AN XI XIANG (安息香)

Benzoinum (安息香) is the dried resin collected from the trunk of Styrax tonkinensis (Pierre) Craib ex Hart., family Styracaceae.

Other name  Kam-Yan (Thai name), Anxixiang (Chinese name), Benzoin

Macroscopic character

     Small irregular pieces, somewhat flat, often stuck into masses. External orange-yellow, with waxy lustre (naturally injured resin); or irregularly cylindrical, flat pieces, external greyish-white to pale yellowish-white
(artificially incised resin). Texture fragile, easily broken; fracture even, white, gradually becoming pale yellowish-brown or reddish-brown on storage, soften and melt on heating. Odor, aromatic; taste, slightly pungent, with a sensation of sand when chewing.

Important cultivation area

Yunnan and Guangxi provinces.

Traditional Chinese Medicine action
Pungent and bitter; neutral. Enter heart and spleen channels. Open the orifices, lighten the spirit, move qi, activate blood, relieve pain.

Usage and dosage    0.6-1.5 g, generally used in pills or powder.

* Contraindication and precaution * 
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