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: Hong Hua  Chinese: 红花
Pharmaceutical: Flos Carthami
English: Safflower

Tastes: Pungent, warm
Meridians Entered: Heart and Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Invigorates the Blood, dispels Blood Stasis, opens the channels, unblocks menstruation and alleviates pain
   Blood Stasis, especially in women for gynecological problems such as abdominal pain, amenorrhea, postpartum dizziness, retained lochia and abdominal masses
   Trauma, non suppurative sores, carbuncles and dark, purplish erythema
   Incomplete expression of rash of measles
   Chest Bi due to Blood Stasis

Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.

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: Tu Bei Mu  Chinese: 土贝母
Pharmaceutical: Rhizoma Bolbostemmae
English: Bulbostemma

Tastes: Bitter, cool
Meridians Entered: Lung and Spleen

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat and resolves Toxicity
   Rhinitis
2. Disperses Stagnation
   Hyperplasia of the mammary glands
3. Eliminates pathogenic External Phlegm, reduces sores and swellings
   Mastitis, scrofula warts

Standard Dosage: 9-30g in decoction.

Pinyin: Pu Gong Ying  Chinese: 蒲公英
Pharmaceutical: Herba Taraxaci
Taxonomy: Taraxacum mongolicum seu officinalis
English: Dandelion

Tastes: Bitter, sweet, cold
Meridians Entered: Liver, Stomach and Lung

Actions & Indications:

1. Reduces abscesses and dissipates nodules
   Internal abscesses and external sores particularly if they are firm and hard, especially breast and intestinal abscess, Chuang Yung (internally and topically)
2. Clears the Liver and clears the eyes
   Eye redness and swelling (alone as a steam)
   Liver Heat, cirrhosis
3. Clears Heat, resolves Dampness and unblocks painful urinary dysfunction
   Damp-Heat painful urinary dysfunction
   Damp-Heat jaundice
4. Relieves Fire toxicity
   Fire toxicity , swollen, painful throat, upper respiratory tract infection
5. Promotes lactation
   Insufficient lactation due to Heat
6. Clears Heat in the Blood
   Congested Fire of the Spleen and Stomach

Standard Dosage: 10-30g in decoction.
Cautions: Overdosage may cause loose bowel or excessive urination. Concurrent use with quinolone antibiotics such as Ciprofloxacin may influence the bioavailability and disposition of the quinolone antibiotics.

Pinyin: Xia Ku Cao  Chinese: 夏枯草
Pharmaceutical: Spica Prunellae
Taxonomy: Prunella vulgaris
English: Self-heal Spike / All-Heal Spike

Tastes: Bitter and pungent
Meridians Entered: Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Liver Fire and brightens the eyes
   Liver Fire with red, painful or swollen eyes or headache and dizziness
   Eye pain which is worse in the evening due to Liver Yin Deficiency, especially when the eyes are neither red nor swollen
2. Clears Hot Phlegm and dissipates nodules
   Any neck lumps or nodules due to Phlegm-Fire such as scrofula, lipoma, carbuncle, swollen glands or goiter
3. Lowers blood pressure
   Hypertension due to Liver Fire or Liver Yang Rising

Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction.