Properties: Bitter, cold
Meridans Entered:
Primary: Liver and Heart
Extraordinary Vessels: Chong, Yang Wei
Traditional Actions/Indications:
- Calms the Liver, anchors Floating Yang and clears Liver Fire
Liver Yang Rising with dizziness, vertigo, headache, a sensation of pressure around the eyes or tinnitus
- Strongly descends rebellious Qi
Rebellious Qi of the Lung and Stomach with belching, vomiting, hiccup and acute wheezing
- Cools the Blood and stops bleeding
Blood Heat bleeding Deficiency Cold bleeding (with appropriate combinations) (can be used alone for this)
Suggested Daily Dosage: 10-30g in decoction.
Cautions: It should be used with cautions for the pregnant women. It should not be used for a long time for it contains a microamount of arsenicum.
Mineral 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 and Zhu Ru.
Appears in 7 formulae listed on this site: (click to display)
Research Links & References: (click to display)
Research Links:
Reference Notes:
Individual herb information has sourced mainly from TCM Wiki and American Dragon for basic data and then updated manually with my own notes. Zhou, Xie and Yan (2011): Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Vol. 5, has been used for entries not available from those sources with additional material searched for and filled in where available. Western herbs not appearing in the Chinese literature have used Ross (2010): Combining Western Herbs and Chinese Medicine: A Clinical Materia Medica, White Rabbit Institute of Healing and therapeutika.ch. Choices of which source to use or combine have been my own.
These pages are intended to assist clinicians and are not intended for self-diagnosis or treatment for which a qualified professional should be consulted. Actions and indications are taken from traditional uses and do not necessarily reflect the evidence base which should be researched independently. Dosages are for guidance only and will vary dependening on the potency of the batch and the tolerance of the individual so should be evaluated by a professional based on individual needs.
