirements， if the processing requirements are not indicated， the raw products can be used as medicine.