Xie Cao缬草
Valerianae Rhizoma et Radix · Valerian Root · Chinese Valerian
Overview
The rhizome and roots of Valeriana officinalis and its Chinese relatives, and the one member of the spirit-nourishing group that is equally at home in European herbal practice. Acrid, sweet and warm, it quietens a restless mind and an anxious, palpitating Heart, and — unusually for a calming herb — it also moves qi and eases cramping pain, so it turns up in prescriptions for distended painful epigastrium, period pain and aching wind-damp joints. Its smell is unmistakable and not to everyone's taste.
Nature & Flavor
Acrid, sweet · WarmChannels
Heart · LiverTypical Dosage
3–6 g in decoctionActions
4 core actions
- Quietens the Heart, calms the spiritRestless sleep and difficulty falling asleep, anxiety with palpitations, and the weepy, agitated presentation of.
- Moves qi, relieves painDistended, cramping pain in the epigastrium and abdomen, and period pain — a calming herb that does not congest the middle burner.
- Frees the channels for wind-damp painAching wind-damp joints and the bruising and swelling of a recent injury, where its warm, moving quality is used rather than its sedating one.
- The same plant as European valerianWestern herbal medicine uses the same genus, largely for sleep. The overlap is real, but the Chinese material is prescribed inside a pattern framework — for a restless spirit with qi constraint rather than for insomnia as a diagnosis.
In Formulas
Formulas containing Xie Cao
No published formula lists this herb yet — the library is growing.
Indications & Clinical Uses
- Difficulty falling asleep, restless sleep, anxiety with palpitations
- Agitation, low mood and weepiness of the type
- Distended cramping pain of the epigastrium and abdomen; dysmenorrhoea
- Wind-damp joint pain; bruising and swelling from injury
Western Medical Keywords
Searchable condition terms
Contraindications
Cautions
It is genuinely sedating, so it can leave daytime drowsiness or a heavy head the next morning; do not drive or operate machinery until you know how it affects you. Its effect adds to that of alcohol and of any other sedating medicine, and anyone already taking something for sleep, anxiety or seizures should tell both prescribers rather than stacking the two. Liver reactions — jaundice, dark urine, unexplained nausea and fatigue — have been reported occasionally with valerian-containing products, usually multi-ingredient ones; stop and seek advice if they appear. It is warm and acrid, so use it cautiously where there is marked yin deficiency with heat. Use it in defined courses with review rather than continuously, and keep it out of children's treatment except on a practitioner's instruction.
Contraindicated in pregnancy: Avoided in pregnancy and while breastfeeding — there is no adequate safety record, and it is a sedating herb.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only
References
- Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
2. 《中华人民共和国药典》 and provincial materia medica standards (Chinese valerian is standardised regionally rather than in the pharmacopoeia's main body).
3. 《中药大辞典》.
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.