Flashcards for:
Properties of Herbs in Chinese Medicine

Salty herbs soften hardness and purge excess, aiding in the treatment of hard nodules and having a laxative effect.

Sour: Wood (Liver), Bitter: Fire (Heart), Sweet: Earth (Spleen), Acrid: Metal (Lung), Salty: Water (Kidney)

Aromatic herbs open and awaken sensory orifices and the spleen, similar to the effects of Vicks VapoRub.

Sweet herbs tonify and moisten, useful for deficiencies such as Qi, blood, yin, and yang deficiencies, but can also cause stagnation if overused.

Bland herbs promote urination and drain dampness, used for conditions like edema, water retention, and urinary tract infections.

Understanding herb properties helps in knowing how they work and how to use them to treat patterns of disharmony such as Liver Qi stagnation and Kidney Yin deficiency.

Upward: Flowers treat head and face symptoms; Downward: Roots and minerals anchor ascendant yang; Outward: Herbs that expel pathogens from the exterior.

Acrid herbs move and disperse, they expel pathogenic influences and promote sweating. Examples include ginger and garlic.

Astringent herbs, like sour herbs, stop leakage of fluids but are not necessarily sour in flavor.

The basic treatment principle is that hot diseases must be cooled and cold diseases must be warmed.

Warm: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg; Cool: watermelon, mint.

Mint (Bo He) enters the lung and liver channels, helping to disperse wind-heat and move liver Qi.

Bitter herbs clear heat, drain fire, and dry dampness, useful in treating conditions like damp heat and cold-damp.

Sour herbs induce astringency, stopping the leakage of qi and fluids. They can be used to treat spontaneous sweating, incontinence, and chronic cough.

For a patient with Liver Qi stagnation transforming into fire, use cool, bitter, and acrid herbs entering the liver channel. For Spleen Qi deficiency with heart blood deficiency, use warm, sweet herbs entering spleen and heart channels.