Chuan Xiong (Jiu Chao/Wine Fried)

English name: Lovage (Szechuan) Root

Latin name: Rhizoma Ligusticum Chuanxiong (Wine-fried)

川芎 (酒炒）

Sold in lbs (454g)

This herb is sliced and then soaked in rice wine. It is moistened until the center is moist and then stir-fried until dry over medium heat. The goal of treatment is to harness wine’s upward thrust and lead the herb to the upper body. It also is thought to increase the herb’s ability to quicken blood, move qi, and relieve pain. These properties are applied to treatment of headaches, rib pain, and other painful upper-body disorders. Chemically, treatment with wine increases the availability of perlolyrine to solution. This chemical is a known antithrombotic. This, in part, helps to explain the increase of the treated herb’s blood-moving properties.