Single Herbs 1
Introduction to basic concepts in Single Herbs
These are an expanded version of the bullet points from the Single Herbs page.
You might also find this handout really helpful.
Release the Exterior
Are you familiar with the Four Stages of Disease? This category of herbs deals with the initial invasion
of a pathogen, the Wei stage.
Wind-Cold
Exterior invasions are external pathogens brought into the body by wind. That explains why my mom
told me not to sit in cold drafts. Go mom. Now I look around in every public place I enter in Texas for
the inevitable airconditioning vents. It’s hot here, so the stupid A/C blows almost year round.
Part 1
Part 2
Slides 1 of 2 – I made slides for the instructor to use for extra credit. My grades thanked me for that
later.
Slides 2 of 2
Wind-Heat
Mom never told me not to sit in hot drafts. Hmmm. Thanks a lot, mom.
Part 1 – starts on page 4 of the class notes.
Part 2
Slides
Clear Heat Herbs
This is a huge category and refers to internal excess heat (more about deficient heat later). Excess heat
appears at the Qi stage of a warm disease (see the Four Stages of Disease or the Wen Bing model for
describing disease). It also applies with the Yangming level of the Six Stages of Disease.
Drain Fire
Basically, lots of heat – high fever without chills, scanty urine, irritability, high thirst drive, and
(eventually), delirium. The warm from the Wei stage has progressed to deeper heat that is burning off
body fluids.
Shi gao, zhi mu, lu gen, tian hua fen, dan zhu ye, zhi zi, xia ku cao, jue ming zi, qing xiang zi, and
xiong dan (don’t use it – it’s derived by extremely cruel means!).
Cool Blood
These are used for the Ying and Xue stages of the Four Levels of Disease (Wen Bing). It’s all about
heat in the blood. Since the blood is the root/home of the Shen, heat in the blood leads to Shen
disturbance. Heat in the blood also makes the blood flow recklessly, so you will see a lot of bleeding
symptoms here too.
Xi jiao (rhino horn…don’t use that either), sheng di huang, xuan shen, mu dan pi, chi shao, zi cao.
Dry Damp
Every herb in this category is bitter and cold. Oh, so bitter! SO bitter. I decided at one point in my herb
studies I would taste every single herb I studied. That didn’t last long. Xi Xin made my tongue go
numb. These made me gag. But don’t let me stop you. Go ahead and taste them!
Huang qin, huang lian, huang bai, long dan cao, ku shen, qin pi.
Relieve Toxicity
Heat invading the system starts with warmth. Sounds so innocuous: “a warm invasion.” But then it
progresses to heat, then fire, then toxicity. That’s where you are now. Toxicity relieving herbs.
Jin yin hua, lian qiao, pu gong ying, zi hua di ding, chuan xin lian, da qing ye, qing dai, ban lan gen, ye
ju hua, yu xing cao, bai hua she she cao, bai tou weng, hong teng, bai jian cao, bai xian pi, tu fu ling,
shan dou gen, she gan, ma bo, ya dan zi, bai zhi lian, ban bian lian.
Clear Deficient Heat
Deficient heat comes from a deficiency in the body, not from an exterior source. Deficient heat refers to
a deficiency of yin. Note that these herbs do clear the deficient heat associated with a yin deficiency,
but that’s not all they do.
Qing hao, di gu pi, bai wei, yin chai hu, hu huang lian.
Summer Heat Clearing Herbs
Summer heat is technically a heat (usually damp/heat) invasion that occurs between Summer
Solstice and Autumnal Equinox. But I live in Texas where summer lasts about 8 months. No, I’m not
kidding. It’s hot and humid here for much of the year. If you live in Australia, you know that June
through September or so is cold. Adjust your climate as needed.
Lu dou (mung beans, folks – good for clearing damp and heat regardless of whether you eat the sprouts
or the beans), xi gua, he ye
Downward Draining Herbs
These start on page 2 on the PDF link above. They are broken into 3 small categories: purgatives,
laxatives, and harsh expellants. Due to legal reasons in most countries, we don’t use harsh expellants
much, but they do have their uses.
Purgatives
Da huang, mang xiao (epsom salt, basically), fan xie ye.
Laxatives
Huo ma ren (marijuana seeds…no kidding), yu li ren.
Harsh expellants
Pages 1 and 2 of this PDF file. Read the cautions and uses in this file.
Gan sui, da ji, yuan hua, ba dou.
Drain Damp
Notes start on page 3 of the PDF file linked above. These mostly refer to draining damp through the
urine. You will see damp expressed three ways in regards to this category: edema, damp heat in the
bladder, and jaundice. The first expression is edema – accumulations of fluid at different places in the
body.
Edema refers to accumulations of fluid at different places in the body. Teethmarks on the tongue are
one expression of edema, but so is pitting edema on the lower legs. It can show in more than these
places though.
Damp heat in the bladder is also called Lin Syndrome or PUD. This applies to UTI’s, but also to
what acts like a UTI, but tests negative for bacteria. There are several kinds of Lin Syndrome in
Chinese medicine.
Jaundice is dampness in the Liver or Gallbladder channel that doesn’t stay in the biliary tract. Jaundice
generally affects the eyes, skin, and urine. The urine gets very very dark – darker than the damp heat
kind seen in the urine with a UTI – this is as dark as a black tea when you first steep it. You treat
jaundice differently depending on the type. You dry damp heat, detox the body, or promote urination,
all of which will get the excess bilirubin out of the system. The set you see below all promote urination.
Promote Urination/Relieve Edema
Fu ling, zhu ling, ze xie, yi yi ren, dong gua pi
Promote Urination/Relieve PUD (Lin Syndrome)
Bian xu, qu mai, che xian zi.
Continued this set in this file. Mu tong, tong cao, hua shi, di fu zi, shi wei, bei xie, hai jin sha, deng xin
cao, dong kui zi.
Drain Damp to Relieve Jaundice
Starts on page 7 of the PDF linked above. Yin chen hao, jin qian cao, hua zhang
