Although often referred to as Aconitum and White Aconitum, these two are actually different things. Chinese medicine White Aconitum is the dried rhizomes of the plant Aconitum carmichaelii, let's learn more about it!
Aconitum image
1. Aconitum
Aconitum is the processed product of the lateral root tuber of the plant Aconitum carmichaelii, also known as Salt Aconitum, White Aconitum, or Black Shunpian. It has a pungent and sweet taste, a hot nature, and is toxic.
Function: It can restore Yang from collapse, tonify fire and assist Yang, dispel cold and eliminate dampness, promote blood circulation and relieve pain. Traditional Chinese medicine mainly uses it to treat conditions such as the deficiency of Yang with excess of Yin and the desire to escape from Yang, various chronic diseases with deficiency of Yang, wind-cold-dampness arthralgia, and Yin ulceration and swelling. This medicinal material contains various alkaloids such as aconitine and hypaconitine.
Aconitum can be used to treat myocardial ischemia, hypoxia, and shock resistance. When used in small doses, it has a pressor effect. In large doses, it first lowers blood pressure and then raises it. It also has effects similar to isoprenaline, such as enhancing myocardial contractility, increasing heart rate, and promoting sinoatrial and atrioventricular conduction.
Toxicity: Aconitum itself has a certain level of toxicity, so it must be taken following scientific methods.
To remove a large amount of the toxicity of Aconitum, it should be boiled in boiling water at about 120 degrees Celsius for forty minutes, so that the toxicity can be reduced to a level that the body can tolerate.
In addition, the toxicity of Aconitum in room temperature and cold weather is different. Generally, it is believed that colder temperatures can reduce the toxicity contained in Aconitum.
2. White Aconitum
White Aconitum is the rhizomes of the plant Aconitum carmichaelii, also known as Yu White Aconitum or Jixin White Aconitum. It has a pungent and sweet taste, a warm nature, and is toxic.
Function: It can dispel wind and resolve phlegm, detoxify and disperse nodules, relieve pain, and promote meridian circulation.
It is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat conditions such as facial paralysis and deviation of the mouth and eyes after stroke, epilepsy, hemiplegia, facial nerve paralysis, infantile convulsions, tetanus, headache, and scrofula tuberculosis.
Toxicity: White Aconitum is a toxic drug, mainly manifested as strong irritability to the skin and mucous membranes.
Therefore, when using a white Aconitum facial mask or self-made Qibaosan, you must first test a suitable amount on the skin to see if there is any discomfort. If there are no obvious adverse reactions, it can be used, but it should not be used for a long time.
For internal use, it should also be taken in small amounts, and the dosage should be controlled within the range of 3-6 grams when decocted. Of course, due to its toxicity, it is not suitable for pregnant women to use White Aconitum.
