Properties: Hot, pungent, sweet, bitter, toxic

Meridans Entered:
Primary: Stomach, Heart, Lung and Liver, but reaches every part of the body

1. Nourishes and moves Blood and Qi, opens the Meridians
   Taken internally or applied topically as the medium for liniments in Blood stasis, especially from trauma or Bi syndromes in the elderly
2. Warms Yang and Expels Cold
   All Cold syndromes including Cold Bi, Interior Cold and Yang deficiency
   Often serves as the basis for longevity "elixirs" by soaking Yang tonifying herbs
3. Strengthens the Shen, dispels sorrow and promotes happiness
   Temporary low mood, celebration

Suggested Daily Dosage: 10-60ml, two to three times per day. Often combined with other herbs to bring out their Blood moving or warming aspects by washing them, or adding to a decoction, or soaking herbs in alcohol to make medicinal wines.

Cautions: Caution with Damp-Heat syndromes or long term consumption in the young and middle aged.

The Materia Dietetica (Shiwu Bencao 食物本草) by Lu He 卢和 from the Ming Dynasty says that excess drinking can hurt the spirit and consume blood, damage the stomach and deplete the body fluid, produce phlegm and induce fire.

• Ethanol
  Disinfectant, preservative and solvent for lipophilic non-polar constituents of herbs that do not extract well in water, especially essential oils, alkaloids, resins, glycosides, organic acids, chlorophyll, acrid and bitter constituents.
• Water
  Solvent for hyrdrophilic polar constituents of herbs, especially sugars, proteins, gums, mucilage, pectin, tannins, acids, coloring matter, mineral salts, glycosides, some alkaloids, most alkaloidal salts, and some essential oils.