Cāng zhú Root (Atractylodes lancea)  is sometimes also known as black atractylodes rhizome or Rhizoma Atractylodes, and is a famous herb in CTM (Chinese Traditional Medicine) It is the dried rhizome of Atractylodes lancea (this product), Atractylodes chinensis, or certain other local species including Atractylodes japonica 

The Herb is distinguished from bái zhú which is the white atractylodes rhizome from Atractylodes macrocephala, which is typically a cultivated plant , whereas Cāng zhú more often tends to be collected from the wild.

It is believed that the distinction between cāng zhú and bái zhú emerged in relatively modern times; a single drug “zhú” described in the Shen nong ben cao jing probably included many Atractylodes species.

^{Traditional Uses for Cang Zhu Root:-}

In traditional Chinese medicine the herb is described as spicy or pungent, bitter, warm, and aromatic, acting on the spleen and stomach.

A number of effects of the herb are described as ways of “drying dampness” by traditional Chinese herbalists as described below. None of these are endorsed or approved by the editor and are given as a TCM guide.

• As a stomachic –  with symptoms such as low appetite, abdominal distension, epigastric distress and fullness, indigestion, dyspepsia, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, weariness, a heavy sensation in the body, and a thick greasy tongue coating.
• To eliminate exopathogens – to “dispel wind-damp-cold (bi-syndrome)”, explained as “headaches and body aches, fever, chills, blocked nasal passages, and an absence of sweating”
• To treat “damp heat conditions” in the lower Jiao, including “Damp Leg Qi, aching and swollen joints, and vaginal discharge” (leukorrhea). This includes relieving arthralgia, swollen knees, and foot pain.
• To induce sweating.

It is also used:

• To treat night blindness or optic atrophy
• To relieve stagnant liver, reducing stress and relieving depression