What is gangjinhyang?

Gangjinhyang is the fragrant heartwood of the tree Dalbergia odorifera, known in English as rosewood heartwood. It is a single herb used in Korean medicine, not a formula or a blend. Healers traditionally gave it for bruises after a fall or blow, for chest and stomach discomfort, and as a wound powder.

The wood is dark, resinous and strongly aromatic. It is usually cut into chips or ground to a powder, then simmered into a tea, taken as a fine powder, or burned as incense. In Korea it is called gangjinhyang; the same drug is called jiang xiang in Chinese practice.

Here is the honest verdict up front: this herb has a long record of traditional use, but we could not find human trials that test it on its own. Traditional use is not proof that something works, and that gap applies to everything on this page. Laboratory work suggests it may slow blood clotting, which matters mainly as a safety issue.

How does gangjinhyang work?

Nobody has shown clearly how gangjinhyang works in people.

In Korean tradition it is described as a warm, aromatic herb that "moves blood" and stops bleeding. In plain terms, practitioners used it where they believed blood had become stuck or stagnant after an injury.

Laboratory and animal studies point to two effects that may be real. Extracts of the wood appear to reduce platelet aggregation (blood cells clumping together to form a clot), and some compounds reduce inflammation markers in cell dishes. Whether either happens at the doses people actually take is unknown.

What forms does gangjinhyang come in?

You may see gangjinhyang sold as:

Wood chips or shavings for simmering into a tea, usually added in the last few minutes.

A fine powder, taken by mouth in small amounts or dusted on minor wounds in older practice.

An ingredient inside multi-herb Korean and Chinese patent formulas, often for chest discomfort or injury.

Incense sticks and cones, and a distilled essential oil used in perfumery. The essential oil is for scent only and is not for swallowing.

Where it comes from:

Gangjinhyang has been used in Korean medicine for centuries and appears in the East Asian materia medica shared with Chinese practice, where it is called jiang xiang. Classical texts list it for trauma, bleeding wounds, and pain in the chest and belly.

The tree is native to Hainan and parts of southern China and Southeast Asia. Heavy demand for the timber and the medicine has pushed wild Dalbergia odorifera onto protected species lists, so much of what is sold today is substituted, farmed or mislabelled.

What does gangjinhyang help with?

• Bruises and swelling after a fall or blow: This is the classic traditional use, and it is where the herb has the longest record. Korean and Chinese practitioners added it to injury formulas to ease pain and help bruising fade. No human trial has tested gangjinhyang alone for bruising. Treat it as traditional practice, not as proven treatment.
• Chest and upper belly discomfort described in tradition as blood stasis: Traditional texts use it for a tight or stabbing pain in the chest and stomach. It appears in some multi-herb formulas aimed at chest pain. Chest pain can mean a heart problem. Do not self-treat chest pain with a herb; get it checked the same day.
• Minor cuts and bleeding (as a traditional wound powder): Older Korean practice dusted the powdered wood onto small wounds to slow bleeding. There is no modern trial support for this, and today a clean dressing and pressure are the safer choice. Note the contradiction that has never been resolved: tradition calls it a bleeding-stopper, while laboratory work suggests it may thin the blood.
• Nausea and stomach upset: Aromatic warming herbs were widely used in Korean medicine for a queasy, bloated stomach, and gangjinhyang is one of them. Evidence here is traditional only. We found no human studies of this herb for nausea.
• Use as incense for a calming scent: The burning wood has a sweet, woody smell used in ritual and for relaxation. This is a pleasant sensory use, not a medical one. If you have asthma or another long-term lung condition, smoke of any kind can trigger symptoms.

Which foods are rich in gangjinhyang?

You cannot get this from your diet; it is used only as a medicinal wood, a powder or incense.

What are the side effects of gangjinhyang?

• Nausea or stomach upset
• Easier bruising or bleeding that is slow to stop
• Skin rash or itching from handling the wood or its dust
• Breathing irritation from sawdust or incense smoke
• Dry mouth or a warm, flushed feeling
• Allergic reaction, which is rare but possible with any plant

Good to know:

Most reported problems are mild stomach upset or skin irritation.

The effect to take seriously is bleeding. Rosewood dust is also a well-known cause of contact dermatitis (an itchy skin rash from touching something) among woodworkers, so wear gloves and a mask if you grind the wood yourself.

Because no controlled trials exist, the true rate of side effects is simply not known.

How much gangjinhyang should you take?

• Recommended daily: No modern, tested dose exists for gangjinhyang. Traditional Korean and Chinese practice uses roughly 3 to 6 g of the wood chips per day in a decoction (a simmered tea), or about 1 to 2 g of the powder taken by mouth. These figures come from practitioner texts, not from trials. The essential oil is never swallowed. Do not take more than a practitioner advises, and do not use it at all alongside blood-thinning medicines.
• Best time of day: Traditionally taken in two or three divided doses across the day, warm. There is no evidence that one time of day works better than another.
• With or without food: Usually taken warm, between or shortly after meals. Taking it with food may reduce stomach upset.
• Time to effect: Unknown. Traditional use suggests effects on bruising or stomach comfort within a few days, but this has never been measured in a trial.
• How long to take it: Traditional use is short-term, usually a few days to two weeks for an injury or a bout of stomach upset. There is no safety data for long-term daily use. If nothing has changed after two weeks, stop and see a doctor rather than continuing.