1. Xuan Shen (Scrophularia Root)
Xuan Shen is the root of the plants Scrophularia ningpoensis and Scrophularia buergeriana, containing iridoid glycosides, volatile oils, and alkaloids. Pharmacological studies have shown that Xuan Shen decoction, alcohol extract, and infusion can lower blood pressure; it also has vasodilatory and cardiotonic effects. Various preparations of Xuan Shen have antipyretic and anticonvulsant properties. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) considers it cold in nature, sweet and bitter in taste, and functions to nourish yin and reduce fire, cool the blood, and detoxify, making it suitable for heat diseases with thirst, rashes, bone steaming, night sweats, spontaneous sweating, injury to fluids with constipation, and sore throat. Dosage: 6-12 grams; contraindicated in cases of loose stools and excessive phlegm dampness.
2. Jue Ming Zi (Cassia Seed) Jue Ming Zi is the seed of the plant Cassia obtusifolia, containing anthraquinones, flavonoids, and vitamin A. Pharmacological studies have demonstrated that Jue Ming Zi can lower blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels; it also has antibacterial properties and promotes bowel movements. TCM considers it slightly cold, sweet and bitter in taste, and functions to clear the liver and brighten the eyes, promote urination, and relieve constipation, making it suitable for liver heat or wind-heat affecting the eyes, causing redness, dryness, and tearing; it is also effective for treating hypertension, hepatitis, cirrhosis with ascites, and habitual constipation. Dosage: 3-9 grams, crushed and decocted.
3. Di Gu Pi (Lycium Root Bark) Di Gu Pi is the root bark of the Lycium barbarum plant, containing chlorogenic acid, various phenolic compounds, and betaine. Di Gu Pi has significant antipyretic effects, and its decoction can lower blood sugar levels, reduce serum cholesterol, and combat fatty liver. Its infusion has shown significant blood pressure-lowering effects in animal studies. TCM considers it cold in nature, sweet and bland in taste, and functions to cool the blood, reduce steaming, and clear lung heat, making it suitable for symptoms of deficiency heat with night sweats, cough and wheezing due to lung heat, and blood heat causing hemoptysis, epistaxis, and skin abscesses, as well as tuberculosis and hypertension. Dosage: generally 3-9 grams.
4. Lu Gen (Reed Rhizome)
Lu Gen is the underground stem of the plant Phragmites australis, containing adlay saponins and asparagine. TCM considers it cold in nature, sweet in taste, and functions to clear heat and generate fluids, relieve irritability, stop vomiting, and promote urination, making it suitable for heat diseases injuring fluids, irritability and thirst, gastric heat vomiting, choking sensation, and treating lung heat cough and lung abscesses. Dosage: generally 9-30 grams for dried; 15-40 grams for fresh.
5. Lian Qiao (Forsythia Fruit) Lian Qiao is the fruit of the plant Forsythia suspensa, containing volatile oils, forsythoside, flavonoids, and alkaloids. Pharmacological studies indicate that Lian Qiao has broad-spectrum antibacterial effects, with forsythoside being a major antibacterial component; it also has anti-inflammatory, antiemetic, diuretic, and cardiotonic effects. The flavonoids can enhance capillary density, thus stopping bleeding caused by capillary rupture and subcutaneous hemorrhage. TCM considers it slightly cold, bitter in taste, and functions to clear heat and detoxify, disperse lumps and reduce swelling, making it suitable for warm heat, erysipelas, rashes, abscesses, and allergic purpura. Dosage: generally 6-9 grams.
6. Mu Dan Pi (Peony Root) Mu Dan Pi is the root bark of the plant Paeonia lactiflora, containing paeonol, paeoniflorin, volatile oils, and plant sterols. Pharmacological studies have shown that Mu Dan Pi can lower blood pressure; it has analgesic, sedative, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic effects; and it has strong inhibitory effects on various pathogenic bacteria. TCM considers it cool in nature, bitter and pungent in taste, and functions to clear heat, cool the blood, harmonize the blood, and eliminate stasis, making it suitable for heat entering the blood level, causing rashes, severe pain, hemoptysis, abscesses, and traumatic injuries. Dosage: 5-9 grams, but contraindicated in cases of spleen and stomach deficiency with diarrhea.
7. Zhi Mu (Anemarrhena Rhizome) Zhi Mu is the rhizome of the plant Anemarrhena asphodeloides, containing various saponins and flavonoids. Studies have shown that Zhi Mu has significant antipyretic effects and is effective against epidemic hemorrhagic fever, epidemic type B encephalitis, and tidal fever in tuberculosis. TCM considers it cold in nature, sweet and bitter in taste, and functions to clear heat and drain fire, nourish yin and moisten dryness, making it suitable for lung heat cough or yin deficiency cough, irritability and thirst, bone steaming, urinary difficulty, and constipation. Dosage: generally 6-9 grams, but contraindicated in cases of kidney yang deficiency, weak pulse, and loose stools.
8. Ban Lan Gen (Isatis Root) Ban Lan Gen is the root of the plants Isatis indigotica and Isatis tinctoria, containing indigo, isatin, and β-sitosterol. Ban Lan Gen has significant antiviral effects and inhibits various pathogenic bacteria, including Leptospira. Clinically, Ban Lan Gen decoction is used orally or by intramuscular injection to treat epidemic type B encephalitis with significant efficacy; it is also effective for acute and chronic hepatitis, alleviating or resolving symptoms and improving liver function; Ban Lan Gen is used to treat viral skin diseases such as herpes simplex, shingles, pityriasis rosea, and flat warts with varying degrees of effectiveness. TCM considers it cold in nature, bitter in taste, and functions to clear heat and detoxify, cool the blood, and benefit the throat, making it suitable for influenza encephalitis, type B encephalitis, pneumonia, erysipelas, heat toxin rashes, fire eyes, and herpes. Dosage: generally 5-9 grams; contraindicated in cases of spleen and stomach deficiency with cold.
9. Jin Yin Hua (Honeysuckle Flower)
Jin Yin Hua is the flower bud of the plant Lonicera japonica, containing chlorogenic acid, inositol, and flavonoids. Pharmacological studies have shown that Jin Yin Hua has anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects, inhibiting influenza viruses and various pathogenic bacteria and fungi, reflecting its heat-clearing and detoxifying properties. TCM considers it cold in nature, sweet in taste, and functions to clear heat and detoxify, making it suitable for warm diseases with fever, heat toxin dysentery, sores, abscesses, and boils. Dosage: generally 6-12 grams; contraindicated in cases of deficiency cold diarrhea and sores with clear pus without heat toxin.
10. Xia Ku Cao (Selfheal Spike) Xia Ku Cao is the flower or whole herb of the plant Prunella vulgaris, containing triterpenoid saponins and their aglycones, volatile oils, and vitamins. Pharmacological studies have shown that the whole herb of Xia Ku Cao can lower blood pressure; its decoction has varying degrees of inhibitory effects on common skin fungi and various pathogenic bacteria. TCM considers it cold in nature, bitter and pungent in taste, and functions to clear liver fire, disperse stagnation, and lower blood pressure, making it suitable for eye redness and swelling, eye pain, photophobia, tearing, headaches, and dizziness caused by liver fire; it is also used for scrofula and goiter due to phlegm-fire stagnation. Dosage: generally around 9 grams.
11. Zhi Zi (Gardenia Fruit) Zhi Zi is the fruit of the plant Gardenia jasminoides, containing various bitter glycosides, mannitol, and ursolic acid. Zhi Zi has a choleretic effect, increasing bile secretion; it also has cooling, sedative, analgesic, and anticonvulsant effects; and it has antimicrobial properties, inhibiting various pathogenic bacteria and skin pathogens. TCM considers it cold in nature, bitter in taste, and functions to drain fire and relieve irritability, clear heat and promote dampness, and cool the blood and detoxify, making it suitable for heat diseases with irritability and insomnia, jaundice, eye redness, epistaxis, and heat toxin sores. Dosage: 3-9 grams.
12. Pu Gong Ying (Dandelion) Pu Gong Ying is the whole herb of the plant Taraxacum mongolicum, containing taraxasterol, choline, inulin, and fruit acids. Its decoction has antimicrobial effects; it also protects the liver, promotes bile secretion, and enhances immune function. TCM considers it cold in nature, sweet and bitter in taste, and functions to clear heat and detoxify, reduce swelling and disperse lumps, making it suitable for acute mastitis, lymphadenitis, shoulder inflammation, gastritis, hepatitis, cholecystitis, and urinary tract infections. Dosage: 9-15 grams, crushed and applied externally for breast abscesses, rashes, and boils.
