This product is the resin of the Storax tree (Liquidambar orientalis Mill.), a tree species of the Hamamelidaceae family. It is primarily produced in Africa, India, and Turkey, and is also cultivated in Guangxi, China. In early summer, the bark is wounded or cut deeply into the wood to allow the fragrant resin to seep into the bark. By autumn, the bark is peeled off, and the fragrant resin is extracted, resulting in ordinary Storax. If ordinary Storax is dissolved in alcohol, filtered, and the alcohol is evaporated, it becomes refined Storax. The finished product should be stored in a cool place, tightly sealed.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Acrid, warm. Act on heart and spleen meridians.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Resuscitation: Revitalizes the spirit, dispels filth, and relieves pain.

bubble_chart Indications

1. is used for cold-induced unconsciousness. Storax has a pungent and strong aroma, with the effect of resuscitation and awakening the spirit, and is particularly effective in warming and unblocking, as well as dispelling foulness. Therefore, it is suitable for treating cold-induced unconsciousness with symptoms such as a bluish complexion, cold body, white tongue coating, and slow pulse. For conditions like apoplexy phlegm syncope and fright epilepsy, which are caused by cold evil and phlegm turbidity blocking internally, it is often used together with musk, benzoin, sandalwood, etc., such as in Styrax Pill.
2. It is used for cold pain and fullness in the chest and abdomen. This product warms and unblocks, moves and disperses, and can resolve turbidity, open depression, dispel cold, and relieve pain. It is used to treat chest and gastric stuffiness, fullness, and cold pain caused by phlegm turbidity, blood stasis, or congealing cold and qi stagnation, often used together with borneol, such as in Coronary Heart Styrax Pill or Su Bing drop pill.
3. In recent years, Coronary Heart Styrax Pill or Su Bing drop pill has been used to treat coronary heart disease and heart colicky pain, which can quickly relieve pain, with good and lasting effects, and no side effects. Styrax Pill has also been used to treat biliary ascariasis.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Bielu: "The lord dispels evil, ... warm malaria, parasitic toxins, epilepsy, eliminates three worms, removes evil."
2. Bencao Gangmu: "Its qi is fragrant and penetrating, able to reach all orifices zang-fu organs, hence its function is to dispel all improper qi."
3. Benjing Fengyuan: "It can penetrate all orifices and organs, dispelling all improper qi. For phlegm accumulation and qi syncope, it must first be used to open and guide, treating phlegm by regulating qi as the foundation. For the invasion of mountain miasma and damp qi into the meridians, causing uneven tension and relaxation, it is indispensable. However, its nature is dry and qi-penetrating, and it is contraindicated for those with yin deficiency and excessive fire."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Take in pill or powder form, 0.3-1g each time. Not suitable for decoction.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product contains free cassia bark acid, cassia bark lipids, and volatile oils. The components in the oil include styrene, vanillin, and ethyl vanillin.

Storax is an irritant dispelling phlegm medicine with weak antibacterial effects, and can be used for various respiratory infections; it also has a mild irritant effect, which can alleviate local inflammation and promote the healing of ulcers and wounds; it has the effect of enhancing hypoxia tolerance, and in experimental myocardial infarction in dogs, it can slow the heart rate, improve coronary flow, and reduce myocardial oxygen consumption; it also has anti-platelet aggregation activity.