Herbs - Study Cards
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Choose a category below.
Rou Gui
Chinese
肉桂
English
Cinnamon Bark
Category
Warm Interior Expel Cold
Organs
Heart • Kidney • Liver • Spleen
Taste
Sweet • Pungent
Temperature
Hot
Key Things
Kidney yang deficiency • Leads fire back to its source
Actions
Warm interior • Disperse cold • Unblock channels • Relieve pain • Helps build qi and blood
Indications
Cold limbs • Frequent urination • amenorrhea • wheezing • dry mouth • sore throat • Lower back pain • Qi deficiency • Blood deficiency • Aversion to cold • Poor appetite
Dosage
1.5-6g
CC
Pregnancy • Severe heat from yin deficiency • Interior heat
Sheng Di Huang
Chinese
生地黄
English
Rehmannia
Category
Clear Heat Cool Blood
Organs
Heart • Kidney • Liver
Taste
Sweet • Bitter
Temperature
Cold
Actions
Clear heat • Cools hot blood (nosebleeds, bloody vomit, bloody urine, bloody stool) • Nourish Yin • Cool heart fire • Generate fluids
Indications
High fever • Red tongue • Thirsty • Oral sores • Insomnia • Dry mouth • Constipation • Sore throat
Dosage
9-15g
CC
Yang deficiency • Blood deficiency • Spleen deficiency • Stomach deficiency • Can be sticky and cloying, careful with digestive disorders
Shu Di Huang
Chinese
熟地黄
English
Rehmannia
Category
Tonify Blood
Organs
Heart • Kidney • Liver
Taste
Sweet
Temperature
Slightly Warm
Actions
Tonify blood • Nourish Yin • Tonify essence • Nourish blood
Indications
Blood deficiency • Dizziness • Palpitations • Pale complexion • Night sweats • Irregular menstruation • Post partum bleeding • Uterine bleeding • Steaming bone disorder • Lower back pain • Dizziness • Premature hair graying • Tinnitus • Reduced hearing • Insomnia • Pallor • Menopause • Hot Flushes • Wasting and thirsting disorder • Weakness and pain in lower back and lower limbs
Dosage
9-30g
CC
Cloying • Pregnancy • Spleen and/or Stomach deficiency • Stagnant phlegm • Stagnant qi
Mei Gui Hua
Chinese
玫瑰花
English
Roses
Category
Regulate Qi
Organs
Liver • Spleen
Taste
Sweet • Slightly Bitter
Temperature
Warm
Key Things
Move Qi • Harmonize blood
Actions
Circulate qi • Alleviate constraint • Harmonize blood • Dissolve stasis
Indications
Menstrual cramps • Irregular menstruation • Poor appetite • Flank and epigasric pain and distention • Stifling chest sensation
Dosage
1.5-6 g • tincture 1-3ml • Add flower buds or pedals near end of decoction
CC
Pregnancy • Breast feeding • Bleeding conditions • Surgery • Iron-related disorders • GPD deficiencies • Sickle cell disease
Dang Gui
Chinese
当归
English
Chinese Angelica
Category
Tonify Blood
Priority
1
Organs
Heart • Liver • Spleen
Taste
Bitter • Pungent • Sweet
Temperature
Warm
Actions
Tonify blood • Move Blood and Qi • Regulate menses • Invigorate blood • Dispel cold • Unblock bowels • Reduce abscess swelling • Alleviate pain • Clear pus • Generate flesh • Moisten intestines
Indications
Blood deficiency • Pale complexion • Palpitation • Irregular periods • Menopausal symptoms • Dysmenorrhea • Amenorrhea • Abdominal pain • Constipation • Blurred vision • Blood deficiency with chronic wind damp cold bi • Dry intestines due to blood and yang deficiency • Chronic sores • Abscesses • Toxic swelling
Dosage
3g to 15g • Frying increases blood invigorating strength • Toasting with ash helps it to better warm the channels and stop bleeding.
CC
Autoimmune disorder • Pregnancy • Blood thinner drugs (Wafarin) • Diarrhea • Yin deficiency with heat • Dampness abdominal distention
Dang Shen
Chinese
党参
English
Codonopsis
Category
Tonify Qi
Organs
Lung • Spleen
Taste
Sweet
Temperature
Neutral
Actions
Tonify qi • Nourish blood • Strengthens middle jiao • Tonify lung qi • Generate blood • Generate fluids • Tonify spleen • Stimulates nervous system • Raises blood sugar • Expel pathogens
Indications
Interior excess • Exterior pathogens • Poor appetite • Fatigue • Lung Qi Xu • Blood Xu • Diarrhea • Vomiting • prolapse of uterus, stomach, rectum • Wasting and thirsting disorder • Dizziness, Palpitations from qi and blood deficiency • Chronic cough • Shortness of breath • Weak voice
Dosage
6-9g. Cordonopsis is neutral and can be eaten as food or taken as medicine. No observable toxicity or adverse effects when eaten for up to 5000 mg/kg of body weight.³ Dang shen can be eaten raw, as a tea, boiled in soup or water, steamed, extracted in alcohol, or in a capsule with root powder. Roots should be at least 2 years old to be effective.
CC
Excess heat • Qi stagnation • Autoimmune disorder • Infections in the digestive system • Yin deficiency • Stagnant fire • Hypertension • Bleeding disorders
Ren Shen
Chinese
人参
English
Ginseng
Category
Tonify Qi
Organs
Lung • Spleen • Heart
Taste
Sweet • Bitter
Temperature
Slightly Warm (100%)
Actions
Tonify yuan qi • Tonify lung qi • Tonify heart qi • Calms spirit • Stop thirst • Helps impotence • Treats qi collapse • Tonify Spleen • Generate fluid • Stop thirst • Strengthen anti-pathogenic qi
Indications
Cold limbs • Excessive sweating • Labored breathing • Poor appetite • Prolapse stomach, uterus, or rectum • Thirsty • Anxiety palpitations • Profuse sweating • Weak pulse • Wheezing • spontaneous sweating • Lethargy • Chronic diarrhea • Wasting and thirsting disorder • Insomnia • Poor memory • Restlessness from qi, yin, or blood deficiency • exterior pathogens
Dosage
3-9 g
CC
Autoimmune disorder • Blood thinner medication • Diabetes medication • Blood pressure medication • Caffeine • Yin deficiency • Stagnant fire • Hypertension • Bleeding disorders • Pain in chest • Excess heat
Bai Shao
Chinese
白芍
English
White Root Peony
Category
Tonify Blood
Organs
Liver • Spleen
Taste
Bitter • Sour
Temperature
Cool
Actions
Nourish blood • Regulate menses • Soothes liver • Relieve pain • Preserve yin • Reduce spasms • Harmonize Ying and Wei Qi
Indications
Irregular periods • Vaginal discharge • Uterine bleeding • cramps • spermatorrhea • Exterior wind-cold • Pale complexion • Spasms in hands and feet • Dizziness • Headaches • Abdominal pain from Liver qi stagnation • Painful abdominal spasms • Dysenteric disorders • Liver yang rising • Night sweats • spontaneous seating • Exterior wind cold deficiency
Dosage
6-15g (roots from 3-4 years old plants)
CC
Deficiency cold • Breast feeding • Pregnancy • Bleeding Disorder • Scheduled Surgery
