Yan Hu Suo

English Name: corydalis tuber

Pharmaceutical Name: Rhizoma Corydalis

Medica Category: Blood-Invigorating and Stasis-Removing Herbs

Properties: Yan Hu Suo enters the Heart, Liver, and Spleen channels; it is acrid and bitter in nature and warm in temperature.

What is Yan Hu Suo?:

The Chinese Herb Yan Hu Suo is the dried tuber (rhizome) of Asian corydalis (Corydalis yanhusuo W.T. Wang), a flowering plant the Papaveraceae (poppy) family native to the high grasslands of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Hubei provinces but now cultivated throughout the country. The tubers are collected in the beginning of summer when stem and leaves wither; they are then smashed, sliced, dried, and left unprocessed, vinegar-fried, or fried in grain-based liquor for use as medicine.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Yan Hu Suo:

Yan Hu Suo activates qi and blood to remove stagnation and relieve pain from a variety of causes all throughout the body. Various examples of the clinical applications of this herb to relieve pain include: epigastric/abdominal pain, chest and hypochondriac pain, gynecological pain, and pain in the extremities. Its action to move qi and blood makes it useful in dispelling nodules and masses as well.

–safety notes:

Contraindicated during pregnancy

Use with caution in persons with underlying deficiencies