Latin Name
Angelica pubescens

General Description
Chinese medicine practitioners prescribe Angelica pubescens as a pain reliever. They believe the root of this plant alleviates the pain and numbness in joints and muscles — especially of the lower body — attributed in Chinese medicine to cold, damp weather conditions. This aromatic herb with its thick, glistening roots is classified as acrid, bitter and warm according to the tenets of traditional Chinese medicine.

Target Ailments
Taken internally for:

• Acute and chronic pain in the lower back and legs that is sensitive to cold, damp weather.
  
• Mild headache and toothache that respond to changes in the weather.

Preparations
The herb is available in bulk at Chinese pharmacies, Asian food markets and Western health food stores.
Combinations: A mixture with Chinese wild ginger and gentiana macrophylla root is prescribed for pain and numbness in the neck, back and legs. When combined with ephedra stem, it is used for body aches with colds and flu, if the patient is not perspiring. This herb is also mixed with a root known as siler in a remedy for numbness in the legs.

Angelica root is related to notopterygium root, which is regarded as a better treatment for pain in the upper back and shoulders. Chinese herbalists often use these two herbs together. For example, a headache remedy is created when angelica root is combined with notopterygium, another root called cnidium (Ligusticum chuanxiong), and a fruit known as vitex.

Consult a Chinese medicine practitioner for information on specific dosages as well as additional herbal combinations.

Special Information

• WARNING: Do not use angelica root when there are what Chinese medicine calls heat signs. These include symptoms such as fever, chills, headache, thirst, sweating and a rapid pulse.
  
• In laboratory experiments, angelica root apparently has relieved pain in mice.
  
• This herb has slowed the growth of bacteria in a test tube study.