Assistant in Xiao Yao San

Bái Zhú 白术

White atractylodes rhizome · Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Atractylodes macrocephala) · 30 g in the classical formula

Role in the formula

Bái zhú is an assistant. The pattern Xiao Yao San treats includes a spleen weakened by the overbearing liver — poor appetite, fatigue, loose stools — and bái zhú's job is to shore up that ground: fortifying the spleen and drying the dampness that collects when digestion falters^[1].

Character

Bitter and sweet, warm, entering the spleen and stomach channels. One of the tradition's principal qi tonics for the digestive system, it also stabilizes the exterior and, in obstetrics, is traditionally used to calm the fetus^[1].

In the pharmacy

The rhizome of Atractylodes macrocephala, dry-fried or used raw. 30 g in the classical proportions, working in tandem with fú líng.