Pinyin: Dan Zhu Ye  Chinese: 淡竹叶
Pharmaceutical: Herba Lophatheri
English: Bamboo Leaves and Stem

Tastes: Cold, bitter, sweet and bland
Meridians Entered: Small Intestine, Lung and Stomach

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat and eliminates irritability
   Internal Heat patterns with irritability, restlessness, dry mouth and thirst
   Mouth and lip ulcers ulcers due to Heat in the Heart or Stomach channels
2. Promotes urination and clears Damp-Heat
   Rough, scanty, painful urination
   Especially useful for Heat in the Small Intestine channel with rough, scanty, painful urination, irritability and a dark, red tip of the tongue

Standard Dosage: 5-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: Sang Ye  Chinese: 桑叶
Pharmaceutical: Folium Mori
Taxonomy: Morus alba
English: Mulberry Leaf

Tastes: Sweet, bitter, cold
Meridians Entered: Lung and Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Disperses and scatters Wind-Heat
   Wind-Heat with fever, headache, sore throat and cough
   The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing also says it eliminates Cold and Heat by promoting sweating
2. Calms the Liver and clears the eyes
   Liver channel eye problems due to Wind-Heat or Yin Deficiency
   Vertigo due to Liver Yang Rising with red, sore, dry or painful eyes or spots in front of the eyes
   Hypertension (high blood pressure), high blood sugar and cholesterol
3. Clears Heat from the Lungs, stops coughing and moistens Dryness
   Lung Heat with thick, yellow Phlegm
   Lung Dryness with cough and a dry mouth
4. Cools the Blood and stops bleeding
   Mild cases of hematemesis due to Blood Heat
5. Treats Xiao Ke
   High blood glucose, type 2 diabetes, Upper Jiao Xiao Ke where thirst is the primary symptom
   Management of obesity

Standard Dosage: 9-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: Sang Bai Pi  Chinese: 桑白皮
Pharmaceutical: Cortex Mori
Taxonomy: Morus alba
English: Mulberry Root Bark

Tastes: Sweet, cold
Meridians Entered: Lung

Actions & Indications:

1. Drains Heat from the Lungs, stops coughing and calms wheezing
   Coughing and wheezing, fullness and hemoptysis due to Lung Heat
2. Promotes urination and reduces oedema
   Lung Heat obstructing the descending action of the Lung, preventing water from moving and stopping perspiration (floating oedema, facial oedema, swelling of the upper extremities, fever, thirst, urinary difficulty, a floating pulse)
3. Lowers blood pressure
   Hypertension

Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated for lung cold and wind-cold cough patients for its cold and descending property. It should be used with cautions for patients with much urine.

Pinyin: Jin Yin Hua  Chinese: 金银花
Pharmaceutical: Flos Lonicerae japonicae
Taxonomy: Lonicera japonica
English: Honeysuckle Flower

Tastes: Pungent, slightly bitter, cold
Meridians Entered: Lung, heart, stomach and large intestine

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat and resolves Fire Toxicity
   Hot, painful sores and skin eruptions in various stages of development, especially breast, throat and eyes
   Intestinal abscesses
2. Vents and disperses External Wind-Heat
   Early-Stage Wind-Heat Warm-Heat pathogen with fever, chills, slight aversion to Wind, sore throat and headache
   External Summerheat
3. Clears Damp-Heat from the Lower Jiao
   Damp-Heat in the Lower Jiao with dysentery or Lin Syndrome
4. Cools the Blood and stops bleeding (charred)
   Blood Heat dysentery
5. Releases the Exterior and Drives Out Snakes
   Gu Sydnrome (Fruehauf, 1998)
   Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
   Mysterious bruises due to Ghost Strike (鬼擊) (Wilcox, 2024)

Standard Dosage: 6-30g in decoction. Small doses are for expelling Wind-Heat, large doses for Toxic Heat sores. Can be up to 90g in extreme cases (e.g. Si Miao Yong An Tang).

Pinyin: Lu Gen  Chinese: 芦根
Pharmaceutical: Rhizoma Phragmitis
Taxonomy: Phragmites australis
English: Reed Rhizome

Tastes: Sweet and cold
Meridians Entered: Lung and Stomach

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat and irritability from the Lungs and Stomach and generates fluids
   Internal Heat patterns with high fever, irritability and thirst, dry mouth and throat.
   Lung Heat (especially when acute) , Lung carbuncle, Lung abscess
2. Clears Stomach Heat, regulates Stomach Qi, relieves thirst and stops vomiting
   Stomach Heat (especially when accompanied by rebellious Qi)
3. Clears Heat and promotes urination
   Dark, scanty urine and hematuria especially when accompanied by irritability and thirst
4. Vents rashes
   Wind-Heat rashes that are not completely expressed
5. Relieves food poisoning
   Relieves food poisoning due to ingestion of fish and crabs
   Alcohol poisoning

Standard Dosage: 15-30g 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: Xing Ren  Chinese: 杏仁
Pharmaceutical: Semen armeniacae
Taxonomy: Prunus armeniaca seu mandshurica seu sibirica
English: Bitter Apricot Kernel

Tastes: Bitter, slightly warm, slightly toxic
Meridians Entered: Lung and Large Intestine

Actions & Indications:

1. Stops coughing and calms wheezing
   Coughs due to either Heat or Cold (depending on combination) Wind-Dry coughs (especially useful)
2. Moistens the Intestines and unblocks the bowels
   Constipation

Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.
Cautions: It should not be overused for its slight toxicity. It should be used with cautions for infants and patients with diarrhea.

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: 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.

Pinyin: Zhe Bei Mu  Chinese: 浙贝母
Pharmaceutical: Bulbus Fritillariae Thunbergii
Taxonomy: Fritillaria Thunbergii
English: Thunberg Fritillary Bulb

Tastes: Bitter, cold
Meridians Entered: Lung and Heart

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat and dissipates nodules
   Phlegm-Fire causing neck swellings (Chuang Yung)
   Lung and breast abscesses
2. Clears Heat, transforms Phlegm and stops coughing
   Acute Lung Heat patterns with productive cough

Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.
Cautions: Contraindicated to Wu Tou.