About fang feng

Fang Feng (防风) is the root of saposhnikovia, a plant of the carrot family, recorded as Radix Saposhnikoviae. It is acrid and sweet in flavour, slightly warm, and enters the Bladder, Liver and Spleen channels. The catalogue files it among the acrid, warm herbs that release the Exterior. Its Chinese name reads as a guard against Wind.

Pinyin

fang feng

Chinese

防风

Latin Name

Radix Saposhnikoviae

English Name

ledebouriella root·Saposhnikovia Root·siler·siler; ledebouriella root; saposhnikovia root

Japanese

bofu

Korean

bangpung

Actions and indications

Releases the Exterior and expels external Wind

Wind-Cold with chills, aversion to cold, headache, body aches and a stiff neck
Migraine headache

Expels Wind-Damp and relieves pain

Wind-Damp Bi, particularly where Wind predominates, with joint pain made worse by cold and damp

Expels internal Wind and stops spasms

Liver Wind with trembling hands and feet and tetany, as a supporting herb alongside Wind-extinguishing herbs
Spasm from Wind entering through an open wound

Harmonises the Liver and Spleen, stops diarrhea and stops bleeding

Disharmony between Liver and Spleen: abdominal pain and gurgling, with bouts of painful diarrhea that keep returning
Intestinal Wind from imbalance between the Liver and Spleen, with recurring tenesmus, painful diarrhea and bright red blood in the stool

Expels Wind to relieve itching

Wind-type rashes and hives

Combinations

huang qi

Keeps Wind from penetrating the skin; stop using it once Wind has already entered

jing jie

Wind-Cold; Exterior patterns at any time of year; itchy rashes; boils in their early stage; dispels Wind to relieve itch; when charred, stops bleeding

qin jiao

Wind-Damp Bi with numb limbs or spasm of the tendons; Wind-Dampness causing pain in those with Blood Deficiency

cang zhu

Wind-Cold-Dampness with chills and anhidrosis, headache with a heavy head, lethargy, heavy limbs and a stifling fullness of the chest and abdomen; Wind-Damp Bi pain with heavy limbs, aching joints and aching discomfort throughout the body; Wind-Cold diarrhea where there is Spleen Dampness

qiang huo + du huo + wei ling xian

Painful obstruction.

zhi tian nan xing

Wind-Phlegm blocking the channels, with numbness, headache and aching all over the body

chuan xiong + shu di huang + zhi fu zi

Following a dysenteric disorder, leg pain that makes walking difficult; Crane's-Knee Wind

jing jie + qiang huo + qian hu

Wind-Cold with headache, aching and painful muscles and aversion to Cold

bo he + lian qiao

Wind-Heat.

jing jie + bai ji li

Rubella, itching and other disorders of the skin