Ma Huang
| 15g | |
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Pinyin: Ma Huang
Chinese: 麻黄
Pharmaceutical: Herba Ephedrae
Taxonomy: Ephedra sinica
English: Ephedra Stem / Joint Pine / Joint Fir / Mormon Tea / Brigham Tea
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Tastes: Pungent, slightly bitter, warm
Meridians Entered: Lung and Bladder
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Actions & Indications:
- Induces sweating and releases the Exterior
Taiyang Stage Wind-Cold Invasion of the Lung, with anhidrosis, chills, fever, headache and a tight, floating pulse
- Disseminates and facilitates Lung Qi, calms wheezing and stops coughing
Wind-Cold Obstructs Lung Qi
- Promotes urination and reduces oedema
Externally generated oedema
- Warms and disperses Cold pathogens
Wind-Cold Bi
Toxic sores without a head
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Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.
Cautions: It is prohibited to be used for patients with deficient dyspnea without blockage of the lung qi and should be used with caution for patients with hypertension and insomnia because ephedrine can stimulate central nervous system and raise blood pressure. The Shang Han Lun recommends removing the nodes and decocting Ma Huang first, scooping the foam from the top of the decoction. It has been argued this is to reduce the "vexing" effects although the efficacy of this is debated and rarely done today.
It should not be used in conjunction with MAOIs, central nervous system stimulants, alkaloids ergotamines and xanthines enhancing their effects by acting as a receptor level agonist.
In the UK the maximum daily dose permitted without prescription is 1.8g daily in three 0.6g doses. This makes it difficult to achieve a pharmacologically active effect and must be complemented with other herbs that release the exterior and expel Wind-Cold such as Gui Zhi, Jing Jie, Fang Feng and Zi Su Ye.
Huang Hua Zi (Sida cordifolia), more common in Ayurveda where it is known as Bala बला, also contains ephedrine at lower concentrations and has no legal restrictions placed on it by the UK MHRA. It is considered more cooling, Heat clearing and Damp draining without Exterior Releasing properties in Chinese medicine so best used as a substitute in Warm Diseases, especially Damp-Warm Disease, or supplemented with increased warm Exterior Releasing herbs like those described above. |
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Shi Gao
| 15g | |
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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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Cang Zhu
| 2.4g | |
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Pinyin: Cang Zhu
Chinese: 蒼朮
Pharmaceutical: Rhizoma Atractylodes
Taxonomy: Atractylodes lancea seu chinensis seu japonica
English: Black Atractylodes / Gray Atractylodes / Sword-like Atractylodes root
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Tastes: Pungent, bitter, warm
Meridians Entered: Spleen, Lung and Liver
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Actions & Indications:
- Strongly dries Dampness and tonifies the Spleen
Dampness Obstructing the Middle Jiao and blocking transformative and transportive functions of the Spleen with anorexia, diarrhoea, epigastric distention and pressure, fatigue, nausea and vomiting and a thick, greasy tongue coat
- Induces sweating and expels Wind-Dampness
Wind-Cold Dampness and Wind-Dampness with chills and fever, headache, body aches and nasal congestion
Painful extremities due to Wind-Damp Bi
- Clears Dampness from the Lower Jiao
Damp-Heat Pouring Downward with Leg Qi, some forms of atrophy disorders, vaginal discharge, swollen, sore joints
- Improves vision
Night blindness and diminished vision with a rough sensation in the eyes
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Standard Dosage: 5-10g in decoction.
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Huang Qin
| 4.5g | |
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Pinyin: Huang Qin
Chinese: 黄芩
Pharmaceutical: Radix Scutellariae baicalensis
Taxonomy: Scutellaria baicalensis
English: Baical Skullcap Root
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Tastes: Bitter, cold
Meridians Entered: Lung, Stomach, Gallbladder, Large Intestine and Bladder
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Actions & Indications:
- Clears Heat and dries Dampness
Damp-Heat in the Stomach or Intestines with diarrhoea or dysenteric disorder
Damp-Warmth with fever, a stifling sensation in the chest and thirst with no desire to drink
Damp-Heat in the Lower Jiao with painful urinary dysfunction
Damp-Heat jaundice (auxiliary), infectious hepatitis
- Drains Fire and detoxifies
Heat and Fire especially in the Upper Jiao (Lung) with high fever, irritability, thirst, cough and expectoration of thick, yellow sputum
Upper respiratory tract infection
Hot sores and swellings (topical or internal)
- Cools the Blood and stops bleeding
Xue Stage Heat or Blood Heat causing bleeding with epistaxis, hemoptysis, hematemesis and hemafecia
- Clears Heat and calms the fetus
Fetal restlessness due to Heat
- Calms ascending Liver Yang
Liver Yang Rising with headache, irritability, red eyes, flushed face and bitter taste
High Blood pressure
Gallbladder Heat
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Standard Dosage: 5-15g in decoction.
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Hua Shi
| 9g | |
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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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Gan Cao
| 1.5g | |
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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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Dan Dou Chi
| 9g | |
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Pinyin: Dan Dou Chi
Chinese: 淡豆豉
Pharmaceutical: Semen Sojae Preparatum
English: Fermented Soybean
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Tastes: Pungent, bitter and cool
Meridians Entered: Lung and Stomach
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Actions & Indications:
- Releases the Exterior
Wind-Cold or Wind-Heat
Yin Deficiency with superimposed Exterior disorders
- Eliminates irritability, harmonizes the Middle Jiao and relieves stuffy sensations in the chest
Irritability, restlessness, insomnia, stifling sensations in the chest and insomnia following a febrile disease
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Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction.
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Cong Bai
| 3pcs | | |
Pinyin: Cong Bai
Chinese: 葱白
Pharmaceutical: Bulbus Allii
English: Spring Onion / Green Onion / Scallion / Fistular Onion Stalk
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Tastes: Pungent, warm
Meridians Entered: Lung and Stomach
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Actions & Indications:
- Releases the exterior and induces sweating
Wind-Cold especially very early stages
- Disperses Cold and unblocks Yang
Abdominal pain due to blockage of Yang Qi by Cold
Nasal congestion and pain due to blockage of Yang Qi by Cold
- Relieves toxicity and disperses clumps
Toxic sores and abscesses (topical)
- Kills parasites
Abdominal pain due to Intestinal parasites
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Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.
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