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Gao Ben藁本

Ligustici Rhizoma et Radix · Chinese Lovage Root · Ligusticum Rhizome

Herbs that Release the Exterior 解表药《神农本草经》

Overview

An acrid, warm, strongly aromatic rhizome that rises to the very top of the head. It is chosen for wind-cold headache felt at the vertex and down the back of the skull along the Taiyang channel — the pain that comes with a stiff neck and no sweating — and it also drives cold damp out of the joints and lower back.

Nature & Flavor

Acrid · Warm

Channels

Bladder

Typical Dosage

3–9 g in decoction
藁本Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

3 core actions

  • Releases wind-cold from the exteriorChills without sweating, body aches and a heavy head at the start of a wind-cold invasion.
  • Dispels wind, stops headacheVertex and occipital headache along the Taiyang channel, often with a stiff neck; the guiding herb for pain at the top of the head.
  • Disperses cold dampCold-damp painful obstruction of the joints, and a cold heavy ache across the lower back.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Gao Ben

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Wind-cold exterior patterns with headache and no sweating
    - Vertex and occipital headache with neck stiffness
    - Cold-damp joint pain
    - Cold heavy lower back ache

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

Tension headacheOccipital headacheCommon coldRheumatic joint pain

Contraindications

Cautions

Acrid, warm, ascending and drying: not for headache from rising Liver yang, and not for headache on a background of blood or yin deficiency, where its lifting action makes matters worse. Avoid in heat patterns and in dry, depleted constitutions.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: Not a classical prohibition, but an acrid, warm, strongly dispersing herb should be used in pregnancy only under practitioner supervision.

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing《神农本草经》(classical source, public domain).
    2. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
    3. 《中华人民共和国药典》.

Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.