Latin Name
Agastache rugosa

General Description
The leaves, stems, and flowers of agastache are most often used to treat disorders that affect the digestive tract. This plant is also known as patchouli or pogostemon. An aromatic herb grown throughout China, agastache is classified in Chinese herbal medicine as acrid and slightly warm. Harvested in June and July, the best-quality agastache has many soft, thick, and fragrant leaves.

Target Ailments

• Nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and dysentery, morning sickness, swelling of the abdomen, reduced appetite and colds without fever. (Taken internally.)

Preparations
Agastache is available in Chinese pharmacies, Asian markets and Western health food stores, where it is in the form of dried leaves or powder.
Combinations: The herb, appearing in several preparations with other Chinese herbs, should not be cooked for more than 15 minutes or it will lose its fragrant quality. In combination with pinellia and atractylodes (black), it may be prescribed for nausea and vomiting, bloating of the chest and abdomen, reduced appetite, and diarrhea. A mixture of agastache with coptis and bamboo shavings is used by Chinese herbalists for certain types of vomiting. Practitioners of Chinese medicine also recommend agastache together with grains-of-paradise fruit for morning sickness. Consult a Chinese medicine practitioner for information on dosages and additional herbal combinations.

Special Information
Should not be used when there are what Chinese medicine calls heat signs. These include symptoms such as fever, thirst, and sweating.