Da Huang
| 120g | |
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Pinyin: Da Huang
Chinese: 大黄
Pharmaceutical: Radix et Rhizoma Rhei
Taxonomy: Rheum palmatum
English: Chinese Rhubarb Root
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Tastes: Bitter, cold
Meridians Entered: Large Intestine, Spleen, Stomach, Liver and Heart
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Actions & Indications:
- Drains Heat and purges accumulations
Intestinal Heat Excess, with high fever, profuse sweating, thirst, constipation, abdominal distention and pain, delirium, a yellow tongue coat and a full pulse
Yang-Ming Fu Stage
Qi Level Heat in the Intestines
- Drains Fire
Fire from Excess with intense fever, sore throat, and painful eyes and constipation
Fire toxin sores due to Xue Level Heat, especially with constipation
- Clears Heat, transforms Dampness and promotes urination
Damp-Heat with oedema, jaundice, painful urinary dysfunction and acute, hot dysenteric disorders
- Drains Heat from the Blood
Bloody stool either from hemorrhoids or Heat in the Intestines
Chaotic movement of hot Blood with hemoptysis or epistaxis with constipation
It can be powdered and administered orally for bleeding in the upper digestive tract
- Invigorates the Blood and dispels Blood Stasis
Blood Stasis with amenorrhea, fixed abdominal masses or fixed pain
Blood Stasis due to traumatic injury
Intestinal abscess
- Clears Heat and reduces Fire toxicity
Topically or internally for burns or skin lesions (Chuang Yung) due to Heat
- Clears Heat and eliminates Phlegm
Chronic Accumulation of Phlegm-Heat with cough, dyspnea, mania, disorientation and other symptoms of Phlegm Misting the Heart
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Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction. Excessive decoction will reduce the purgative action. Therefore it should be added at end to achieve this purpose and over-decocted to eliminate this action.
Cautions: It should be used with caution in case of spleen and stomach deficiency for its bitter and cold property which is easily to damage stomach qi. It is contraindicated to women during pregnancy, menstruation or lactation for it has actions of activating blood and resolving stasis, and can make the purged substances follow lactating out. |
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Gan Jiang
| 120g | |
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Pinyin: Gan Jiang
Chinese: 干姜
Pharmaceutical: Rhizoma Zingiberis
Taxonomy: Zingiber officinale
English: Dried Ginger
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Tastes: Pungent, hot
Meridians Entered: Spleen, Stomach, Kidney, Heart and Lung
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Actions & Indications:
- Warms the Middle and expels Cold
External Cold affecting the Spleen and Stomach Spleen and Stomach Yang Deficiencies
- Dispels Wind-Dampness seeping into the Lower Jiao
Lower Jiao Wind-Cold-Damp Bi
- Rescues Devastated Yang and expels Interior Cold
Devastated Yang with a very weak pulse and cold limbs
- Warms the Lungs and transforms thin mucus
Lung Cold with expectoration of thin, watery or white sputum
- Warms the channels (unblocks the pulse) and stops bleeding
Hemorrhage due to Deficiency Cold, especially uterine bleeding (only if the bleeding is chronic and pale in color with cold limbs, ashen white face and a soggy thin pulse)
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Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated for yin deficiency with internal heat and haemorrhage due to blood heat. |
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Long Gu
| 120g | |
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Pinyin: Long Gu
Chinese: 龙骨
Pharmaceutical: Ossa Draconis
English: Fossilised Bones
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Tastes: Sweet, astringent, neutral
Meridians Entered: Liver, Heart and Kidney
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Actions & Indications:
- Settles anxiety and calms the Spirit
Agitated Heart and Spirit with emotional distress, restlessness, insomnia, palpitations with anxiety, seizures, or withdrawal mania
- Calms the Liver and anchors and preserves Floating Yang
Irritability, restlessness, dizziness, vertigo, blurred vision and a bad temper due to Liver Yin Deficiency with Liver Yang Rising
- Prevents leakage of fluids
Loss of fluids due to Deficiency with spermatorrhea, night sweats, spontaneous sweating, nocturnal emissions, vaginal discharge and uterine bleeding
- Topically generates muscles and astringes ulcers
Chronic non-healing sores and ulcerations
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Standard Dosage: 15-30g in decoction.
Cautions: The high mineral content of this medication may prevent the oral absorption of the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics.
Animal products are prohibited from use in the UK under the Medicines Act 1968 ch. 67 which restricts herbalists to the use of plant products only. It is generally substituted with Bai Shao and Wu Wei Zi.
If viewed from a western perspective as a source of calcium which may cause sleep disturbances, then supplementation or inclusion of high calcium/magnesium content herbs (e.g. Kun Bu) could be considered, especially if other signs such as oesteoporosis or muscle cramps are present and risk of side effects from calcium/magnesium supplements are low (stones, calcified arteries, GI issues). However, this assumes a mechanism which does not match many of the traditional patterns for which it is prescribed. |
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Gui Zhi
| 90g | |
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Pinyin: Gui Zhi
Chinese: 桂枝
Pharmaceutical: Ramulus Cinnamomi
Taxonomy: Cinnamomum cassia
English: Cinnamon Twig
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Tastes: Pungent, sweet, warm
Meridians Entered: Lung, Heart, Kidney, Liver
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Actions & Indications:
- Releases the Exterior, assists Yang, adjusts the Ying and Wei and releases the muscle layer
Taiyang Wind Strike (Taiyang Zhongfeng, 太阳中风) - a weak person who catches cold easily with spontaneous sweating, aversion to drafts, fever and chills, nasal congestion, stiff and aching head and muscles
- Warms the channels and collaterals to relieve pain
Wind-Cold-Damp Bi
- Unblocks Yang and transforms Qi and thin mucus
Edema due to Cold-Phlegm or Yang Qi Deficiency with urinary dysfunction, dizziness and palpitations
- Assists Heart Yang and warms and facilitates the flow of Yang Qi in the chest
Palpitations due to Yang Obstruction in the chest due to Stagnation or Deficiency
Listless chest Yang with upward movement of Phlegm and thin mucus and disorderly descent of Lung Qi with shortness of breath, chest and back pain and palpitations
Heart and Spleen Yang Deficiency
- Warms and facilitates the flow of Qi through the channels and collaterals and Blood through the vessels
Wind-Cold-Damp Bi
Blood Stasis due to Cold, causing amenorrhea or dysmenorrhea with or without abdominal masses
- Warms the Middle and directs Turbid Yin downward
Middle Jiao Yang Deficiency
Heart and Spleen Yang Deficiency (patient usually craves sweets)
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Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction for exterior conditions, or up to 15g for Bi Syndromes.
Cautions: This herb induces heat, damages the yin and moves blood. It is prohibited for those with warm pathogens, yin deficiency with effulgent fire, or reckless movement of the blood due to heat in the blood. Use with caution in pregnant women. |
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Gan Cao
| 60g | |
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Pinyin: Gan Cao
Chinese: 甘草
Pharmaceutical: Radix Glycyrrhizae
Taxonomy: Glycyrrhiza uralensis seu glabra seu inflata
English: Liquorice Root
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Tastes: Sweet, slightly cold
Meridians Entered: Heart, Lung and Spleen (and all 12 meridians)
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Actions & Indications:
- Tonifies the Spleen and augments Qi
Spleen Qi Deficiency with shortness of breath, lassitude and loose stools
Qi and Blood Deficiency with an irregular pulse and/or palpitations
Heart Qi Deficiency or Heart Yang Deficiency
- Moistens the Lungs, resolves Phlegm and stops coughing
Lung Heat or Cold
Productive or non-productive coughing
- Moderates spasms and alleviates pain
Painful muscle spasms of the abdomen and legs
- Clears Heat and relieves Fire toxicity
Raw for Toxic Heat with sore throat or carbuncles and sores (Chuang Yung)
- Antidote for many toxic substances (internal and topical)
Poisoning
- Moderates and harmonizes the harsh properties of other herbs and guides the herbs to all twelve channels
Often added in small doses to harmonise formulas
- Tonifies the Qi while suppressing Parasites
Gu Sydnrome (Fruehauf, 1998)
Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
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Standard Dosage: Typically 1.5-9g in decoction. Large doses can be up 30g.
Cautions: It is contraindicated for combining with Hai Zao, Da Ji, Gan Sui and Yuan Hua because of "eighteen antagonisms". It is also contraindicated in cases of dampness obstruction in middle energizer and edema because it can help dampness obstruct qi, and it is prohibited from long-term usage in large dosage (more than 20g/day) and should be avoided or used with extreme caution in patients with high blood pressure because it may raise aldosterone levels in the blood causing retention of sodium. |
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Mu Li
| 60g | |
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Pinyin: Mu Li
Chinese: 牡蛎
Pharmaceutical: Concha Ostreae
English: Oyster Shell
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Tastes: Salty, astringent, slightly cold
Meridians Entered: Liver and Kidney
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Actions & Indications:
- Heavily settles and calms the Spirit
Agitated Heart and Spirit with palpitations with anxiety, restlessness and insomnia
- Calms the Liver, benefits Yin and anchors Floating Yang
Liver Yin Deficiency with Liver Yang Rising or Yin Deficiency with internal Heat with restlessness, irritability, palpitations and spontaneous sweating
- Prevents leakage of fluids
Continuous sweat after febrile disease or in patients with steaming bone disorder
Loss of fluids due to Deficiency with nightsweats, spontaneous sweating, nocturnal emissions, spermatorrhea or vaginal discharge and uterine bleeding
- Softens hardness and dissipates nodules
Various kinds of lumps particularly neck lumps such as goiter or scrofula
- Absorbs acidity and alleviates pain (calcined)
Excessive Stomach pain with a sour taste in the mouth
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Standard Dosage: 15-30g in decoction.
Cautions: The high mineral content of this medication may prevent the oral absorption of the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics.
Caution should also be taken due to the possibility of heavy metal absorption from the oysters' environment. If decocting it is advisable to leave the dregs at the bottom as heavy metal particles will naturally sink. It is still probably advisable to avoid for long term use unless the source is known to be clean.
Animal products are prohibited from use in the UK under the Medicines Act 1968 ch. 67 which restricts herbalists to the use of plant products only. It is generally substituted with Xuan Shen, Bai Shao and Wu Wei Zi or Tian Ma.
If viewed from a western perspective as a source of calcium which may cause sleep disturbances, then supplementation or inclusion of high calcium/magnesium content herbs (e.g. Kun Bu which is also salty and softens nodulation) could be considered, especially if other signs such as oesteoporosis or muscle cramps are present and the risk of side effects from calcium/magnesium supplements are low (stones, calcified arteries, GI issues). However, this assumes a mechanism which does not match many of the traditional patterns for which it is prescribed. |
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Han Shui Shi
| 180g | |
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Pinyin: Han Shui Shi
Chinese: 寒水石
Pharmaceutical: Glauberitum
English: Red Gypsum / Calcite
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Tastes: Pungent, salty, cold
Meridians Entered: Heart, Stomach and Kidney
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Actions & Indications:
- Clears Heat and drains Fire from the Yangming Stage/Qi Level
Yangming/Qi Level Heat with high fever, irritability and thirst
- Expels Summerheat
Especially useful for Summerheat
- Used for burns and sores
Topically for burns, sores and inflamed eyes due to Wind-Heat
- Promotes urination and reduces oedema
Edema and anuria
- Directs Fire downward and softens hardness
Swelling and pain of the throat and gums, and clumping in the abdomen
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Standard Dosage: 9-15g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated in case of insufficiency-cold in spleen and stomach. |
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Hua Shi
| 180g | |
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Pinyin: Hua Shi
Chinese: 滑石
Pharmaceutical: Talcum / Magnesium Silicate
Taxonomy: Mg3Si4O10(OH)2
English: Talcum Powder
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Tastes: Sweet, bland and cold
Meridians Entered: Bladder, Lung and Stomach
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Actions & Indications:
- Promotes urination and drains Heat from the Urinary Bladder (aids the movement of gravel and stones), (expels Damp-Heat)
Hot Painful Urinary Dysfunction (Lin Syndrome) with hot, painful urination, dark, painful, burning, scanty urine
Damp-Heat diarrhoea
Qi Level Heat with Dampness with unremitting fever, heavy feeling in the body, thirst, yellow tongue coat
- Releases Summeheat and resolves Dampness
Summerheat (fever, urinary difficulty, thirst)
- Absorbs Dampness and clears Heat (topically)
Damp skin lesions (eczema, damp sores, prickly heat) (topical)
- Stops bleeding due to Heat
Heat type bleeding
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Standard Dosage: 10-20g in decoction.
Cautions: Mineral products are prohibited from use in the UK under the Medicines Act 1968 ch. 67 which restricts herbalists to the use of plant products only. It is generally substituted with Chi Fu Ling and Ze Xie. |
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Chi Shi Zhi
| 180g | |
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Pinyin: Chi Shi Zhi
Chinese: 赤石脂
Pharmaceutical: Halloysitum Rubrum
English: Red Kaolin / Red Halloysite
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Tastes: Sweet, astringent, warm
Meridians Entered: Large Intestine and Stomach
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Actions & Indications:
- Astringes the Intestines and stops diarrhoea
Chronic diarrhoea, often accompanied by undigested food, due to Deficiency Cold
Chronic dysenteric disorders with mucus and Blood in the stool
- Contains the Blood and stops bleeding
Bleeding from Deficiency Cold in the Lower Jiao with uterine bleeding, excessive menstruation, hemafecia and bleeding prolapsed rectum
Bleeding due to trauma (topical)
- Promotes healing of wounds topically (generates flesh)
Wounds
Chronic non-healing ulcers
Weeping sores
Prolapsed rectum
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Standard Dosage: 10-20g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated in cases of diarrhea or dysentery of damp-heat type. Use with caution for pregnant women. It is incompatible to Guan Gui (Rou Gui).
Mineral products are prohibited from use in the UK under the Medicines Act 1968 ch. 67 which restricts herbalists to the use of plant products only. It is generally substituted with He Zi and Jin Guan Hua. It may still be used topically. |
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Bai Shi Zhi
| 180g | |
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Pinyin: Bai Shi Zhi
Chinese: 白石脂
Pharmaceutical: Halloysitum Album
English: Kaolinite / China Clay / White Clay
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Tastes: Sweet, sour, astringent, warm
Meridians Entered: Lung and Large Intestine
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Actions & Indications:
- Stops bleeding
Metrorrhagia and metrostaxis
- Stabilizes abandoned disorders
Chronic diarrhea
- Absorbs Dampness and sores
Can be used topically
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Standard Dosage: 9-12g in decoction.
Cautions: Internal consumption is contraindicated in case of damp-heat accumulation. |
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Zi Shi Ying
| 180g | |
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Pinyin: Zi Shi Ying
Chinese: 紫石英
Pharmaceutical: Fluoritum
Taxonomy: CaF2
English: Fluorite
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Tastes: Sweet, warm
Meridians Entered: Liver and Heart
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Actions & Indications:
- Sedates the Heart and settles tremors and palpitations
Disorientation, insomnia, palpitations with anxiety or convulsions due to Heart Blood Deficiency or Liver Yang Rising
- Warms the Lungs and descends Qi
Cough or wheezing due to Deficiency Cold of the Lungs Used for wheezing with copious sputum
- Warms the Womb and warms and unblocks the Chong and Ren channels
Excessive menstruation, uterine bleeding or infertility due to Cold from Deficiency of the Womb
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Standard Dosage: 9-15g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated in case of yin deficiency with effulgent fire. |
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Shi Gao
| 180g | | |
Pinyin: Shi Gao
Chinese: 石膏
Pharmaceutical: Gypsum Fibrosum / Calcium Sulphate
Taxonomy: CaSO4
English: Gypsum / Plaster of Paris
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Tastes: Pungent and sweet
Meridians Entered: Lung and Stomach
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Actions & Indications:
- Clears Heat in the Qi Stage, drains Fire, relieves irritability and quenches thirst
Heat in the Qi Stage or Yangming Heat with high fever, no chills, irritability, intense thirst, profuse sweating, restlessness, encephalitis, a flooding, big pulse and a red tongue with a yellow coat
- Clears Excess Heat from the Lungs
Lung Heat with cough, wheezing, fever and a thick viscous sputum
- Clears Blazing Stomach Fire
Stomach Fire with headache, toothache or swollen gums
- Heals eczema, burns and ulcerated sores and wounds
Sores and wounds (topically or internally)
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Standard Dosage: 15-60g in decoction.
Cautions: The high mineral content of this medication may prevent the oral absorption of the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics.
Mineral products are prohibited from use in the UK under the Medicines Act 1968 ch. 67 which restricts herbalists to the use of plant products only. It can sometimes be replaced with Zhi Mu and Mu Dan Pi bit its action difficult to substitute in many cases. The patient may have to rely on OTC mineral based antacids from the pharmacy such as sodium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate which have a similar effect of binding and neutralising the stomach acid, then using herbal medicines as an adjunctive treatment. |
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