Pinyin: Huang Lian  Chinese: 黄连
Pharmaceutical: Rhizoma Coptidis
Taxonomy: Coptidis chinensis
English: Coptis Rhizome / Goldthread Rhizome

Tastes: Bitter, cold
Meridians Entered: Heart, Stomach, Large Intestine and Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat and drains Dampness
   Damp-Heat in the Stomach or Intestines with diarrhoea or dysenteric disorder
   Stomach Heat with vomiting and/or acid regurgitation
2. Drains Fire and resolves Fire toxicity
   Heat with Blazing Fire (Toxic Heat) with high fever. irritability, disorientation, delirium, a red tongue and a rapid, full pulse
   Heat from Excess with toxicity: painful, red eyes and a sore throat
   Boils, carbuncles and abscesses (Chuang Yung)
3. Clears Heat and stops bleeding
   Blood Heat with epistaxis, hematuria, hemafecia and hemoptysis
4. Clears Heat topically
   Infected wounds, red and painful eyes, ulcerations of the tongue and mouth (topical)
5. Clears Heart Fire (sedative)
   Heart Fire
   Lack of communication between the Heart and Kidneys
6. Drains Stomach Fire
   Stomach Fire
7. Aids fasting
   Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the superior class of herbs which can, with protracted taking, improve memory. 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: 2-10g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated for deficiency-cold syndrome. Because its taste is extremly bitter and dryness, overdosage and long-time taking will impair spleen and stomach, yin and fluids.

Pinyin: Huang Bai  Chinese: 黄柏
Pharmaceutical: Cortex Phellodendri
Taxonomy: Phellodendron amurense seu chinense
English: Amur Corktree Bark

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

Actions & Indications:

1. Drains Damp-Heat especially from the Lower Jiao
   Thick, yellow vaginal discharge, foul smelling diarrhoea or dysenteric disorder
   Damp-Heat in the Lower Jiao
   Hot Leg Qi with red, swollen, painful knees, legs or feet
   Damp-Heat jaundice
2. Drains Kidney Fire (False Heat, Deficiency Heat)
   Kidney Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire Rising (steaming bone disorder, night sweats, afternoon fevers and sweating, occasionally with nocturnal emissions and spermatorrhea)
3. Drains Fire and relieves Fire toxicity
   Toxic sores and Damp-skin lesions (internally and topically)

Standard Dosage: 6-10g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated for deficiency-cold syndrome. Overdosage and long-time taking will impair spleen and stomach.

Pinyin: Huang Qin  Chinese: 黄芩
Pharmaceutical: Radix Scutellariae baicalensis
Taxonomy: Scutellaria baicalensis
English: Baical Skullcap Root

Tastes: Bitter, cold
Meridians Entered: Lung, Stomach, Gallbladder, Large Intestine and Bladder

Actions & Indications:

1. 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
2. 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)
3. Cools the Blood and stops bleeding
   Xue Stage Heat or Blood Heat causing bleeding with epistaxis, hemoptysis, hematemesis and hemafecia
4. Clears Heat and calms the fetus
   Fetal restlessness due to Heat
5. Calms ascending Liver Yang
   Liver Yang Rising with headache, irritability, red eyes, flushed face and bitter taste
   Hypertension (high blood pressure)
   Gallbladder Heat

Standard Dosage: 5-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: Shi Gao  Chinese: 石膏
Pharmaceutical: Gypsum Fibrosum / Calcium Sulphate
Taxonomy: CaSO₄
English: Gypsum / Plaster of Paris

Tastes: Pungent, sweet, cold
Meridians Entered: Lung and Stomach

Actions & Indications:

1. 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
2. Clears Excess Heat from the Lungs
   Lung Heat with cough, wheezing, fever and a thick viscous sputum
3. Clears Blazing Stomach Fire
   Stomach Fire with headache, toothache or swollen gums
4. Heals eczema, burns and ulcerated sores and wounds
   Sores and wounds (topically or internally)

Standard Dosage: 15-60g 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.

Conventional replacements include Huang Lian and Zhi Mu but its actions are difficult to substitute in many cases and 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. Another possibility would be to use sodium alginate that is often found in antacid medications and extracted from seaweed.

Pinyin: Zhi Zi  Chinese: 栀子
Pharmaceutical: Fructus Gardeniae
Taxonomy: Gardenia jasminoides
English: Gardenia Fruit

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

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat, reduces Fire and eliminates irritability in the San Jiao
   Excess Heat in the Heart, Stomach and Liver with high fever, irritability, restlessness, a stifling sensation in the chest, insomnia or delirious speech, eye problems, anger, jaundice
2. Clears Heat and resolves Dampness (Drains Damp-Heat)
   Damp-Heat in the Lower Jiao with painful urinary dysfunction (Lin Syndrome)
   Damp-Heat in the Liver/Gallbladder with jaundice
   Damp-Heat in the San Jiao
   Damp-Heat in the Gallbladder and San Jiao channels of the face affecting the nose and eyes or causing sores in the mouth or facial region
3. Cools the Blood and relieves toxicity (stops bleeding by astringing)
   Heat in the Blood with epistaxis, hematemesis, hemafecia or hematuria (partially charred)
4. Reduces swelling and invigorates the Blood
   Blood Stagnation due to trauma (topical)

Standard Dosage: 5-15g in decoction.
Cautions: Being strongly bitter in flavor and cold in nature, it is not good for deficiency-cold syndrome because it can easily impair spleen and stomach. It is contraindicated in case of loose stool due to spleen deficiency.

Pinyin: Xuan Shen  Chinese: 玄參
Pharmaceutical: Radix Scrophulariae
Taxonomy: Scrophularia ningpoensis
English: Chinese Figwort Root / Ningpo Figwort Root

Tastes: Bitter, sweet, salty, light cold
Meridians Entered: Heart, Stomach, Kidney, Lung

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat and cools the Blood
   Xue Stage Heat or Blood Heat with hemorrhage (hematemesis), fever, dry mouth and a purplish tongue
2. Nourishes Yin
   Yin Deficiency with Heat signs especially as sequelae from Warm Febrile Disease with Dry Lungs, insomnia, constipation, an unclear Shen and irritability
   Yin Deficiency dry Lungs
   Heart Yin Deficiency
   The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing places it as a middle herb and indicates it is for "postpartum ailments in women, tonifies Kidney Qi and improves eyesight"
3. Softens hardness and dissipates nodules (Transforms Phlegm-Heat)
   Neck lumps (goiter, scrofula) due to Phlegm Fire
   Severe throat pain and swelling
   The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing indicates it is for "abdominal distension"
4. Drains Fire and relieves Toxicity
   Extreme throat pain or red, swollen eyes
   Ying Stage Heat
   The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing indicates it is for "heat accumulation"
5. Calms the Spirit agitated by Parasites damaging the Yin
   Gu Sydnrome (Fruehauf, 1998)
   Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)

Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated in cases of diarrhea due to spleen deficiency. It is antagonistic to Li Lu.

Pinyin: Zhi Mu  Chinese: 知母
Pharmaceutical: Rhizoma Anemarrhenae
Taxonomy: Anemarrhena asphodeloides
English: Anemarrhena Rhizome

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

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat and drains Fire (Clears Heat from the Qi Stage, from the Lungs and from the Stomach)
   Heat in the Qi Stage with high fever, irritability, restlessness, thirst and a rapid, flooding pulse.
   Lung Heat and Dryness with cough and expectoration of thick, yellow Phlegm
   Yang Ming Heat
   Stomach Heat
2. Nourishes Yin and moistens Dryness
   Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency with night sweats, steaming bone disorder, irritability, afternoon or low grade fever, Five Sole Heat and bleeding gums
   (Stomach Yin Deficiency)
   Kidney Heat with spermatorrhea, nocturnal emissions and an abnormally elevated sex drive
3. Generates Fluids, clears Deficiency Fire and quenches thirst
   Oral ulcers and inflammation, steaming bones and Xiao Ke (diabetes) due to Yin Deficiency
4. Ameliorates the Dryness of tonifying or warming herbs
   For use with herbs such as Rx. Astragali Huang Qi, Ram. Cinnamomi Gui Zhi, Rx. Aconiti Lateralis Preparata Zhi Fu Zi when there is concern that these herbs may be too drying

Standard Dosage: 5-15g in decoction.
Cautions: It is not suitable for deficiency cold syndrome. Being cold and moist in property, it is prohibited to be used for those who have a spleen-deficiency diarrhea.

Pinyin: Gan Cao  Chinese: 甘草
Pharmaceutical: Radix Glycyrrhizae
Taxonomy: Glycyrrhiza uralensis seu glabra seu inflata
English: Liquorice Root

Tastes: Sweet, slightly cold
Meridians Entered: Heart, Lung and Spleen (and all 12 meridians)

Actions & Indications:

1. 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
2. Moistens the Lungs, resolves Phlegm and stops coughing
   Lung Heat or Cold
   Productive or non-productive coughing
3. Moderates spasms and alleviates pain
   Painful muscle spasms of the abdomen and legs
4. Clears Heat and relieves Fire Toxicity
   Raw for Toxic Heat with sore throat or carbuncles and sores (Chuang Yung)
5. Antidote for many toxic substances (internal and topical)
   Poisoning
   Bites (after washing the wound, chew Gan Cao and apply a thick layer on the bite wound, changing whenever it dries out; Bao Xiang-Ao, 1846, New Compilation of Proven Formulas)
6. 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
7. Tonifies the Qi while suppressing Parasites
   Gu Sydnrome (Fruehauf, 1998)
   Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
8. Aids fasting
   Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the superior class of herbs which can, with protracted taking, make the body light and prolong life. 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: 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.

The NHS recommends avoiding during pregnancy.