Prepared Aconite Lateral Root — Classic Formulas

Fu Zi · Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata

Primary Actions

  • Restores devastated Yang and rescues collapse - Fu Zi is one of the central herbs for cold collapse with icy extremities, faint pulse, somnolence, or severe exhaustion of Yang.
  • Warms fire and assists Heart, Spleen, and Kidney Yang - it is used for edema, watery diarrhea, abdominal cold pain, fatigue, impotence, and chronic cold weakness when deficient cold is deep and persistent.
  • Warms the channels and alleviates severe cold pain - classical use includes cold-damp Bi, fixed joint pain, cold low-back pain, and painful obstruction that needs stronger warming than milder channel herbs can provide.
  • Supports Heart Yang and unblocks chest Yang - Fu Zi appears in formulas for chest pain, palpitations, weak circulation, and collapse-level cold when impaired Yang transformation affects the cardiovascular system.

Classic Formulas

  • Si Ni Tang - core Shaoyin rescue formula for devastated Yang, cold extremities, and a nearly extinguished pulse.
  • Zhen Wu Tang - warms Spleen and Kidney Yang while mobilizing water for edema, dizziness, abdominal pain, and deficiency-cold fluid retention.
  • Fu Zi Li Zhong Tang - middle-burner warming formula for Spleen-Yang deficiency with abdominal cold, chronic diarrhea, and weak digestion.
  • You Gui Wan - deeply warming Kidney-Yang formula in which Fu Zi helps restore fire at the gate of vitality for cold infertility, weakness, and lower-body debility.

Classical Text References

  • Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing places Fu Zi among strongly acting lower-grade medicinals, reflecting its potency for cold accumulation and pain but also its toxicity.
  • Shang Han Lun and Jin Gui Yao Lue use Fu Zi centrally for Shaoyin collapse, edema, cold pain, and debility, always within carefully constructed formulas rather than casual self-use.
  • Chinese Pharmacopoeia guidance continues the classical emphasis on processed lateral root only, pregnancy caution, and specific herb incompatibility traditions.