Pinyin: Xi Yang Shen  Chinese: 西洋參
Pharmaceutical: Radix Panacis Quinquefolii
Taxonomy: Panax Quinquefolium
English: American Ginseng

Tastes: Sweet but slightly bitter, cool
Meridians Entered: Lung, Heart, Kidney and Spleen

Actions & Indications:

1. Tonifies Qi, generates fluids, nurtures the Stomach and nourishes Yin
   Qi, Yin and Body Fluid Deficiencies with Heat signs and chronic un-abating fever
   Aftermath of a febrile disease with weakness, irritability and thirst
2. Benefits Lung Yin and clears Fire from the Lungs
   Lung Qi and Yin Deficiencies with depleted Fluids and Blazing Deficiency Fire which impairs the the clearing and dispersing functions of the Lungs with long-term wheezing and coughing up of Blood-streaked sputum
   Cough, hemoptysis and loss of voice due to Lung Yin Deficiency
3. Sedates Heat in the Intestines and stops bleeding
   Heat in the Intestines with hematochezia due to Yin Deficiency
4. Calms the Spirit agitated by Parasites damaging the Yin
   Gu Sydnrome (Fruehauf, 1998)
   Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)

Standard Dosage: 5-10g in decoction.

Pinyin: Xi Gua  Chinese: 西瓜
Pharmaceutical: Pulpa Citrulli
English: Watermelon Fruit

Tastes: Sweet, cold
Meridians Entered: Heart, Stomach and Bladder

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Summerheat and generates Fluids
   Summerheat patterns, especially with significant thirst, dark, scanty urine and dry heaves
2. Promotes urination and eliminates jaundice
   Icteric hepatitis
3. Cools Lung and Stomach Heat
   Lung and Stomach Heat

Standard Dosage:

Pinyin: Lian Geng  Chinese: 荷梗
Pharmaceutical: Nelumbinis Caulis
English: Lotus Stem

Tastes: Bitter, slightly sweet, neutral
Meridians Entered: Heart, Liver, Spleen

Actions & Indications:

1. Relieves Summerheat
   Summerheat and Dampness with fever, irritability, excessive sweating, scanty urine and especially diarrhoea
2. Raises and clears Spleen Yang
   Spleen Yang Deficiency diarrhoea especially in the aftermath of Summerheat
3. Removes Stagnation and stops bleeding
   Bleeding in the Lower Jiao due to Heat or Stagnation Hematemesis (adjunctive)
4. Unblocks the Qi and opens the chest
   Main difference from He Ye (Lotus Leaf)

Standard Dosage: 12-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: Shi Hu  Chinese: 石斛
Pharmaceutical: Herba Dendrobii
Taxonomy: Dendrobium nobile seu loddigesis seu fimbriatum var. oculatum seu chrysanthum seu candidum
English: Stonebushel Stem

Tastes: Sweet, slightly cold
Meridians Entered: Stomach and Kidney

Actions & Indications:

1. Nourishes Yin, clears Heat and generates fluids
   Parched mouth, severe thirst or intractable fever associated with Yin Deficiency, most commonly when the Fluids are injured during a warm pathogen disease
2. Enriches Kidney Yin and reduces Heat from Deficiency
   Yin Deficiency Heat and depleted Fluids with a recalcitrant low-grade fever, dry and painful throat and a red tongue with no coat
3. Tonifies the Kidneys, augments Jing, brightens the eyes, strengthens the tendons and bones and strengthens the low back
   Dull vision, dizziness and low back weakness and pain associated with Kidney and Liver Deficiency
4. Nourishes Stomach and Lung Yin
   Stomach and Lung Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire Rising
5. Aids fasting
   Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the superior class of herbs which can, with protracted taking, fortifty the Stomach and Intestines, 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: 10-15g in decoction, double if fresh.

Pinyin: Mai Men Dong  Chinese: 麥門冬
Pharmaceutical: Radix Ophiopogonis
English: Dwarf Lilyturf Root

Tastes: Sweet, slightly bitter, slightly cold
Meridians Entered: Stomach, Lung and Heart

Actions & Indications:

1. Moistens the Lungs, nourishes Yin and stops coughing
   Lung Yin Deficiency with a hacking, dry cough or a cough with thick, difficult to expectorate sputum, or hemoptysis
   Pathogenic Warm-Dryness Dryness that has transformed into Fire
2. Nourishes Stomach Yin and generates Fluids
   Stomach Yin Deficiency with dry mouth and tongue
3. Moistens the Intestines
   Constipation, dry mouth and irritability as a result of febrile disease or Yin Deficiency
4. Clears the Heart and eliminates irritability
   Ying Stage Heat with fever and irritability which is worse at night
   Yin Deficiency with fever and irritability which is worse at night
5. Aids fasting
   Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the middle class of herbs which can, with protracted taking, make the body light, prevent senility and make one free from hunger. 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: 10-15g in decoction.

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: Zhi Mu  Chinese: 知母
Pharmaceutical: Rhizoma Anemarrhenae
Taxonomy: Anemarrhena asphodeloides
English: Anemarrhena Rhizome

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

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat and drains Fire (Clears Heat from the Qi Stage, from the Lungs and from the Stomach)
   Heat in the Qi Stage with high fever, irritability, restlessness, thirst and a rapid, flooding pulse.
   Lung Heat and Dryness with cough and expectoration of thick, yellow Phlegm
   Yang Ming Heat
   Stomach Heat
2. Nourishes Yin and moistens Dryness
   Lung and Kidney Yin Deficiency with night sweats, steaming bone disorder, irritability, afternoon or low grade fever, Five Sole Heat and bleeding gums
   (Stomach Yin Deficiency)
   Kidney Heat with spermatorrhea, nocturnal emissions and an abnormally elevated sex drive
3. Generates Fluids, clears Deficiency Fire and quenches thirst
   Oral ulcers and inflammation, steaming bones and Xiao Ke (diabetes) due to Yin Deficiency
4. Ameliorates the Dryness of tonifying or warming herbs
   For use with herbs such as Rx. Astragali Huang Qi, Ram. Cinnamomi Gui Zhi, Rx. Aconiti Lateralis Preparata Zhi Fu Zi when there is concern that these herbs may be too drying

Standard Dosage: 5-15g in decoction.
Cautions: It is not suitable for deficiency cold syndrome. Being cold and moist in property, it is prohibited to be used for those who have a spleen-deficiency diarrhea.

Pinyin: Huang Lian  Chinese: 黄连
Pharmaceutical: Rhizoma Coptidis
Taxonomy: Coptidis chinensis
English: Coptis Rhizome / Goldthread Rhizome

Tastes: Bitter, cold
Meridians Entered: Heart, Stomach, Large Intestine and Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat and drains Dampness
   Damp-Heat in the Stomach or Intestines with diarrhoea or dysenteric disorder
   Stomach Heat with vomiting and/or acid regurgitation
2. Drains Fire and resolves Fire toxicity
   Heat with Blazing Fire (Toxic Heat) with high fever. irritability, disorientation, delirium, a red tongue and a rapid, full pulse
   Heat from Excess with toxicity: painful, red eyes and a sore throat
   Boils, carbuncles and abscesses (Chuang Yung)
3. Clears Heat and stops bleeding
   Blood Heat with epistaxis, hematuria, hemafecia and hemoptysis
4. Clears Heat topically
   Infected wounds, red and painful eyes, ulcerations of the tongue and mouth (topical)
5. Clears Heart Fire (sedative)
   Heart Fire
   Lack of communication between the Heart and Kidneys
6. Drains Stomach Fire
   Stomach Fire
7. Aids fasting
   Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the superior class of herbs which can, with protracted taking, improve memory. 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: 2-10g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated for deficiency-cold syndrome. Because its taste is extremly bitter and dryness, overdosage and long-time taking will impair spleen and stomach, yin and fluids.

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: Jing Mi  Chinese: 粳米
Pharmaceutical: Semen Oryzae
English: Non-Glutinous Rice Seed

Tastes: Sweet, neutral
Meridians Entered: Lung and Spleen

Actions & Indications:

1. Tonifies Yang
   Diarrhoea due to Yang Deficiency
2. Tonifies the Qi of the Lungs, Spleen and Intestines and stops restlessness
   Qi Deficiency with spontaneous perspiration and weakness
3. Stops thirst and generates fluids
   Body Fluid Deficiency

Standard Dosage: 9-30g in decoction.