Conioselinum anthriscoides

Conioselinum anthriscoides, more commonly known as Ligusticum sinense, is a species of flowering plant in the genus hemlock-parsley. It is native to Southern China and is used in traditional Chinese medicine as two separate herbs, both derived from the rhizome and roots of the plant: gaoben (藁本) and chuanxiong (川芎). These two differ by the exact cultivar used; specifically, chuanxiong is derived from the 'Chuanxiong' cultivar only.^[4]

Conioselinum anthriscoides
Slices of "chuanxiong" root and rhizome
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Apiaceae
Genus:	Conioselinum
Species:	C. anthriscoides
Binomial name
Conioselinum anthriscoides (H.Boissieu) Pimenov & Kljuykov
Synonyms[1][2][3]
Homotypic Carum anthriscoides H.Boissieu Aegopodium anthriscoides (H.Boissieu) H.Boissieu Heterotypic Ligusticum sinense Oliv. Conioselinum sinomedicum Pimenov & Kljuykov, nom. illeg. superfl. Ligusticum sinense Oliv. var. alpinum Shan Ligusticum sinense Oliv. var. hupehense H.D.Zhang Ligusticum markgrafianum Ligusticum pilgerianum Ligusticum harrysmithii Ligusticum levistifolium Lower classifications Conioselinum anthriscoides 'Chuanxiong' Ligusticum chuanxiong S.H.Qiu, Y.Q.Zeng, K.Y.Pan, Y.C.Tang & J.M.Xu Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort.

Chuanxiong is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs. It is known by the common name Szechuan lovage. It contains the phytoprogestogens 3,8-dihydrodiligustilide and riligustilide. ^[5]

Related plants

L. sinense is a widely used heterotypic synonym of this species with its type locality in Hubei. C. anthriscoides has its type locality in Chongqing (originally recorded as "Su-tchuen oriental", a name given to the Catholic mission in Chongqing).^[2]

C. anthriscoides has a cultivar 'Fuxiong' that is triploid.^[4] L. chuanxiong is "chuanxiong" named as a cultispecies, now treated also as a heterotypic synonym.^[4]

Because there is no chuanxiong plant in Japan, local Kampo practitioners substitute it with Conioselinum officinale (Makino) K.Ohashi & H.Ohashi (=L. officinale Makino).^[6] Similarly, traditional Korean medicine substitutes gaoben with C. tenuissimum.^[4]

By plasmid genome, their relationship is (author's taxonomy retained):^[4]

	L. chuanxiong cv. Yunnan L. sinense cv. Fuxiong L. jeholense L. officinale L. chuanxiong cv. Gansu L. chuanxiong
	L. tenuissimum

Despite older sources assigning "chuanxiong" as a synonym of L. striatum = L. wallichii,^[7] morphological, karyotypic, and DNA barcode evidence all point to "chuanxiong" being a cultivated form of L. sinense.^[4]

Traditional medicine

As mentioned earlier, this species is the source of two separate TCM herbs. These herbs are assigned different meridians. Chuanxiong is considered more valuable than gaoben, and adulteration using gaoben is not uncommon.^[4]

It is used in China, with portions of other plants and herbs (such as monkshood and Rosa banksiae) to make a liniment to treat a painful swelling of the joints.^[8]

According to Chinese sources, it can be used to treat ischemic strokes, improve brain microcirculation and inhibit thrombus formation and platelet aggregation.^[9]