Wujiapi (Acanthopanax Root Bark) wǔ jiā pí · 五加皮

Safety. Read this before buying anything under this name. The bark that the modern pharmacopoeia means is Acanthopanax; a different bark, xiang jia pi from Periploca sepium, has been substituted for it, and Periploca contains cardiac glycosides of the same kind as digoxin, so the substitution has caused serious poisoning and deaths. Two further confusions sit close by: ci wu jia, Eleutherococcus senticosus, is a related but distinct herb sold in English as Siberian ginseng; and Acanthopanax bark is collected from the wild, so supply is a conservation question a buyer cannot check. Because a tonic wine is the classic vehicle, the alcohol matters as much as the herb, and anyone who drinks no alcohol should not take it that way. Warm, and avoided classically where there is heat or depleted Yin. Safety in pregnancy is not established. No amount is given here.