Identification & Quality Standard
Rhizoma Chuanxiong
Botanical Origin
The dried rhizomes of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort.(Apiaceae).
Production Regions
Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei.
Quality Requirements
Superior medicinal material is large, full, firm, oily, potent aromatic with yellowish-white fractured surface.
Macroscopic Features
Irregular knotty fist-shaped pieces, 2~7cm diameter. Externally yellowish-brown, rough and wrinkled, with numerous parallel raised ring nodes; depressed semi-circular stem scars at the apex, many remnants of roots on the ring nodes and bottom. Firm texture, difficult to break; fractured surface is yellowish-white or grayish-yellow, scattered yellowish-brown oil cavities, the cambium forms an undulating ring. Potent aromatic odor; bitter, acrid taste, mildly numbs the tongue, with a slightly sweet aftertaste. Decoction pieces have uneven edges, irregular butterfly-like thin slices.
