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Jiang Xiang

Traditionally used for: Traditional Chinese formulas for pain; Short-term use under a trained herbalist. Chest pain and tightness; Belly pain.

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What is Jiang Xiang? Jiang Xiang is the scented heartwood of a tree called Dalbergia odorifera. In Chinese medicine it is used for chest pain, belly pain, and pain after a fall or a blow. The powder was also dusted on small cuts to slow bleeding. It is a single herb, not a blend. In practice it is most often used as one part of a larger mix. You may see it sold as wood chips, thin slices, or a fine powder. The human evidence is very thin. Long use in a tradition is not proof that a herb works, and we could not find any human trial of Jiang Xiang on its own. Almost all of what we know comes from lab dishes and animal tests. How does Jiang Xiang work? No one has shown how Jiang Xiang works in people. What follows is theory, not proof. In Chinese medicine it is said to move blood and qi (the body's vital energy), warm the middle, and ease pain. That is a traditional idea, not a lab finding. In lab and animal work, the oil and the plant pigments in the wood relax blood vessels and calm swelling. Some of the same work points to slower blood clotting. Those results come from dishes and animals, so we cannot say they happen in your body. What forms does Jiang Xiang come in? Jiang Xiang comes mainly in these forms: Thin slices or chips of the wood, boiled into a tea. A fine powder, stirred into warm water or into a mix of other herbs. As one herb inside a ready-made Chinese patent pill or granule. A scented oil, used in incense and perfume. The oil is not meant to be swallowed. Where it comes from: Jiang Xiang has been listed in Chinese herb books for many hundreds of years, and was well known by the Ming era (1368 to 1644). The same wood was prized for incense and for furniture. Healers grouped it with the blood-moving herbs. Its main jobs were easing chest and belly pain, treating hurts from falls and blows, and slowing bleeding from small wounds.

Helps

What does Jiang Xiang help with? Chest pain and tightness: This is the classic use. Chinese doctors add Jiang Xiang to heart formulas for a tight, aching chest. No human trial has tested the herb by itself for this. Chest pain can mean a heart problem, so it needs a doctor, not a herb. Belly pain with poor appetite or vomiting: Tradition treats it as a warming herb for a cold, achy stomach. It was given for belly pain with gas or vomiting. The support here is written custom only. We found no human trial. Pain and bruising after a fall or blow: Blood-moving herbs were a first choice for bumps, sprains and bruises, and Jiang Xiang sits in that group. Animal and lab work shows less swelling, but that has not been repeated in people. Minor bleeding from small cuts: The dry powder was pressed onto shallow cuts to help bleeding stop. This is an old wound-care habit, used long before modern dressings. There is no trial evidence for it. Use a clean dressing and pressure instead, and see a doctor for a deep or dirty wound.

Jiang Xiang

Quick Facts

  • What it is: Jiang Xiang is the scented heartwood of Dalbergia odorifera, used in Chinese medicine to ease pain and move blood.
  • Main uses: Chest pain and tightness, Belly pain with vomiting, Bruising and pain after a fall, Minor bleeding from small cuts
  • Best for: Traditional Chinese formulas for pain, Short-term use under a trained herbalist
  • Active ingredients: Nerolidol (from the wood oil), Medicarpin and other flavonoids (plant pigments)
  • Forms: Wood chips or slices, Powder, Part of Chinese patent pills or granules, Scented oil (not for swallowing)
  • Time to effect: Not known; no trial has measured it in people.
  • Side effects: Thought to be mild and rare, but the main worry is easier bleeding.
  • Pregnancy & breastfeeding: Not studied in pregnancy; avoid unless your clinician advises otherwise.

Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.

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What is Jiang Xiang?

Jiang Xiang is the scented heartwood of a tree called Dalbergia odorifera. In Chinese medicine it is used for chest pain, belly pain, and pain after a fall or a blow. The powder was also dusted on small cuts to slow bleeding.

It is a single herb, not a blend. In practice it is most often used as one part of a larger mix. You may see it sold as wood chips, thin slices, or a fine powder.

The human evidence is very thin. Long use in a tradition is not proof that a herb works, and we could not find any human trial of Jiang Xiang on its own. Almost all of what we know comes from lab dishes and animal tests.

How does Jiang Xiang work?

No one has shown how Jiang Xiang works in people. What follows is theory, not proof.

In Chinese medicine it is said to move blood and qi (the body's vital energy), warm the middle, and ease pain. That is a traditional idea, not a lab finding.

In lab and animal work, the oil and the plant pigments in the wood relax blood vessels and calm swelling. Some of the same work points to slower blood clotting. Those results come from dishes and animals, so we cannot say they happen in your body.

What forms does Jiang Xiang come in?

Jiang Xiang comes mainly in these forms:

Thin slices or chips of the wood, boiled into a tea.

A fine powder, stirred into warm water or into a mix of other herbs.

As one herb inside a ready-made Chinese patent pill or granule.

A scented oil, used in incense and perfume. The oil is not meant to be swallowed.

Where it comes from:

Jiang Xiang has been listed in Chinese herb books for many hundreds of years, and was well known by the Ming era (1368 to 1644). The same wood was prized for incense and for furniture.

Healers grouped it with the blood-moving herbs. Its main jobs were easing chest and belly pain, treating hurts from falls and blows, and slowing bleeding from small wounds.

Who should avoid Jiang Xiang?

  • Do not use if you are pregnant, as blood-moving herbs are avoided in pregnancy in Chinese medicine and the risk has not been studied
  • Do not use if you are breastfeeding, because nothing is known about what passes into milk
  • Do not use if you take warfarin or any other blood thinner
  • Do not use if you take daily aspirin, clopidogrel or a similar anti-clotting drug
  • Do not use if you have a bleeding disorder such as haemophilia (a condition where blood does not clot properly)
  • Do not use if you have a peptic ulcer (a sore in the stomach lining) or any active bleeding
  • Do not use if you have surgery, dental work or a birth planned within the next two weeks
  • Do not use if you are giving it to a child, unless a trained doctor has told you to
  • Do not use if you have had a rash or breathing trouble from rosewood or rosewood dust
  • Do not swallow the scented oil; it is made for incense and perfume, not for drinking

When should you see a doctor?

See a doctor now if you have chest pain, pressure or tightness. Chest pain can be a heart attack, and no herb is the right answer for it.

Stop the herb and call a doctor if you bruise easily, bleed longer than normal, have a nosebleed that will not stop, or see blood in your stool, urine or vomit.

Get help the same day for a rash, swelling of the face or lips, or trouble breathing. Also see a doctor if belly pain or a cough lasts more than two weeks.

Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.

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