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Photo of Typhonium Rhizome

Typhonium Rhizome

白附子 · Bái Fù Zǐ

Practitioner herb for facial paralysis and migraines

Properties

WarmingWarming botanicalPungent

Concerns

Inflammation

What it does

Typhonium rhizome targets stubborn facial paralysis, deep migraines, and stroke-related symptoms like deviated eyes or impaired speech. In TCM, those map to wind-phlegm, where sticky internal phlegm combines with sudden disease patterns. Typhonium drives both out. It's a key herb in Qian Zheng San, the classical facial-palsy formula. Toxic and practitioner-controlled.

How to take it

Capsule

Used only in practitioner formulas at 3–6g of processed material. Always processed by boiling with ginger and alum. Often paired with scorpion in formulas.

See a TCM practitioner. This is not safe for self-use

Safety

  • Toxic. Severe oral and gastrointestinal damage in raw form
  • Use only practitioner-prescribed processed material
  • Strictly avoid during pregnancy
  • Stop if you develop tongue numbness, throat irritation, or palpitations
  • Talk to your doctor before starting, especially if you take medication

Where it comes from

Typhonium rhizome (Typhonium giganteum) is a corm-forming plant native to northern China. The fresh corm is severely toxic and processed extensively before use, typically by long boiling with ginger and alum to reduce alkaloid content. The classical formula Qian Zheng San (Pull-the-Crooked-Straight Powder) combines typhonium with scorpion and silkworm for facial paralysis. Even after processing, doses are kept tightly controlled due to the plant's potency.