The Herb Ledebouriella Root for Healing Arthritis and Other Diseases

In Chinese language, the herb Ledebouriella Root has a meaningful name, which is called "Fangfeng." Here "Fang" means prevention, and "feng" refers to wind. This herb is very good for expelling pathogenic wind and removing wind-dampness. These factors can cause many diseases including arthritis. The herb can also help stop pain and relieve spasms.

In traditional Chinese medicine, Ledebouriella Root (Fangfeng) is used to treat common cold of the wind-cold type manifested as chills, fever, headaches and general body pain. It is also used for common cold of the wind-heat type shown as sore throat, headaches, and red eyes.

Ledebouriella Root (Fangfeng) is an important herb for healing arthritis of the wind-cold-dampness type, usually characterized by joint pain and spasms of the limbs. In addition, it is helpful for relieving hives (urticaria) and skin itching.

For healing common cold of the wind-cold type, Ledebouriella Root (Fangfeng) is often used with other herbs such as Schizonepeta (Jingjie). For common cold of the wind-heat type, this herb can be used with Forsythia Fruit (Lianqiao), Mentha (Bohe), and Scuteliaria Root (Huangqin).

For the treatment of arthritis of the wind-cold-dampness type, Ledebouriella Root (Fangfeng) is often used with Chinese Angelica Root (Danggui) and Notopterygium Root (Qianghuo). For relieving hives (urticaria) and skin itching, it can be applied with Flavescent Sophora Root (Kushen), Schizonepeta (Jingjie), and Cicada Slough (Chantui).

According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the herb Ledebouriella Root (Fangfeng) has pungent and sweet tastes, with a slightly warm property. It can act on meridians or channels of the Liver, Spleen and Urinary Bladder.

The pharmaceutical name of Ledebouriella Root (Fangfeng) is Radix Ledebouriellae. Botanically it is Ledebouriella divaricata (Turcz.) Hiroe. The herb is in the Umbelliferae family. To prepare for therapeutic applications, the herb can be gathered in spring and autumn, dried and cut into pieces. It can be cooked in water to make herbal decoctions with a dosage range of 3-10 grams.

This useful herb is mainly utilized for exogenous wind. It should be used with caution for those patients with spasms caused by blood-deficiency. It is contraindicated in those patients with Yin-deficiency and excessive fire.