Herbs That Tonify Yin herbs traditional chinese medicine
Bai He Lily Bulb Bie Jia Chinese Soft Turtle Shell Gui Ban Fresh Water Turtle Shell Han Lian Cao Eclipta Hei Zhi Ma Black Sesame Seeds Luo Han Guo Momordica Fruit Mai Men Dong Ophiopogon Tuber Nu Zhen Zi Privet Fruit Sang Ji Sheng Mulberry Mistletoe Stem Sha Shen Glehnia Root Shi Hu Dendrobium Stem Su Jiu Gui Ban Deep Fried Fresh Water Turtle Shell Tian Men Dong Asparagus Tuber Xi Yang Shen American Ginseng Root Yu Zhu Solomon's Seal Rhizome, Polygonatum
Herbs That Tonify Yin
Function Overview
- Yin tonics are generally sweet, cold, enriching and cloying. They are inappropriate for spleen or stomach deficiency, internal dampness or phlegm, abdominal distension, and/or diarrhea.
- General Symptoms by System:
- Lung Yin Deficiency - dry cough, loss of voice, thirst, dry throat, dry skin, spitting up thick sputum, chronic cough, low-grade afternoon fevers, night sweats, coughing up blood, a thin rapid pulse.
- Stomach Yin Deficiency - lack of appetite, irritability, thirst, dry mouth, constipation, occurs often after severe febrile diseases.
- Liver Yin Deficiency - visual acuity, dry, dull eyes, night blindness, dizziness, tinnitus, dry nails, low grade sensation of heat, red tongue, dry mouth and throat, fast and thin pulse.
- Kidney Yin Deficiency - many chronic diseases, dizziness, tinnitus, weakness of the lower back and knees, heat in the five palms, afternoon low-grade fever, diminished sexual function, scanty and ark urine, a red and dry tongue, and a thin pulse without strength (usually with liver yin deficiency).
Summary & Key Herbs
- Sha Shen, Mai Men Dong, Tian Men Dong, Yu Zhu, Bai He - generate fluids, moisten the lungs, and tonify lung yin.
- Tian Men Dong - colder and more effective than Mai Men Dong in clearing and moistening dry heat in the lungs and reducing fire from kidney yin deficiency.
- Mai Men Dong - treats stomach yin deficiency, more for upper and middle jiao issues, often used together with Tian Men Dong for dry cough with lung yin deficiency.
- Yu Zhu - weaker than Tian Men Dong in clearing heat but is not cloying (Tian Men Dong is severely cloying).
- Guo Qi Zi, Nu Zhen Zi, Sang Shen - mild tonic for liver and kidney yin.
- Nu Zhen Zi and Han Lian Cao - nourish liver yin.
- Gui Ban, Bie Jia - for ascending liver yang.
- Bie Jia is not as strong as Gui Ban, but more effective in treating palpable abdominal masses and is less apt to cause stagnations.
- Sang Ji Sheng - tonify liver and kidney yin, lower back problems.
15 herbs in this functional category.