Pinyin: Ba Ji Tian  Chinese: 巴戟天
Pharmaceutical: Radix Morindae
Taxonomy: Mornida officinalis
English: Medicinal Indian Mulberry Root / Morinda Root

Tastes: Sweet, pungent, slightly warm
Meridians Entered: Kidney and Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Tonifies the Kidneys and strengthens Yang
   Kidney Yang Deficiency with impotence, male or female infertility, premature ejaculation, urinary frequency, Incontinence, irregular menstruation and a cold and painful back
2. Disperses Wind-Cold-Damp and strengthens the sinews and bones
   Wind-Cold-Damp Bi with Kidney and Liver insufficiency with tight muscles of the lower back and legs, joint pain and difficulty moving

Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: Shu Di Huang  Chinese: 熟地黄
Pharmaceutical: Radix Rehmanniae Preparata
Taxonomy: Rehmannia glutinosa
English: Prepared Chinese Foxglove Root

Tastes: Sweet, slightly warm
Meridians Entered: Kidney and Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Nourishes the Blood
   Blood Deficiency with facial pallor, dizziness, palpitations, insomnia, irregular menstruation, uterine bleeding and postpartum bleeding
2. Nourishes Liver and Kidney Yin
   Kidney and Liver Yin Deficiency with a weak low back and limbs, dizziness, tinnitus, tidal fevers, night sweats and nocturnal emissions
3. Strongly enriches Yin and relieves wasting and thirsting disorder
   Lower Jiao wasting (it can be used as a stand-alone herb for this)
4. Nourishes Jing and Blood and fills the Marrow
   Exhausted Jing and Blood problems such as delayed development during childhood, blunted affect, premature aging, diminished mental acuity, graying of hair, impotence and memory loss
5. Arrests coughing and wheezing
   Kidney Deficient coughing, wheezing and asthma, such as inability of the Kidneys to grasp Qi

Standard Dosage: 10-30g in decoction.
Cautions: It should be used with cautions for spleen and stomach deficiency, loose stool due to fullness in abdomen and qi stagnation with excessive phlegm because it is greasy and will produce indigestion.

Pinyin: Gou Qi Zi  Chinese: 枸杞子
Pharmaceutical: Fructus Lycii
Taxonomy: Lycium barbarum seu chinense
English: Goji Berries / Wolfberries / Boxthorn Berries

Tastes: Sweet, neutral
Meridians Entered: Liver and Kidney

Actions & Indications:

1. Nourishes and tonifies Liver and Kidney Blood and Yin
   Blood and Yin Deficiency with sore back and legs, low-grade abdominal pain, impotence, nocturnal emissions, wasting and thirsting disorder and consumption
   Liver and Kidney Deficiency
   Added to baths during spring to promote skin health and delay aging
2. Benefits Jing and brightens the eyes
   Liver and Kidney Deficiency where Jing and Blood cannot nourish eyes with dizziness, blurred vision and diminished visual acuity
3. Nourishes Yin and moistens the Lungs
   Consumptive cough and wasting and thirsting disorder

Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction.
Cautions: In vitro testing suggests that unidentified wolfberry phytochemicals in goji tea may inhibit metabolism of other medications, such as those processed by the cytochrome P450 liver enzymes. Such drugs include warfarin, or drugs for diabetes or hypertension. However, no in vivo statistics support this.

Pinyin: Fu Zi  Chinese: 附子
Pharmaceutical: Radix Aconiti Lateralis Praeparata
Taxonomy: Aconitum carmichaeli
English: Wolf's-bane Root / Monkshood Root / Aconite Root

Tastes: Pungent, sweet, hot, toxic
Meridians Entered: Heart, Kidney and Spleen

Actions & Indications:

1. Restores Devastated Yang and rescues from rebellion
   Devastated Yang with diarrhoea containing undigested food, chills, cold extremities and a faint almost imperceptible pulse (often as a result of severe vomiting, diarrhoea or sweating)
2. Warms Ming Men Fire and assists Heart, Kidney and Spleen Yang
   Heart Yang Deficiency
   Spleen Yang Deficiency
   Kidney Yang Deficiency
3. Disperses Cold and Dampness, warms the channels and stops pain
   Wind-Damp-Cold Bi
   Cold blocking the organs, channels, bones and Blood vessels
   Yin flat abscesses
   Gu Parasites / chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)

Standard Dosage: 3-15g in decoction. Fire Spirit practitioners prescribe doses of 60-200g per day (Fruehauf, 2009).
Cautions: It is contraindicated for heat syndrome, yin-deficiency leading to hyperactivity of yang and the pregnant because of its pungent, hot, dry and drastic properties. It must be soaked and decocted for about half and hour to one hour until numbing taste disappears for oral use. Over-dosage and incorrect processing must be avoided.

This herb is prohibited from use in the UK under the banned and restricted herbal ingredients list issued by the MHRA. It is generally substituted with various Yang tonics depending on the presentation although none can imitate its powerful cardiovascular effects making them ineffective substitutes for rescuing devastated Yang. External use is permitted at 1.3% or below.

Pinyin: Ju Hua  Chinese: 菊花
Pharmaceutical: Flos Chrysanthemi
English: Chrysanthemum

Tastes: Pungent, sweet, bitter, slightly cold
Meridians Entered: Lung and Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Disperses Wind and clears Heat
   Wind-Heat from a common Cold or Warm pathogen disease
2. Calms the Liver and clears the eyes
   Dry, swollen and/or painful eyes due to Wind-Heat in the Liver channel or Liver Yang
   Rising Spots in front of the eyes, blurred vision or dizziness due to Kidney and Liver Yin Deficiencies
   Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiencies with heatstroke
3. Calms Liver Yang and extinguishes Wind
   Liver Wind with dizziness, headache and deafness
   Liver Yang Rising (Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency)
   Hypertension (high blood pressure)
4. Detoxifies (purifies Blood)
   Toxic sores and swellings
5. Promotes the movement of Heart Qi and Blood and stimulates Blood circulation
   Heart Qi and Blood Stagnation
6. Kills Gu Parasites and Scatters Toxins by Releasing the Exterior
   Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 1998; 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, disinhibit the Blood and Qi, make the body light, slow ageing 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: 9-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: Hua Jiao / Chuan Jiao  Chinese: 花椒 / 川椒
Pharmaceutical: Pericarpium Zanthoxyli
Taxonomy: Zanthoxylum bungeanum seu schinifolium
English: Sichuan Pepper

Tastes: Pungent, warm
Meridians Entered: Spleen, Stomach and Kidney

Actions & Indications:

1. Warms the Middle Jiao, disperses Cold, dispels Dampness, relieves diarrhoea and alleviates pain
   Spleen and Stomach Deficiency Cold with Cold and pain in the abdomen, vomiting and diarrhoea
2. Kills Parasites and alleviates abdominal pain
   Abdominal pain due to roundworms
   Moist dermal ulcers
   Gu Parasites / chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)

Standard Dosage: 3-6g in decoction.

Pinyin: Jiu  Chinese: 酒
Pharmaceutical: Alcohol
English: Rice Wine

Tastes: Hot, pungent, sweet, bitter, toxic
Meridians Entered: Stomach, Heart, Lung and Liver, but reaches every part of the body

Actions & Indications:

1. Nourishes and moves Blood and Qi, opens the Meridians
   Taken internally or applied topically as the medium for liniments in Blood stasis, especially from trauma or Bi syndromes in the elderly
2. Warms Yang and Expels Cold
   All Cold syndromes including Cold Bi, Interior Cold and Yang deficiency
   Often serves as the basis for longevity "elixirs" by soaking Yang tonifying herbs
3. Strengthens the Shen, dispels sorrow and promotes happiness
   Temporary low mood, celebration

Standard Dosage: 10-60ml, two to three times per day. Often combined with other herbs to bring out their Blood moving or warming aspects by washing them, or adding to a decoction, or soaking herbs in alcohol to make medicinal wines.
Cautions: Caution with Damp-Heat syndromes or long term consumption in the young and middle aged.

The Materia Dietetica (Shiwu Bencao 食物本草) by Lu He 卢和 from the Ming Dynasty says that excess drinking can hurt the spirit and consume blood, damage the stomach and deplete the body fluid, produce phlegm and induce fire.