Rhizoma Curcumae — Curcuma phaeocaulis Val., C. kwangsiensis S. G. Lee et C. F. Liang, C. wenyujin Y. H. Chen et C. Ling, the dried rhizome
Nature and flavour. Pungent and bitter, warm. Liver and Spleen systems.
A Curcuma rhizome, and a good illustration of why the materia medica cannot be read as a list of interchangeable names: 莪术, 郁金 and 姜黄 all come from the same genus and are not the same article — 莪术 is the rhizome of these Curcuma species, 郁金 is the tuberous root, and 姜黄 is the rhizome of Curcuma longa and is the turmeric of the kitchen. Classical sources describe 莪术 as moving qi, breaking blood, dispersing accumulation and settling pain, and record it for abdominal masses, for amenorrhoea and stasis pain, for pain in the chest and abdomen attributed to stasis and qi, and for the distension of food accumulation. The volatile oil and the curcuminoid content have both been studied in the laboratory, and a great deal of that work is on cells and animals; this page does not convert it into a clinical claim, because the modern clinical evidence for the traditional uses is limited and is not established. Preparations made from the volatile oil, including injectable forms, have been the subject of adverse-reaction reports, and are mentioned here as a safety matter rather than as a use.
性味归经。辛、苦，温。归肝、脾经。
一味姜黄属的根茎，也是本草不能被当成一份「名字可以互换」的清单的现成例子：莪术、郁金、姜黄同属而不同物 —— 莪术是这几种姜黄的根茎，郁金是块根，姜黄则是 Curcuma longa 的根茎，即厨房里的姜黄粉。古籍记载莪术行气破血、消积止痛，用于癥瘕积聚、经闭瘀痛、瘀血与气滞所致的心腹疼痛，以及食积胀痛。其挥发油与姜黄素类成分在实验室中被大量研究，其中很大一部分是细胞与动物实验；本页不把它换算成临床结论，因为传统用途的现代临床证据有限，尚未被证实。以挥发油制成的制剂（含注射剂型）出现过不良反应报告，此处是作为安全问题提及，而不是作为用途。
三棱的固定搭档，在古典框架里承担「行气」那一半 —— 但这并不使它更温和。孕期禁用，古籍对无瘀者的禁忌同样适用。有出血倾向者、活动性溃疡患者、血小板极低者、术前患者不宜；与华法林及其它抗凝药、抗血小板药同用的相互作用顾虑已有文献记载，而且姜黄素类成分本身就被研究过抗血小板活性，这是谨慎的理由而不是放心的理由。挥发油注射制剂有过不良反应报告，本页不把它写成读者应当去寻求的一种照护方式。品种认定在流通中是真问题：市场上有数种姜黄属植物供货，厨房里的姜黄粉不是这味药。不属于可自行使用的药材，须在合格执业者监督下使用。
1 related entry.