White Atractylodes 白术
Atractylodes macrocephala rhizoma is the dried rhizome of the perennial herb of the genus Atractylodes in the family Asteraceae.
Atractylodes were initially not divided into white atractylodes and atractylodes cangzhu but were collectively referred to as "atractylodes." The first mention of it is found in Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica （神农本草经）, classified as the top grade. In the late Han period Zhang Zhongjing's "Treatise on Typhoid Fever" first differentiates it and names it "white atractylodes."
Taste, Characteristic, and Meridian
Bitter, sweet, warm, returns to the stomach and spleen meridians.
Strengthening the spleen and vital energy, drying dampness and inducing diuresis, stopping sweating, and tranquilizing the fetus. By its ability to tonify spleen qi it is known to “harmonize the middle” (i.e. stomach and spleen).
Value in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Atractylodes has been recorded in the works on materia medica through the ages, such as the Ben Jing (本经), and the Compendium of Materia Medica. It is widely used in Chinese herbal medicine since ancient times. It has the effects of tonifying qi and strengthening the spleen, drying dampness and inducing diuresis, stopping sweating, and tranquilizing the fetus. It is used for treating weak spleen qi, fatigue, bloating, loose stools, water retention, urinary incontinence, edema, phlegm and vertigo, dampness paralysis and soreness, spontaneous sweating due to deficiency of qi, and restlessness of the fetus.