FO-TI   (RAW AND CURED) (Syn. Heshouwu, polygonum)

Plant Source: Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. (Family Polygonaceae).
Part Used: Root tuber.

Properties:

Raw Fo-ti - Detoxicant, laxative, liver protectant, antioxidant, antibacterial.

Cured Fo-ti - Tonic (blood, Liver and Kidney), antioxidant, immunostimulant, anti-atherosclerotic, hypolipemic, antiviral, antibacterial, antimutagenic.

Most Common Traditional Uses:

Raw Fo-ti - Scrofula, sores, carbuncles, skin eruptions, pruritus, inflammations, constipation, hyperlipemia.

Cured Fo-ti - Dizziness, tinnitus, insomnia, premature graying, hair loss, numbness of limbs, weak knee and back, soreness of knee and back, general weakness, hyperlipemia.

Raw and cured fo-ti are different in both preparation and traditional properties and uses. Raw fo-ti is simply the cleaned and dried root tuber while cured fo-ti has undergone a complicated prolonged cooking process with black soybean broth. Raw fo-ti is over fifty times more toxic than cured fo-ti and has strong laxative properties. In contrast, cured fo-ti is relatively nontoxic and has little or no laxative effects as processing destroys most of the laxative ingredients but increases the immunostimulating components.

Cured fo-ti is regarded by the Chinese as one of the most important anti-aging herbs and is extensively used in tonic formulas. Modern scientific findings seem to support the rationale of many of its traditional uses.