Aquilaria is a name used in traditional Chinese medicine. It refers to the resin-containing wood of Aquilaria agallocha Roxb. and Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Gilg, plants belonging to the genus Aquilaria in the Thymelaeaceae family. It has the therapeutic effects of regulating qi and relieving pain, warming the middle burner and stopping vomiting, and stabilizing the breath to alleviate wheezing. It is primarily used to treat chest and abdominal distension and pain caused by cold stagnation and qi stagnation, vomiting due to a cold stomach, and wheezing caused by kidney deficiency.
Agarwood
Aquilaria is a name used in traditional Chinese medicine. It refers to the resin-containing wood of Aquilaria agallocha Roxb. and Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Gilg, plants belonging to the genus Aquilaria in the Thymelaeaceae family. It has the therapeutic effects of regulating qi and relieving pain, warming the middle burner and stopping vomiting, and stabilizing the breath to alleviate wheezing. It is primarily used to treat chest and abdominal distension and pain caused by cold stagnation and qi stagnation, vomiting due to a cold stomach, and wheezing caused by kidney deficiency.
Chinese Name : 沉香
Latin Name : Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum
Aliases : Honey-scented Agarwood, Stacked-scented Agarwood, Sinking-water Agarwood
Authentic Producing Area : Hainan, Guangdong, Yunnan, Taiwan
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Pungent and bitter in taste; slightly warm in nature; enters the Spleen, Stomach, and Kidney meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Regulates qi and relieves pain; warms the middle burner and stops vomiting; anchors qi and alleviates wheezing.
Indications
Chest and abdominal distension, fullness, and pain; cold in the stomach causing vomiting and hiccups; kidney deficiency with qi reversal leading to shortness of breath.
Usage and Dosage
Internal use: Decocted as a soup, 2–5 g, added later; ground into powder, 0.5–1 g; or taken as juice.
Precautions
As this herb is pungent and warm in nature and may promote heat, use with caution in cases of yin deficiency with excessive fire. It should also be used with caution in cases of qi deficiency with sinking.
Chemical Constituents
Contains essential oils and resins, among other components, including phellogreneic acid, phellogrenealdehyde, agarol, phellogreneol, benzylacetone, furanphellogreneol, and phenolic compounds.
Pharmacological Actions
This herb has effects including regulating gastrointestinal motility, analgesia, anti-inflammation, relieving asthma, and inhibiting the central nervous system.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Ben Cao Tong Xuan*: Agarwood is warm without being drying; it promotes circulation without causing diarrhea; it supports the spleen and facilitates unceasing circulation; it reaches the kidneys and guides fire back to its source; it has the ability to descend qi without the harm of disrupting it—it is truly an excellent herb.
2. *Ben Cao Jing Shu*: Agarwood is an essential medicine for treating cold qi, counterflow qi, and qi stagnation.
Applications
Clinical Applications
1. To treat chest and abdominal distension and pain caused by cold stagnation and qi stagnation, such as in the Agarwood Si Mo Decoction (*Wei Sheng Jia Bao*).
2. To treat cold pain in the epigastrium and abdomen due to spleen-stomach deficiency-cold, it is often combined with Cinnamon Bark, Dried Ginger, and Aconite, such as in the Agarwood-Cinnamon-Aconite Pills (*Wei Sheng Bao Jian*).
3. To treat cold pathogens invading the stomach, causing vomiting of clear fluid, such as in the Agarwood Pills (*Sheng Ji Zong Lu*).
4. To treat cold deficiency of the spleen and stomach with vomiting and hiccups that have persisted for a long time, it may be used in combination with Clove, White Cardamom, and Persimmon Calyx.
5. To treat deficiency-type dyspnea caused by cold deficiency in the Lower Jiao and the kidneys’ failure to retain qi, it is often used in combination with Cinnamon Bark, Aconite, and Psoralea, as in the Black Tin Pill (from *Formulas of the Bureau of Medicinal Preparations*).
6. To treat phlegm-fluid retention and coughing with wheezing caused by excess in the upper and deficiency in the lower, it is often combined with Perilla Seed, Pinellia, and Magnolia Bark.
Related Compatibility
1. Agarwood combined with Clove: Agarwood has a pungent aroma that promotes dispersion and a warm nature that dispels cold; it regulates qi to relieve pain, warms the middle burner to stop vomiting, and anchors qi to relieve wheezing. Its nature is warm without being drying, promotes circulation without depleting, and descends without causing diarrhea; Clove has a pungent aroma and warm nature, capable of warming the middle burner to descend counterflow, dispel cold to relieve pain, and warm the kidneys to assist yang. When these two herbs are combined, they synergistically enhance the effects of descending counterflow to stop vomiting and warming the middle burner to harmonize the stomach.
2. Agarwood combined with Wood Fragrance: Agarwood is bitter, pungent, and warm in nature; it regulates qi to relieve pain, warms the middle burner to stop vomiting, and anchors the qi to relieve wheezing. Wood Fragrance is bitter, pungent, and warm; it regulates qi to relieve pain and strengthens the spleen to aid digestion. When used together, their effects in regulating qi, strengthening the spleen, and relieving pain are enhanced.
3.Aquilaria combined with Wuyao: Aquilaria is aromatic and dispersing; it can invigorate the spleen and stimulate the appetite, regulate qi and relieve pain, and, due to its specific descending nature, reaches directly the lower jiao, enters the kidney, and guides upward-rebelling qi back downward; Wuyao is pungent and warm; it regulates qi and dispels cold, regulates qi and relieves pain, and can not only regulate qi throughout the upper and lower jiao but also warm the lower jiao, expel cold, and firm the stools. When used together, these two herbs work synergistically to descend rebellious qi, resolve stagnation, dispel cold, and relieve pain.
Medicinal Identification
Agarwood and Wood Fragrance: Both herbs are aromatic, pungent, dispersing, and warming; they are both effective at regulating qi, dispelling cold, and relieving pain, and are used to treat various conditions involving cold stagnation and qi stagnation.However, Agarwood has a bitter taste and a heavy nature; it sinks and descends, and can also subdue counterflow, regulate the middle burner, anchor the qi, and relieve wheezing. Furthermore, it is warming without being drying, promotes circulation without causing stagnation, and does not cause harm by disrupting the qi. It is particularly effective for treating various pains caused by cold stagnation and qi stagnation in the chest, flanks, epigastrium, and abdomen, as well as vomiting and regurgitation due to stomach cold, wheezing caused by kidney deficiency, and phlegm-fluid retention with wheezing and coughing resulting from excess above and deficiency below.Mu Xiang is pungent and moving, bitter and descending; it excels at moving stagnant qi in the large intestine and is a key herb for treating damp-heat diarrhea and dysentery with tenesmus and a sensation of incomplete evacuation. It also strengthens the spleen and aids digestion, making it suitable for undigested food accumulation and loss of appetite.
Related Medicines
Agarwood Stagnation-Resolving Pills, Perilla Seed Qi-Descending Pills, Beiling Capsules, Chest-Relieving, Qi-Regulating, and Stagnation-Resolving Pills, Agarwood Qi-Regulating Pills.
Related Prescriptions
Agarwood Powder (*Jin Gui Yi*), Wu Mo Yin Zi (*Yi Fang Ji Jie*), Agarwood and Cinnamon-Aconite Pills (*Wei Sheng Bao Jian*), Si Mo Tang (*Ji Sheng Fang*), and Long Shi Gun Tan Pills (*Yu Ji Wei Yi*).
Notes
Patients requiring treatment with traditional Chinese medicine should first consult a licensed TCM hospital, where a TCM practitioner will conduct a professional pattern differentiation and issue a prescription.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
It can be harvested year-round. Cut the resin-containing wood, remove the resin-free portions, and air-dry in the shade.
Processing Methods
Take the raw material, remove any withered, decayed, or white wood, brush it clean, split it into small pieces, chop or plane it into thin slices, or grind it into a fine powder.
Storage Methods
Store in a dry container, seal tightly, and keep in a cool, dry place.
Crude Drug Identification
Identification
1. Cross-section of this specimen: The rays are 1–2 cell-wide and filled with brown resin. The vessels are circular to polygonal, 42–128 μm in diameter; some contain brown resin. The wood fibers are polygonal, 20–45 μm in diameter, with slightly thickened, lignified walls.The inter-vascular phloem is flattened, oblong-elliptical, or strip-shaped, often intersecting with the rays; the cell walls are thin, non-lignified, and contain brown resin; scattered among them are a few fibers, and some parenchyma cells contain calcium oxalate prismatic crystals.
2. Take 0.5 g of the powdered sample, add 30 mL of diethyl ether, sonicate for 60 minutes, filter, and evaporate the filtrate to dryness; dissolve the residue in 2 mL of chloroform to prepare the test solution. Separately, take 0.5 g of Agallocha reference material and prepare a reference solution using the same method.Test by thin-layer chromatography (General Chapter 0502): Pipette 10 μl of each of the two solutions and apply them separately to the same silica gel G plate. Develop with a mobile phase of chloroform–ether (10:1), remove the plate, allow it to air-dry, and examine under ultraviolet light (365 nm).In the chromatogram of the test sample, fluorescent spots of the same color should appear at positions corresponding to those in the chromatogram of the reference herbal material.
Properties of Crude Drugs
Those that are dark in color, heavy in weight, rich in oil, and have a strong aroma are considered superior.
1. Agarwood: This product appears as irregular sticks, slices, or helmet-shaped pieces. The surface is brown, often with interlacing black and yellow patterns, and has a slight luster. It sinks or floats in water. It is hard and difficult to break; the fracture surface is grayish-brown. It has a distinctive aroma and a bitter taste. When burned, oil seeps out, and the aroma is more intense than that of white agarwood.
2. White Agarwood: This product appears in irregular chunks, slices, and small fragments; some are helmet-shaped, varying in size. The surface is uneven, pale yellowish-white, with mottled patterns of black-brown and yellow, as well as processing marks from knives. Occasional holes are present, and the surfaces of these holes and depressions often resemble decayed wood. It either sinks halfway or floats when placed in water.It is relatively hard and difficult to break; the fracture surface is spiny, brown, and has a distinctive aroma; it tastes bitter. When burned, oil seeps out, producing thick smoke and a strong fragrance.
Properties of Processed Slices
See “Characteristics of Medicinal Materials.”
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
Agallocha and White Agarwood, plants of the genus Agallocha in the family Thymelaeaceae.
Morphological Characteristics
1. Aquilaria: An evergreen tree reaching up to 30 m in height.Young branches are covered with silky hairs. Leaves are alternate and slightly leathery; they have short petioles, approximately 3 mm long; leaf blades are elliptic-lanceolate, lanceolate, or oblanceolate, 5.5–9 cm long, with an acuminate apex and entire margins; the lower surface of the veins is sometimes covered with silky hairs. Inflorescences are umbels, sessile or with short peduncles, covered with silky hairs;Flowers are white, equal in length to or shorter than the pedicels; the perianth is campanulate, 5-lobed, with ovate lobes 0.7–1 cm long; the throat is densely covered with 10 white, velvety scales, externally covered with silky hairs and internally densely covered with long soft hairs; the corolla tube is slightly equal in length to the perianth lobes;There are 10 stamens, attached to the perianth tube, of which 5 are longer; the ovary is superior, long-ovate, densely pubescent, and 2-chambered; the style is extremely short, and the stigma is flattened-globose. The capsule is obovate, woody, flattened, 4.6–5.2 cm long, densely covered with grayish-white tomentum, with a slightly woody persistent perianth at the base.The seed is usually single, ovoid, with a horn-like appendage at the base approximately twice as long as the seed. Flowering occurs from March to April; fruiting from May to June.
2. White Magnolia: An evergreen tree reaching a height of up to 15 m. The bark is grayish-brown; twigs, petioles, and inflorescences are all covered with soft hairs or interspersed with white downy hairs.Leaves are alternate; petioles are about 5 mm long; leaf blades are leathery, oblong, obovate, or elliptic, 6–12 cm long and 2–4.5 cm wide, with an acuminate apex, a cuneate base, and entire margins; both surfaces are sparsely hairy, but the hairs gradually fall off, leaving the surface smooth and glossy. Umbels are terminal and axillary; pedicels are 0.5–1.2 cm long;flowers are yellowish-green and tomentose; the perianth is campanulate, 5-lobed, oblong, about 7 mm long and 4 mm wide, with a bluntly rounded apex; the throat of the perianth tube bears 10 scales, densely covered with white tomentum, about 5 mm long, fused at the base to form a ring; stamens number 10, with stout filaments; the ovary is ovate and densely tomentose.The capsule is obovate, woody, and flattened, 2.5–3 cm long, densely covered with grayish-white hairs, with a slightly woody persistent perianth at the base. The seeds are blackish-brown, ovate, about 1 cm long, with a gradually tapering apex; the base of the seed extends into a horn-like appendage that is reddish-brown, up to 2 cm long, and widened toward the upper part. Flowering occurs from March to May, and fruiting from May to June.
Distribution Area
1. Agarwood: Grows wild or is cultivated in tropical regions. Overseas, it is distributed in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and India. It has been introduced to China’s tropical regions. 2. White Agarwood: Distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, and other areas.
Growth Habits
It prefers a warm and humid climate, tolerates short-term frost, and is drought-tolerant. Young trees are shade-tolerant, while mature trees prefer full sun. It has a broad adaptability to soil types and can grow on red soil or mountainous yellow soil; it grows more rapidly on loam rich in humus with deep soil layers, though resin production is lower. Growth is slow and vigorous on poor soils, but this environment is conducive to resin formation.
Propagation Methods
Propagation is by seed using the seedling transplant method.
Cultivation Techniques
In the fall, when the fruit ripens, collect seeds from fruits with split husks and sow them in a seedbed at a spacing of 15 cm × 10 cm, using 75 kg of seed per hectare.After one year of cultivation, when seedlings reach a height of 50–80 cm, dig holes and transplant them at a spacing of 2 m × 1.5 m. During the early growth stage, weed and loosen the soil 4–5 times per year, and apply top dressing once each in February–March and October–November, primarily using manure slurry and compound fertilizer. Fertilizer application should be appropriately increased for mature trees.
Pest and Disease Control
Pests include the leaf-rolling moth; each summer and fall, its larvae spin silk to roll up the leaves and feed on the leaf tissue inside. Spray with a 500-fold dilution of 25% Insecticide M water solution before the leaves begin to roll.