Patchouli Herb – 1 lb (454 g)

Patchouli Herb, known in Chinese as 广藿香 (Guǎnghuòxiāng) and scientifically as Herba Pogostemonis, is a valued herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This TCM herb has been traditionally used to support natural wellness, maintain vitality, and encourage holistic balance. At TCMforyou.com, we provide premium-quality Patchouli Herb carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Patchouli Herb helps promote overall well-being and supports natural energy, immunity, and balance. Integrating this herb into your wellness routine offers a gentle, time-tested approach to enhancing daily health. Whether brewed as tea, added to herbal remedies, or taken as part of a TCM formula, Patchouli Herb provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Patchouli Herb has been used in TCM to harmonize the body and encourage optimal functioning of key systems. At TCMforyou, we prioritize authenticity and quality. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure purity and potency, delivering an herbal product aligned with traditional practices.

Experience the natural support of Patchouli Herb, promoting immune health, vitality, and holistic well-being. Embrace the wisdom of TCM and incorporate this gentle, effective herbal remedy into your daily wellness journey.

[Overview] This herb is also known as Huoxiang or Sea Huoxiang. It is the aerial part of Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth., a plant of the Lamiaceae family. It is mainly produced in Hainan, Guangdong, and other regions. Harvested in summer and autumn when branches and leaves are luxuriant, it is cut, sun-dried by day and sealed at night, repeatedly until dry.

[Properties] Pungent in taste, slightly warm in nature. Enters the spleen, stomach, and lung meridians.

[Actions] Aromatically transforms dampness, harmonizes the middle burner to stop vomiting, dispels summer-heat and releases the exterior.

[Applications]
1. Used for dampness obstructing the middle burner, symptoms include fullness and distention in the chest and epigastrium, poor appetite, heaviness and fatigue of the limbs, loose stools, and a greasy tongue coating. It can be combined with Cangzhu (Atractylodis Rhizoma), Chenpi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma), Houpo (Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex), etc., as in the formula Buzhong Yiqi San (Not replaced Jinzhengqi San).
2. Used for vomiting. If caused by dampness obstructing the middle burner with nausea and vomiting and a thick greasy tongue coating, it can be combined with Banxia and Dingxiang (Caryophylli Flos); if damp-heat predominates with a yellow greasy tongue coating, combine with Huanglian (Coptidis Rhizoma) and Zhuru (Bambusae Caulis in Taenias); if vomiting is due to spleen deficiency and rebellious stomach qi, combine with Renshen (Ginseng Radix) and Baizhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma); for food stagnation with vomiting of sour regurgitation, combine with Shenqu (Massa Fermentata), Shan Zha (Crataegi Fructus), and Maiya (Hordei Fructus Germinatus); for pregnancy-related vomiting, combine with Sharen (Amomi Fructus) and Xiangfu (Cyperi Rhizoma).
3. Used for summer-damp cold and early stage damp-warm febrile diseases. In summer, for external wind-cold with internal damp stagnation, symptoms include alternating chills and fever, headache, heaviness and fatigue, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Often combined with Zisu (Perillae Folium), Houpo, Baizhi (Angelicae Dahuricae Radix), as in Huoxiang Zhengqi Wan; if early damp-warm disease with pathogen in the qi level and damp predominating over heat, symptoms include fever, fatigue, chest fullness, nausea, often combined with Houpo, Banxia, Fuling (Poria), as in Huopu Xialing Tang; if damp-heat predominates, symptoms include fever, fatigue, red urine, constipation, often combined with Lianqiao (Forsythiae Fructus), Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix), Huashi (Talcum), Yinchen (Artemisiae Scopariae Herba), as in Ganlu Xiaodu Dan.
4. Used for nasal obstruction with turbid nasal discharge and loss of smell. Often combined with pig bile and taken as pills, as in Huodan Wan. Currently used for chronic rhinitis, sinusitis, and allergic rhinitis with wind-heat and phlegm turbidity.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 3–9 g; fresh herb dose doubled; not suitable for prolonged decoction. Or used in pills or powders. External use: appropriate amount, decocted water for soaking or gargling; or powdered for external application.

[Cautions] Contraindicated in cases of yin deficiency with fire excess.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: The volatile oil from stems and leaves contains patchouli alcohol, patchoulone, caryophyllene, α-guaiene, δ-guaiene, α-patchoulene, β-patchoulene, etc. The aerial parts also contain methyl acetate, 3-methyl-2-butanone, huoxiang flavonol, saponins, and rhamnose.
2. Pharmacological effects: Patchouli shows inhibitory effects against fungi such as Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Rhizopus nigricans, and bacteria including group A hemolytic streptococcus, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus albus, and Bacillus subtilis. Its aqueous extract significantly inhibits high potassium-induced contractions of isolated guinea pig colon strips, indicating calcium antagonist activity.
3. Clinical reports: Chronic sinusitis—using 5 kg of patchouli leaves and 1.5 kg fresh pig bile to make sugar-coated pills, 10–15 g per dose, 2–3 times daily, combined with 1% ephedrine or 20% houttuynia liquid nasal drops, for 10 days per course. In 50 cases treated, 15 cured, 30 improved, 5 ineffective, total effective rate 90%. [Shaanxi Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1985,(12):557]

Note on dampness: According to research, before the Ming dynasty, the herb called Huoxiang referred to the current Lamiaceae plant Pogostemon cablin, i.e., this herb. The related Lamiaceae plant Agastache rugosa (Fisch. & Mey.) O. Ktze., often called “native Huoxiang,” is a later medicinal variety with effects roughly similar to the traditional medicinal Huoxiang (i.e., Pogostemon cablin).