Pinyin: Cha Ye  Chinese: 茶叶
Pharmaceutical: Camelliae sinensis folium
Taxonomy: Camilla sinensis
English: Tea Leaves

Tastes: Bitter, sweet, cold
Meridians Entered: Stomach, Heart and Lung

Actions & Indications:

1. Dispels Wind-Heat and clears the head and refreshes the mind
   Dizziness and vertigo
   Headache
2. Alleviates Thirst and promotes urination
   Agitation and thirst
   Prevents the drying, dispersing and ascending nature of diaphoretic herbs from harming the body
3. Resolves Food Stagnation and alleviates diarrhoea
   Nausea, vomiting, indigestion and diarrhoea
   Damp-Heat dysentery
   Greasy Food Stagnation
   Obesity
4. Resolves Toxicity
   Sores and boils
   Topically on inflammation or hot swelling injuries (tannins are also astringent and so can stop bleeding)

Standard Dosage: 3-12g in decoction, but usually infused or added near the end.
Cautions: Avoid in insomnia. Leave 1 hour between taking iron supplements.

Pinyin: Si Gua Luo  Chinese: 絲瓜絡
Pharmaceutical: Retinervus Luffae Fructus
English: Loofah / Luffa / Vegetable Sponge Skeleton

Tastes: Sweet, neutral
Meridians Entered: Lung, Stomach and Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Resolves toxicity and reduces swelling
   Abscesses and other toxic sores.
   Often used for breast abscesses, breast distention, lumps and insufficient lactation
2. Unblocks the channels and collaterals and dispels Wind
   Wind-Damp Bi, soreness in the chest and flanks, pain and soreness in the muscles and sinews and stiffness in the joints, especially when Phlegm is part of the pattern
   Traumatic injury
3. Unblocks the channels and collaterals in the breast
   Breast distention and tenderness
   Insufficient lactation or obstructed lactation
4. Expels Phlegm
   Cough due to Lung Heat with high fever, chest pain, and difficult-to -expectorate sputum (for both adults and children)

Standard Dosage: 6-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: Qin Pi  Chinese: 秦皮
Pharmaceutical: Cortex Fraxini
Taxonomy: Fraxinus rhynchophylla seu bungeana seu chinensis seu paxiana seu szaboana seu stylosa
English: Ash Bark

Tastes: Bitter and cold
Meridians Entered: Liver, Gallbladder, Large Intestine

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat, resolves toxicity and dries Dampness; astringes diarrhoea and dysentery
   Diarrhoea, dysenteric disorders with blood in the stool
   Vaginal discharge due to Damp-Heat
2. Drains Liver Fire and benefits the eyes
   Liver Fire affecting the eyes with redness and swelling of the eyes, styes or superficial visual obstruction
3. Disperses Wind-Dampness
   Wind-Damp-Heat Bi
   Psoriasis (decoction used as a wash)
4. Calms wheezing, stops coughs and resolves Phlegm
   Wheezing and coughs due to Lung Heat
5. Aids fasting
   Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the middle class of herbs which can, with protracted taking, keep the head from becoming white and make the body light. This may suggest it was part of supplementing the diet when engaging in an "avoiding grain" (Bigu 辟穀) fasting regime to cultivate life (Yangsheng 養生).

Standard Dosage: 6-12g in decoction.

Pinyin: Jue Ming Zi  Chinese: 决明子
Pharmaceutical: Semen Cassiae
Taxonomy: Senna obtusifolia seu tora
English: Chinse Senna Seeds

Tastes: Bitter, sweet and slightly cold
Meridians Entered: Liver and Large Intestine

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears the Liver (Heat), clears the vision and benefits the eyes (Expels Wind-Heat)
   Red, swollen and painful eyes from Heat or Wind-Heat in the Liver channel
   Eye problems such as photosensivity, night blindness and insidious loss of vision without visible physical changes to the eye
2. Calms the Liver and anchors Liver Yang
   Liver Yang Rising or Liver Fire with headaches and dizziness
   Hypertension
3. Moistens the Intestines and unblocks the bowels
   Chronic constipation with dry or infrequent stools especially if there is Liver Yin Deficiency
4. Reduces blood pressure and serum cholesterol
   High blood pressure
   High cholesterol
5. Aids fasting
   Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the superior class of herbs which can, with protracted taking, boost the Essence and make the body light. This may suggest it was part of supplementing the diet when engaging in an "avoiding grain" (Bigu 辟穀) fasting regime to cultivate life (Yangsheng 養生).

Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated for deficiency-cold syndrome, especially in case of loose stool due to spleen deficiency.

Pinyin: He Ye  Chinese: 荷叶
Pharmaceutical: Nelumbinis Foliae
English: Lotus Leaf

Tastes: Bitter, astringent, neutral
Meridians Entered: Heart, Liver, Spleen, Gallbladder and Lung

Actions & Indications:

1. Relieves Summerheat
   Summerheat and Dampness with fever, irritability, excessive sweating, scanty urine and especially diarrhoea
2. Raises and clears Spleen Yang
   Spleen Yang Deficiency diarrhoea especially in the aftermath of Summerheat
3. Removes Stagnation and stops bleeding
   Bleeding in the Lower Jiao due to Heat or Stagnation Hematemesis (adjunctive)

Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.