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Chai Hu (Thorowax Root, Bupleurum) |
- Clears shao yang disorders and reduces fever - alternating chills and fever, bitter taste in the mouth, irritability, vomiting, stifling sensation in the chest.
- Relieves liver qi stagnation (often used with Bai Shao) - vertigo, menstrual disorders, chest and flank pain, the most common herb to treat stress, irritability, depression, etc.; also for liver and spleen disharmony - bloating, nausea, indigestion, flank pain.
- Raises yang qi in spleen and stomach deficiency patterns (often used with Sheng Ma) - prolapsed organ, diarrhea, hemorrhoids.
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Chuan Xiong (Szechuan Lovage Root) |
- Invigorate blood, promote movement of Qi - any blood stasis pattern, important for gynecological issues (amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, difficult labor, lochioschesis).
- Expels wind and alleviates pain - headache (temporal, vertex), dizziness, painful obstructions, skin issues.
- Headache - moves qi upward and alleviates pain; headaches due to wind, heat, cold, blood deficiency.
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Gan Cao (Licorice Root) |
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Tonifies the spleen and augments qi - spleen deficiency w/shortness of breath, fatigue, loose stools (si jun zi tong).
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Qi and/or blood deficiency w/irregular pluse or palpitations (Zhi Gan Cao Tang).
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Moistens the lungs and stops cough - heat/cold in the lungs (Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang).
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Clears heat and toxic fire (raw) - carbuncles, sores, sore throat due to fire toxin (internally or topically).
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Alleviates pain and stops spasms - abdomen or legs (Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang).
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Often used to harmonize and/or moderate characteristics of other herbs.
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Antidote for toxic substances (internally and topically).
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Hu Zhang (Bushy Knotweed Root) |
- Invigorates blood and dispels stasis - amenorrhea, wind-damp painful obstruction, traumatic injury.
- Clears heat and resolves dampness - damp heat jaundice, turbid vaginal discharge.
- Drains heat, transforms phlegm - cough due to lung heat, constipation.
- Discharges toxins - burns, carbuncles (topically).
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Huang Qin (Baical Skullcap Root, Scutellaria) |
- Clears heat, drains fire, especially from the upper warmer - heat patterns with fever, irritability, thirst, cough, thick, yellow sputum, hot sores and swellings.
- Clears heat, dries dampness - damp-heat in the stomach or intestines, diarrhea, dysentery; damp warm-febrile disease with fever, stifling sensation in the chest, thirst with no desire to drink; damp-heat in the lower jiao - lin syndrome; damp-heat jaundice.
- Clears heat, stops bleeding - vomiting and/or coughing of blood, nosebleed, blood in the stool.
- Clears heat, calms the fetus - restless fetus due to heat.
- Sedates liver yang rising - headache, irritability, red eyes, bitter taste, flushed face.
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Jin Qian Cao (Lysimachia, Whole Plant) |
- Promotes urination, important herb for stone lin syndromes (also helps for other lin types).
- Clears damp-heat in the liver and gallbladder - jaundice, red, swollen eyes.
- Reduces toxicity and swelling - snakebit, abscess, traumatic injury.
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Lian Qiao (Forsythia Fruit) |
- Clear heat and toxins, dissipates nodules - carbuncles and hot sores, neck lumps.
- Expel wind-heat - fever, slight chills, sore throat, headache.
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Long Dan Cao (Chinese Gentian Root, Gentiana) |
- Drains damp-heat from the liver and gallbladder channels - red, swollen, sore throat, eyes, and/or ears, sudden deafness, jaundice, pain, swelling or dampness in the genital region, or foul smelling vaginal discharge and itching.
- Clears ascending liver fire - headache, red eyes; liver wind-heat with fever, spasms, convulsions, flank pain.
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Mu Xiang (Costus Root) |
- Promotes the movement of Qi, alleviates pain - stagnant qi of the stomach and/or spleen causing lack of appetite, abdominal pain, distention, nausea; liver or gallbladder qi stagnation causing flank pain, distention.
- Regulates stagnated Qi in the intestines - diarrhea, abdominal pain (common herb to treat tenesmus).
- Strengthens the spleen and prevents stagnation, used with tonifying herbs to reduce side effects.
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Qin Jiao (Gentiana Macrophylla Root) |
- Dispels wind-damp bi and cramping, especially in the extremities, for acute/chronic, cold/hot conditions.
- Clears deficient heat - fever, steaming bone disorder.
- Jaundice due to acute damp-heat.
- Counteracts drying action of other herbs that dispel wind-damp - moistens intestines for dry constipation.
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Qin Pi (Bark of Korean Ash Branch) |
- Drains damp-heat - dysentery (bloody).
- Drains liver fire - eyes with redness, swelling, pain, or the formation of superficial visual obstruction.
- Clears wind-damp - painful hot obstruction.
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Qing Hao (Wormwood) |
- Clears summer heat - fever, headache, dizziness, stifling sensation in the chest.
- Clears deficient fever - unremitting fever or night fever with no sweating (from blood deficiency or sequel of febrile disease).
- Cools the blood, stops bleeding - purpuric rash, nosebleed due to heat in the blood.
- Malarial disorders - alternating fever and chills.
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Qing Pi (Green Tangerine Peel) |
- Spreads liver Qi and breaks up stagnation - liver Qi stagnation symptoms such as distention and pain in the chest, breast, and/or hypochondriac regions; hernial pain.
- Reduces food stagnation - pain in the epigastrium.
- Dries dampness and transforms phlegm - malarial disorders w/phlegm, dampness, and breast abscesses.
- Raises blood pressure.
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Suan Zao Ren (Sour Jujube Seed) |
- Nourishes heart yin, tonifies liver blood, quiets the spirit - irritability, insomnia, palpitations, anxiety due to blood or yin deficiency.
- Prevents abnormal sweating - spontaneous sweating, nightsweats.
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Tian Zhu Huang (Siliceous Secretions of Bamboo) |
- Clears and transforms phlegm-heat - difficult to expectorate sputum.
- Clears heat and arrests convulsions - spasms, convulsions due to phlegm-heat, especially in children.
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Xia Ku Cao (Selfheal Spike, Prunella) |
- Clears liver and brightens the eyes - ascending liver fire with red, painful, swollen eyes, headache, dizziness (stronger than Mi Meng Hua, Jue Ming Zi, Qing Xiang Zi in clearing heat).
- Clears heat and dissipates nodules - neck lumps, scrofula, lipoma, goiter, swollen glands due to phlegm fire.
- Hypertension accompanied by liver fire or yang rising.
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Xiong Dan (Bear Gallbladder) |
- Clears heat and alleviates spasms - high fever and convulsions in febrile disease.
- Topically to relieve fire toxicity, hot skin lesions.
- Red, painful eyes due to liver fire.
- Reduces swelling and pain - trauma, sprains, fracture, hemorrhoids.
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Yin Chen Hao (Yin Chen Hao Shoots and Leaves) |
- Main herb for Jaundice.
- Clears damp heat from the liver and gallbladder - relieves jaundice (either damp heat or cold).
- Clears heat, shao yang syndrome (intermittent fever and chills, bitter taste, stifling sensation in the chest, flank pain, dizziness, nausea).
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Yu Mi Xu (Cornsilk) |
- Promotes urination - hot lin, stone lin, edema.
- Regulates the gallbladder - yin or yang jaundice.
- Wasting and thirsting disorder.
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Zhi Gan Cao (Honey Fried Licorice Root) |
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This preparation increases the qi tonifying aspects of the heart and spleen along with its general harmonizing function within formulas. See Gan Cao for complete information.
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Zhu Ru (Bamboo Shavings) |
- Clears and transforms phlegm-heat - thick sputum, stifling sensation in the chest, coughing up blood.
- Clears heat from the stomach, stops vomiting (good choice for different types including morning sickness), aversion to heat, bad breath, yellow greasy tongue.
- Cools the blood and stops bleeding - to stop nosebleed and vomiting of blood.
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