Cimicifuga, an amazing TCM herb to treat neurodermatitis

What is cimicifuga(Sheng Ma)?
When used as medicine, it mainly refers to the dried rhizomes of Cimicifuga heracleifolia Kom., Cimicifuga dahurica (Turcz.) Maxim., or Cimicifuga Foetida L. All of them are plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Therefore, they are sometimes referred to as Cohosh Rhizome, Bugbane Rhizome, Rhizoma Cimicifugae, Cimicifuga Rhizome, and more. But don’t confuse them with black Cohosh since all of them share the name cimicifuga, bugbane, and cohosh. Although black Cohosh is from the same Genus, it refers to another different species called Cimicifuga Cordifolia or Cimicifuga Racemosa. In China it is mainly produced in provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Qinghai. It is usually dug up in autumn. And next it still needs to remove soil, dry in the sun until the fibrous roots are dry, burn out or remove the fibrous roots, and then dry thoroughly in the sun again. It is used sliced and raw.

Cimicifuga benefits
Because of its weak ability of diaphoresis, it is seldom used for relieving superficies syndrome. But since it can promote the eruption, it is often combined with Ge Gen (Kudzu Root) to treat inadequate eruption of measles. Thanks to its effect of heat-clearing and detoxifying, clinically it is generally matched with Shi Gao (Gypsum) and Huang Lian (Coptis Root) to cure gum infection, mouth sores and sore throat that are caused by hyperactivity of stomach fire; it is often used along with Jin Yin Hua (Honeysuckle Flower), Lian Qiao (Forsythia), Chi Shao (Red Peonies), and Dang Gui (Dong Quai) to heal high fever, rash, and skin and external diseases.

What’s more, it can invigorate splenic yang, which resembles Chai Hu (Bupleurum). Hence, these two herbs often appear in pair in combination of Dang Shen (Codonopsis) and Huang Qi (Astragalus Root) to raise the sagging Yang Qi. From the perspective of western medicine, it is used for the treatment of postpartum urinary retention, Belladonna poisoning, paranasal sinusitis, polymyositis, systemic lupus erythematosus, infantile autumn diarrhea, Hemorrhoids, Parkinson’s syndrome, purulent infection, erythema multiforme exudativum, Neurodermatitis, hot flashes, menopause, and bleeding from different orifices (nose, mouth, eyes, ears).