Author: Zhang Zhong-Jing, 張仲景
Year: c. 220
Source: Essentials from the Golden Cabinet (Jin Gui Yao Lue, 金匱要略)
Category: Formulas that Clear Heat
Pattern: Lily Disorder (Bai He Zheng 百合病): Pathogenic Heat entering the Lungs and penetrating to the Ying or Blood aspect.
Key Symptoms: Mental disorientation, irritability, insomnia, palpitations, motor dysfunctions, dark urine, bitter taste in the mouth
Secondary Symptoms: Symptoms where the patient: "desires food, yet does not want to eat, wants to lie down but is unable to lie down, wants to walk but in unable to walk... They may feel cold but have no chills, or they feel hot but have no fever... The various medicines are ineffective and when they take medicine there is intense vomiting and diarrhoea. They are as if possessed".
Pulse: Slightly rapid
Ingredients
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Bai He
| 15-30g | |
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Pinyin: Bai He
Chinese: 百合
Pharmaceutical: Bulbus Lilii
English: Lily Bulb |
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Tastes: Sweet, slightly cold
Meridians Entered: Lung and Heart |
Actions & Indications:
- 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
- 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)
- Nourishes Stomach Yin and harmonizes the Middle Jiao
Pain associated with Stomach Yin Deficiency
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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. |
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|
Sheng Di Huang
| 15-30g | | |
Pinyin: Sheng Di Huang
Chinese: 生地黃
Pharmaceutical: Radix Rehmanniae
Taxonomy: Rehmannia glutinosa
English: Chinese Foxglove Root / Rehmannia Root |
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Tastes: Sweet, bitter, cold
Meridians Entered: Heart, Liver, Stomach and Kidney |
Actions & Indications:
- Clears Heat and cools the Blood
Ying Stage Heat with high fever, thirst and a scarlet tongue
Xue Stage Heat
Hemorrhage due to Blood Heat
- Nourishes Yin, generates fluids, increases saliva and treats wasting and thirsting
Yin Deficiency with Heat signs
Injury to fluids
Throat pain due to Yin Deficiency
Wasting and thirsting disorder (消渴 Xiao Ke - diabetes)
- Cools Heart Fire
Heart Fire
- Calms the Spirit agitated by Parasites damaging the Yin
Gu Sydnrome (Fruehauf, 1998)
Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
- Breaks up Blood Stasis, expels Cold and Hot Bi, replenishes Bone Marrow and promotes the growth of Muscles and Flesh
Broken bones or severed sinews from falls and a damaged center (Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing)
- 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 prevent forgetfulness. 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).
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Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated in cases of diarrhea, abdomen distention due to spleen deficiency. |
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Preparation: Decoction.
Actions: Moistens the Lungs, enriches the fluids, clears Heat, cools the Blood
Contraindications: Excess Fire in the Lungs and Heart, or Yin deficiency
Notes:
Bai He Zheng is a homonym for One Hundred Meetings Disorder.
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One liang is taken as 3g in modern sources but in Eastern Han times it was equivalent to 13.875g. This means that the dosages in classical formulae could have been more than 4x what is given today making them far higher than recommended safe dosages today but prompts consideration of what an effective dose may be (He, 2013).
Research Links:
Reference Notes: (click to display)
Most formulas are found in Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet (2009): Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies and Chen & Chen (2015) Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications. Others are from translations of primary sources. It is recommended that the original material is cross-referenced for mistakes and additional information.
Substitutions have been taken from Ken Lloyd & Prof. Leung (2004): Mayway UK Substitution List or the above publications and are intended as suggestions to help navigate the tight restrictions in the UK quickly. More applicable substitutions may be appropriate in specific situations.
Individual herb information has initially been sourced from TCM Wiki and American Dragon for basic data and then updated manually with my own notes.
These pages are intended to assist clinicians and are not intended for self-diagnosis or treatment for which a qualified professional should be consulted.
