Xiao Hui Xiang
English Name: fennel seed
Pharmaceutical Name: Fructus Foeniculi
Medica Category: Interior-Warming Herbs
Properties: Xiao Hui Xiang enters the Liver, Kidney, Spleen, and Stomach channels; it is acrid in nature and warm in temperature.
What is Xiao Hui Xiang?:
The Chinese Herb Xiao Hui Xiang is dried fennel seed (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.).
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Xiao Hui Xiang:
Xiao Hui Xiang enters the Liver and Kidney channels to disperse cold in the lower jiao. Clinical applications of this action are to address lower back and abdominal pain as well as various manifestations of prolapse and other “cold bulging” disorders in the genital region (e.g. swelling and hardness in the testicles and cold hernial disorders).
Xiao Hui Xiang moves stagnant qi in the Spleen, Stomach, and Liver channels to address hypochondriac, abdominal, and intercostal pain that presents with vomiting and decreased appetite.
**safety note—Use with caution during pregnancy due to potential emmenagogic effect.