Pinyin: Bai He  Chinese: 百合
Pharmaceutical: Bulbus Lilii
English: Lily Bulb

Tastes: Sweet, slightly cold
Meridians Entered: Lung and Heart

Actions & Indications:

1. Nourishes Yin, moistens the Lungs, clears Heat and stops coughing
   Dry coughs or sore throat due to Lung Yin Deficiency, dry Lungs or Lung Heat
   Especially useful for Lung Yin Deficiency
2. Clears the Heart and calms the Spirit
   Intractable low-grade fever, insomnia, restlessness and irritability in the aftermath of febrile disease
   Heart Fire
   Palpitations due to insufficiency of Qi and Yin
   One of the chief spirit calming herbs for Gu Sydnrome with Qi and Yin deficiency (Fruehauf, 1998)
   Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
3. Nourishes Stomach Yin and harmonizes the Middle Jiao
   Pain associated with Stomach Yin Deficiency

Standard Dosage: 10-30g in decoction.
Cautions: All lilies are acutely nephrotoxic to cats and some other animals due to the high level of insoluble calcium oxalate so should be not be used in vetinary formulas without absolute certainty that the animal in question is not vulnerable. Long term consumption of oxalates in humans can also lead to kidney stone formation.

Pinyin: Hua Shi  Chinese: 滑石
Pharmaceutical: Talcum / Magnesium Silicate
Taxonomy: Mg₃Si₄O₁₀(OH)₂
English: Talc / Talcum Powder

Tastes: Sweet, bland and cold
Meridians Entered: Bladder, Lung and Stomach

Actions & Indications:

1. Promotes urination and drains Heat from the Urinary Bladder (aids the movement of gravel and stones), (expels Damp-Heat)
   Hot Painful Urinary Dysfunction (Lin Syndrome) with hot, painful urination, dark, painful, burning, scanty urine
   Damp-Heat diarrhoea
   Qi Level Heat with Dampness with unremitting fever, heavy feeling in the body, thirst, yellow tongue coat
2. Releases Summeheat and resolves Dampness
   Summerheat (fever, urinary difficulty, thirst)
3. Absorbs Dampness and clears Heat (topically)
   Damp skin lesions (eczema, damp sores, prickly heat)
4. Stops bleeding due to Heat
   Heat type bleeding
   Nosebleed, vomiting blood (taken internally) Bleeding from wounds and sores (topical)
5. Aids fasting
   Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the superior class of minerals which can, with protracted taking, make the body light, free from hunger 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: 10-20g in decoction, or applied externally.
Cautions: Talc can cause granulomas in the rectum, vagina or wounds and prolonged external use has also been linked to ovarian (Wentzensen & O'Brien, 2021), stomach (Chang et al., 2020) and lung (Chang et al., 2017) cancer but other reviews contradict these findings (Goodman et al., 2020) suggesting this may only be an effect seen in rats (Prueitt et al., 2024). For safety it should therefore not be used for prolonged periods.

It should also not be in inhaled as it can cause lung irritation and remain in the body for up to 40 years (Johnson, 2021).

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. It is generally substituted with Chi Fu Ling and Ze Xie.

Pinyin: Dai Zhe Shi  Chinese: 代赭石
Pharmaceutical: Haematitum
Taxonomy: Fe₂O₃
English: Haematite

Tastes: Bitter, cold
Meridians Entered: Liver and Heart

Actions & Indications:

1. Calms the Liver, anchors Floating Yang and clears Liver Fire
   Liver Yang Rising with dizziness, vertigo, headache, a sensation of pressure around the eyes or tinnitus
2. Strongly descends rebellious Qi
   Rebellious Qi of the Lung and Stomach with belching, vomiting, hiccup and acute wheezing
3. Cools the Blood and stops bleeding
   Blood Heat bleeding Deficiency Cold bleeding (with appropriate combinations) (can be used alone for this)

Standard Dosage: 10-30g in decoction.
Cautions: It should be used with cautions for the pregnant women. It should not be used for a long time for it contains a microamount of arsenicum.

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. It is generally substituted with Xia Ku Cao and Zhu Ru.