Skip to content
Photo of Prepared Monkshood

Prepared Monkshood

附子 · Fù Zǐ

Rescues your body when warmth and energy collapse

Properties

NeutralNeutral botanicalPungent, Sweet

What it does

Prepared monkshood is for when your body's warmth collapses: ice-cold limbs, barely-there pulse, total exhaustion. In TCM, this is yang collapse, meaning the energy that keeps you warm and alive has bottomed out. It also helps chronic cold conditions like persistent joint pain in damp weather. Even after processing, it's extremely toxic and only used under strict practitioner control.

How to take it

Capsule

Only used in practitioner-prescribed formulas. Prepared monkshood must be decocted for 30–60 minutes before other herbs are added to reduce toxicity.

See a TCM practitioner. Never source or prepare this yourself

Safety

  • Toxic. Only use the prepared (processed) form, never raw aconite
  • Strictly practitioner-prescribed with careful dosing
  • Never use during pregnancy
  • Symptoms of aconite poisoning include numbness and irregular heartbeat. Seek emergency help
  • Talk to your doctor before starting, especially if you take medication

Where it comes from

Prepared monkshood is considered the 'king of yang-restoring herbs' in TCM, and also one of its most dangerous. It comes from the aconite plant and contains aconitine, a potent toxin. The prepared form (processed through extended boiling or baking with salt) has been used for over 2,000 years. Zhāng Zhòng-Jǐng's 2nd-century Shāng Hán Lùn features it in numerous emergency formulas. The saying goes: 'Without Fù Zǐ, there would be no way to treat certain diseases.'