Pinyin: Bing Lang  Chinese: 槟榔
Pharmaceutical: Semen Arecae
Taxonomy: Areca catechu
English: Betel Nut

Tastes: Bitter, pungent, warm
Meridians Entered: Stomach and Large Intestine

Actions & Indications:

1. Kills Parasites and expels Demons
   Kills a wide variety of Intestinal parasites including fasciolopsis, pinworms, roundworms and Blood flukes Best for tapeworms
   Drains downward to expel the bodies of dead parasites
   Gu Sydnrome (Fruehauf, 1998)
   Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
2. Regulates Qi, reduces accumulations, drains downward and unblocks the bowels
   Food Stagnation and Qi Stagnation with abdominal distention, constipation or tenesmus
3. Promotes urination
   Damp leg Qi and oedema due to Excess
4. Treats malarial disorders
   Malarial disorders
5. Relieves nausea
   Nausea

Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated for loose stool due to spleen insufficiency or qi sinking. Use with caution for pregnant women.

This herb is prohibited from use in the UK under the banned and restricted herbal ingredients list issued by the MHRA and so is generally substituted with Zhi Shi and Yi Li Ren, or Fei Zi and Yu Li Ren for expelling parasites.

Pinyin: Cao Guo  Chinese: 草果
Pharmaceutical: Fructus Tsaoko
Taxonomy: Amomum tsao-ko syn. Lanxangia tsaoko
English: Black Cardamom / Greater Cardamom / Tsaoko Fruit

Tastes: Pungent, warm
Meridians Entered: Spleen and Stomach

Actions & Indications:

1. Strongly dries Dampness, warms the Middle Jiao and disperses Cold
   Cold-Dampness Obstructing the Spleen and Stomach with epigastric and abdominal distention, fullness and pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and a greasy tongue coat
2. Alleviates malarial disorders
   Alternating fever and chills due to Cold-Dampness or Turbid-Dampness associated with malarial disorders
3. Dissolves Stagnation and distention
   Indigestion due to meat Stagnation
   Distention and nausea due to Spleen and Stomach Deficiency Cold
4. Removes Phlegm
   Phlegm Obstructing the Middle Jiao

Standard Dosage: 3-6g in decoction.

Pinyin: Hou Po  Chinese: 厚朴
Pharmaceutical: Cortex Magnoliae
Taxonomy: Magnolia officinalis
English: Magnolia Bark

Tastes: Bitter, pungent, warm
Meridians Entered: Spleen, Stomach, Lung and Large Intestine

Actions & Indications:

1. Promotes the movement of Qi in the Middle Jiao and resolves Stagnation
   Abdominal, epigastric, and/or chest fullness, bloating, loss of appetite, poor digestion, constipation
   Plum Pit Qi, a feeling of a lump in throat, usually considered psychosomatic today (globus hystericus). Hou Po has modern indications as neuroprotective and also features in formulas like Da/Xiao Cheng Qi Tang which deal with neuropsychiatric symptoms like delirium.
2. Promotes the movement of Qi downward, dries Dampness and transforms Phlegm
   Dampness or Phlegm Obstructing the Middle Jiao with distention, fullness, nausea and diarrhoea
3. Descends Rebellious Qi, reduces Phlegm and calms wheezing
   Cough and wheezing due to Phlegm congesting the Lungs
4. Expels Wind, scatters Cold and regulates the Blood
   The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing places in the middle class of woods and says "It mainly treats Wind-stroke, Cold damage, headache, Cold and Heat, fright qi, blood Bi and dead muscles."
5. Removes the Three Worms
   The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing also says that it "removes the Three Worms." These may refer to difficult to treat metabolic disorders caused by overindulgence and should be accompanied by fasting, meditation and exercise regimes.

Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.
Cautions: It should be used with cautions for the syndrome of qi deficiency and fluid consumption, and in pregnant women. Due to some of the anticoagulant effects of its constituents it should be used with caution in conjunction with blood thinners.

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: 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: Chai Hu  Chinese: 柴胡
Pharmaceutical: Radix Bupleuri
Taxonomy: Bupleurum chinense (Nan Chai Hu) seu scorzoneraefolium (Bei Chai Hu)
English: Hare's Ear Root / Thorowax Root

Tastes: Bitter, pungent, slightly cold
Meridians Entered: Liver and Spleen

Actions & Indications:

1. Resolves Shaoyang disorders and reduces fever (harmonizes the Exterior and Interior)
   Shaoyang Stage with alternating chills and fever, a bitter taste,dizziness, tinnitus, flank pain, irritability, vomiting and a stifling sensation in the chest
   Deficiency Heat (auxiliary)
   Gallbladder Fire
   The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing says "It weeds out the stale to bring forth the new."
2. Spreads Liver Qi and relieves Stagnation
   Liver Qi Stagnation with dizziness, vertigo, chest and flank pain, emotional instability and menstrual problems
   Disharmony between the Liver and Spleen with epigastric and flank pain, a stifling sensation in the chest, abdominal bloating, nausea and indigestion
   Liver/Gallbladder Disharmony
   The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing says "It mainly treats bound qi in the heart, abdomen, intestines, and stomach, food stagnation, cold and heat, and evil qi."
3. Raises Yang Qi (specifically the Clear Qi of the Stomach and Gallbladder)
   Spleen and Stomach Yang Deficiency, Qi collapse (prolapse) with hemorrhoids, vaginal discharge, bleeding or exhaustion
4. Disperses Wind-Heat and resolves Phlegm and congestion
   Wind-Heat
5. Guides herbs to the Shaoyang aspects of the head
   Shaoyang headaches
6. Releases the Exterior and Drives Out Snakes
   Relieves the symptoms of Gu Sydnrome while suppressing parasites (Fruehauf, 1998)
   Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
7. 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, brighten the eyes and boost the Essence. 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: Up to 3g to raise sinking Qi, 6-9g to relieve Liver Qi stagnation, 12-24g to release the exterior.
Cautions: Anyone who has syndromes of yin deficiency with yang hyperactivity, stirring of liver wind, yin deficiency with effulgent fire and qi going upward adversely, this herb should be used with cautions.

Pinyin: Chi Shao  Chinese: 赤芍
Pharmaceutical: Radix Paeoniae Rubra
Taxonomy: Paeonia lactiflora seu veitchii
English: Red Peony Root

Tastes: Bitter, pungent, light cold
Meridians Entered: Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat and cools the Blood
   Xue Stage Heat Stage Heat or Blood Heat with fever, a purple tongue, maculae, hemorrhage and Blood Heat gynecological problems
2. Clears Liver Fire and relieves eye pain
   Liver Fire with redness, swelling and pain of the eyes
3. Reduces swelling from sores and abscesses
   Early stage abscesses and boils
4. Eliminates Evil Qi, breaks up Blood Stasis, disperses accumulations and fortifies Qi
   The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing places this in the middle class of herbs and says that "It mainly treats Evil Qi and abdominal pain, eliminates blood impediment, breaks hard gatherings and cold and heat mounting conglomeration, relieves pain, disinhibits urination, and boosts the qi.

Standard Dosage: 6-12g in decoction.
Cautions: It is antagonistic to Li Lu. It should be used with caution in hot skin conditions where it may aggravate by "fanning the flames". Caution with anticoagulants as it may slow clotting time. May also slow the absorption of phenytoin.

Pinyin: Lian Qiao  Chinese: 连翘
Pharmaceutical: Fructus Forsythiae
Taxonomy: Forsythia suspensa
English: Weeping Forsythia Capsule / Forsythia Fruit

Tastes: Bitter, slightly pungent, slightly cold
Meridians Entered: Lung, Heart and Gall Bladder or Small Intestine

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat (especially in the Upper Jiao) and resolves Toxicity
   Wind-Heat with high fever, slight chills and sore throat
   Bound Heat
2. Reduces abscesses and dissipates clumps
   Toxic Heat sores and swellings (Chuang Yung), swollen welling abscesses, malign sores, scrofula, goiter and tumours of the neck
   Throat Bi
3. Clears Blood Heat
   Blood Heat
4. Promotes urination
   Lin syndrome (urinary stones), dysuria, haematuria
5. Releases the Exterior and Drives Out Snakes
   Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as an inferior herb that treats Gu Toxins
   Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 1998; 2015)

Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: Qing Hao  Chinese: 青蒿
Pharmaceutical: Herba Artemisiae Annuae
Taxonomy: Artemisia Annua
English: Sweet Wormwood

Tastes: Bitter, pungent, cold
Meridians Entered: Liver, Gallbladder and Kidney

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Summerheat or Damp-Heat
   Summerheat with low fever, headache, dizziness and a stifling sensation in the chest
2. Clears Deficiency fevers
   Blood Deficiency or Yin Deficiency fevers
   Sequelae of a febrile disease
   Especially good when steaming bone patterns are marked by anhidrosis
3. Cools the Blood and stops bleeding
   Purpuric rashes or epistaxis due to Blood Heat
4. Stops malarial disorders and relieves Heat
   Malarial disorders with alternating chills and fever
5. Clears Liver Heat and brightens the eyes
   Liver Yang Rising with red eyes, dizziness and photophobia
6. Kills Parasites and expels Ghosts and Demons
   Gu Sydnrome (Fruehauf, 1998)
   Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
   Around 1^st century BCE, it's fragrance was used ritually to mask the smell of the dead (Liu et al., 2013), where it may have earned its ability to treat ghost possession and then other lingering pathogens with perceived supernatural origins.

Standard Dosage: 6-12g in decoction.

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

Tastes: Pungent, bitter, warm
Meridians Entered: Spleen, Lung and Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. 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
2. 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
3. Clears Dampness from the Lower Jiao
   Damp-Heat Pouring Downward with Leg Qi, some forms of atrophy disorders, vaginal discharge, swollen, sore joints
4. Improves vision
   Night blindness and diminished vision with a rough sensation in the eyes
5. Repels Ghosts
   "Strange diseases 奇病" that involve seeing ghosts
6. 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, prolong life and make one free from hunger. 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: 5-10g in decoction.

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.