Tu Mu Xiang土木香
Inulae Radix · Elecampane Root · Inula Root
Overview
Appended to Mu Xiang 木香 in the textbook, and the herb that carries a public-health job as well as a clinical one: it is the designated replacement for Qing Mu Xiang 青木香, the aristolochic-acid root whose drug standard was cancelled in 2004. Acrid, bitter and warm, entering the Liver and Spleen, it strengthens the Spleen, harmonises the Stomach, moves qi and stops pain, and the pharmacopoeia also records it as calming a restless fetus. Three similarly named herbs are three different plants — Mu Xiang 木香 (Aucklandiae Radix), Tu Mu Xiang 土木香 (Inulae Radix) and Qing Mu Xiang 青木香 (Aristolochiae Radix, banned) — and telling them apart matters more than any dosing detail here.
Nature & Flavor
Acrid, bitter · WarmChannels
Liver · SpleenTypical Dosage
3–9 g in decoction, more often given in pills or powdersActions
4 core actions
- Strengthens the Spleen, harmonises the StomachEpigastric and abdominal distension with poor appetite, nausea and loose stools where the middle burner is weak and damp.
- Moves qi, stops painDistending pain of the chest, flanks and abdomen; the pain of a chest or flank strain and the sharp catch of over-exertion.
- Calms a restless fetusRecorded in the pharmacopoeia for restless fetus with abdominal distension — a use that belongs strictly to an obstetrically supervised prescription.
- Substitutes for Qing Mu XiangWhere a historical formula calls for Qing Mu Xiang, this root and Mu Xiang 木香 are the substitutes used in modern practice; Qing Mu Xiang itself must not be dispensed.
In Formulas
Formulas containing Tu Mu Xiang
No published formula lists this herb yet — the library is growing.
Indications & Clinical Uses
- Epigastric and abdominal distension with poor appetite
- Vomiting, dysentery-like diarrhea with tenesmus
- Distending pain of the chest and flanks, including strain injuries
- Restless fetus with abdominal distension (under supervision)
Western Medical Keywords
Searchable condition terms
Contraindications
Cautions
Acrid, warm and drying: unsuitable where internal heat is exuberant, and in yin deficiency with heat. Identification is the real caution — do not accept Qing Mu Xiang 青木香 (Aristolochiae Radix) under any name, in any blend, or as a "traditional equivalent"; it contains aristolochic acid, is a Group 1 human carcinogen and had its drug standard cancelled in 2004. Check the Latin binomial on the supplier's certificate. The pharmacopoeia's indication does not make this a self-care herb in pregnancy — see the pregnancy note.
Contraindicated in pregnancy: Traditionally recorded as calming a restless fetus, and used in pregnancy only within a prescription written and monitored by a qualified practitioner working with the patient's obstetric care. Abdominal pain, bleeding or cramping in pregnancy is an urgent medical matter first.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only
References
- Appended to Mu Xiang 木香 in 《中药学》(新世纪第二版).
2. 《中华人民共和国药典》(2020 edition).
3. 国家食品药品监督管理局: 取消青木香药用标准的公告 (2004) — 土木香 and 木香 named as the replacements.
4. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
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.