Pinyin: Mi Meng Hua  Chinese: 密蒙花
Pharmaceutical: Flos Buddlejae
Taxonomy: Buddleja officinale
English: Pale Butterflybush Flower

Tastes: Bitter, Sweet, Slightly Cold
Meridians Entered: Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears the Liver, brightens eyes and reduces superficial visual obstruction
   Red, swollen, painful eyes, excessive tearing, superficial visual obstruction, cataracts or photophobia, glare, blurred vision
   It can be used for either Excess or Deficiency

Standard Dosage: 5-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: Qiang Huo  Chinese: 羌活
Pharmaceutical: Rhizoma seu Radix Notopterygii
Taxonomy: Notopterygium incisium, N. forbesii
English: Notopterygium Root and Rhizome

Tastes: Pungent, bitter, warm
Meridians Entered: Bladder and Kidney

Actions & Indications:

1. Releases the Exterior and disperses Cold
   Wind-Cold with chills, fever, headache, body aches and pains
   Usually used when accompanied by Dampness with joint pain, a general feeling of heaviness, sleepiness or occipital pain
2. Expels Wind-Cold-Dampness, unblocks painful obstruction and alleviates pain
   Wind-Cold-Damp Bi especially in the upper limbs and back
3. Guides Qi to the Taiyang and Du channels
   Directs the other herbs to the Taiyang and Du channels

Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.
Cautions: It should be used with cautions for blood deficiency because of its strong pungent, fragrant, warm and dry property. It is not appropriate for weakness of spleen and stomach because large dose of this herb induces vomiting.

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
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: Man Jing Zi  Chinese: 蔓荆子
Pharmaceutical: Fructus Viticis
Taxonomy: Vitex trifolia
English: Vitex Fruit / Chastetree Fruit

Tastes: Pungent, bitter, slightly cold
Meridians Entered: Bladder, Liver and Stomach

Actions & Indications:

1. Disperses Wind and clears Heat
   Wind-Heat with headache or eye pain
2. Dispels Wind-Heat in the Liver channel and clears and benefits the head and eyes
   Liver Channel Wind-Heat with excessive tearing, red, painful or swollen eyes or spots in front of the eyes
   Liver Yang Rising
3. Drains Dampness, expels Wind and relieves pain
   Wind-Dampness in the limbs (auxiliary) with stiffness, numbness, cramping or heaviness
4. 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 slow ageing. 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: 6-12g in decoction.

Pinyin: Qing Xiang Zi  Chinese: 青葙子
Pharmaceutical: Semen Celosiae
Taxonomy: Celosiae Argentae
English: Celosia Seed

Tastes: Bitter, Slightly Cold
Meridians Entered: Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Wind-Heat, drains Liver Fire and improves the vision
   Wind-Heat affecting the eyes, with red, swollen eyes
   Liver Fire affecting the eyes, corneal opacity
2. Treats hypertension
   Hypertension associated with Liver Yang Rising or Liver Fire
   Headache from Wind-Heat

Standard Dosage: 5-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: Mu Zei  Chinese: 木賊
Pharmaceutical: Herba Equiseti hiemalis
Taxonomy: Equiseti hiemalis
English: Horsetail / Common Bottlebrush

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

Actions & Indications:

1. Disperses Wind-Heat, clears the eyes and eliminates superficial visual obstruction
   Wind-Heat affecting the eyes with redness, pain, swelling, cloudiness, blurred vision, pterygium or excessive tearing, headaches
   Liver/Gallbladder channel Fire
   Liver Yin Deficiency haziness
2. Clears Heat and stops bleeding
   Heat in the Blood causing hemafecia or hemorrhoids

Standard Dosage: 5-10g in decoction.

Pinyin: Shi Jue Ming  Chinese: 石决明
Pharmaceutical: Concha Haliotidis
English: Abalone Shell

Tastes: Salty, cold
Meridians Entered: Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Drains Liver Fire, pacifies the Liver and anchors and sedates Liver Yang
   Liver Fire and Liver Yang Rising patterns with headache, dizziness and red eyes Hypertension with Liver Yang Rising
2. Improves the vision and causes superficial visual obstruction to recede
   Liver Heat causing visual problems with photophobia, pterygium or other superficial visual obstruction, red eyes and blurred vision
3. Calms Internal Wind
   Liver Wind
4. Clears Stomach Fire and stops pain and bleeding
   Stomach Fire with acid reflux, heartburn, bleeding ulcers and Stomach pain (best calcined)

Standard Dosage: 15-30g in decoction.
Cautions: The high mineral content of this medication may prevent the oral absorption of the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics.

Animal 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 or Cao Jue Ming.

Pinyin: Ji Li / Bai Ji Li / Ci Ji Li  Chinese: 蒺藜 / 白蒺藜 / 刺蒺藜
Pharmaceutical: Fructus Tribuli
Taxonomy: Tribulus terrestris
English: Caltrop Fruit / Puncture-Vine Fruit

Tastes: Bitter, pungent, slightly salty
Meridians Entered: Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Calms the Liver and anchors Yang
   Liver Yang Rising with headache, vertigo or dizziness
2. Dredges Liver Qi and disperses Stagnation and clumping
   Liver Qi Stagnation with pain and distention in the flanks, irregular menstruation or insufficient lactation
3. Dispels Wind-Heat and brightens the eyes
   Red, swollen and painful eyes
   Excess tearing
4. Dispels Wind and stops itching
   Any kind of skin lesion with significant itching, such as hives
   Vitiligo (can be used as a stand-alone herb)
5. Extinguishes Liver Wind
   Liver Wind

Standard Dosage: 6-10g in decoction.
Cautions: Caution in pregnancy.

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.