Chai Hu is one of the most versatile herbs in the Chinese formulary. As a result, it is also one of the most common ingredients in Chinese herbal formulas. Chai Hu goes by a number of different names, including bupleurum, hare’s ear, thoroughwax, thorow wax, and sickle hare’s ear. Chai Hu originated in central China and parts of southern Europe and is a flowering perennial that grows up to 3 feet in height. It has small greenish flowers that slowly turn yellow, and it’s considered pretty enough to be used in bouquets.
The most notable use for Chai Hu is that it treats something called Shao Yang disorders, which are conditions that involve wide swings. For example, when you have a mild cold or flu, you may run a low-grade fever. However, if your illness becomes more severe, you may begin to alternate between a high fever and chills. Throughout history, Chai Hu was the perfect herb to treat severe febrile (fever-related) illnesses and malaria, which is well-known for its wide swings between bone shattering chills and sweat-inducing fevers. Other symptoms associated with Shao Yang illnesses include a bitter taste in your mouth, irritability, rib pain, chest pressure and vomiting.
That’s not all that Chai Hu is good for, however. It also helps support and spread Liver energy or Qi. That simply means it helps to soothe your emotions and help ease flow in your body. When you get stressed, stuck, or your energy is jammed up in some way, Chai Hu helps to smooth things out. Some common symptoms it can treat include dizziness or vertigo, rib or chest pain, emotional swings and menstrual problems.
It’s common for stuck Liver energy that affects your digestion, too. This can cause symptoms such as a poor appetite, nausea, indigestion, bloating and even an oppressive feeling in your chest. Once again, Chai Hu to the rescue, as it helps to move stuck Liver Qi and relieve your symptoms.
Chinese herbalists also think of Chai Hu as having an upward action, in that it can help raise or hold things up. When you have “sinking” symptoms, such as anal, uterine or bladder prolapse, relentless diarrhea or hemorrhoids, so if the pattern is right, the upward action of Chai Hu may make it a good choice for your practitioner to include in your treatment formula.
Because Chai Hu is so versatile, it’s often used to treat a wide range of conditions including:
- Malaria
- Cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder)
- Globus-a constant feeling of a lump in your throat
- Gynecological issues
- Depression
- Hepatitis
- Cirrhosis
- Pancreatitis
- Elevated cholesterol
- Headaches and Migraines
Scientists are exploring the role of Chai Hu in something called autophagy. This is a kind of quality control at the cellular level. Autophagy is the process in which your body recycles and uses parts of cells as they break down to form new viable cells. Autophagy is a good thing, as it helps your body clean out damaged cells to form healthy ones. Research on Chai Hu also indicate that is may help immunity, have antiviral effects, lower a fever, be hepatoprotective (good for Liver health) and have analgesic and sedative properties.
When I think of Chai Hu, a couple of things come to mind. From the list above, it’s obvious that it treats many Liver and Gallbladder conditions. It’s an herb that treats conditions that swing between extremes, much like the Gallbladder channel itself. The trajectory of the Gallbladder channel runs along the side of your body, swinging between your front and back—something no other channel does. And the Gallbladder pathway is paired with that of the Liver. Chai Hu can also reduce heat, smooth stagnant Qi, treat rib pain, menstrual issues and it is sometimes included in formulas simply for its upward-moving actions. Chinese medicinals are rarely used along and Chai Hu is an important ingredient in many of the most commonly prescribed formulas in Chinese medicine. Chai Hu is truly one of the important workhorses of Chinese herbal medicine.
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Dr. Jeda Boughton is a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Registered Acupuncturist in Vancouver. She is also a Registered Herbologist and the founder of BodaHealth.
