Untitled

Introduction to Herbology Session 9

  • Outline of Class 7
    • Herbs that Relieve Food Stagnation
    • Shān Zhā (山楂): Crataegi Fructus, crataegus fruit/hawthorn fruit
    • Herbs that Regulate the Qi
    • Chén Pí (陳皮): Citri reticulatae Pericarpium, aged tangerine peel/citrus
    • Herbs that Stop Bleeding
    • Sān Qī (三七): Notoginseng Radix, notoginseng root/pseudoginseng root
    • Herbs that Invigorate the Blood
    • Chuān Xiōng (川芎): Chuanxiong Rhizoma, chuanxiong root/Szechuan lovage root/cnidium
    • Herbs that Warm the Interior and Expel Cold
    • Zhì Fù Zǐ (製附子): Aconiti Radix lateralis praeparata, processed aconite accessory root/daughter root of Szechuan aconite

Herbs that Relieve Food Stagnation

  • Definition and Importance
    • These herbs reduce, dissolve, or digest food stagnation and guide the accumulation out through the digestive tract.
    • Accumulation is characterized by abdominal mass, distention, or pain.
    • Common causes include:
    • Emotional issues
    • Improper diet
    • Phlegm
    • Disorders related to hot and cold conditions
    • Symptoms tend to occur in the middle jiao; therefore, herbs that regulate the middle qi are often included in this category.
    • Types of Food Stagnation:
    • Hot and cold food stagnation
      • Herbs that clear heat or warm the interior are used accordingly.
    • In cases of severe food stagnation, purgatives may be necessary.

Shān Zhā (山楂) - Crataegi Fructus

  • Category: Herbs that Relieve Food Stagnation
  • Properties: sour, sweet, slightly warm
  • Key Characteristics:
    • Reduces food stagnation, especially from meat and greasy foods
    • Invigorates blood flow
    • Alleviates diarrhea and dysentery
  • Dosage: 9-12g (Note: slightly higher dosage).
  • Cautions & Contraindications:
    • Use with caution in individuals with weakness or deficiency of the Spleen & Stomach.
    • Large doses are absolutely contraindicated during pregnancy as they may lead to fetal death.
  • Actions & Indications:
    • Reduces food stagnation and transforms accumulation.
    • Transforms blood stasis and dissipates clumps.
    • Stops diarrhea, particularly in the context of chronic dysentery-like disorders when partially charred.
    • Recently used for hypertension, coronary artery disease (CAD), and elevated serum cholesterol.

Herbs that Regulate the Qi

  • Purpose:
    • Facilitate the proper workings of the qi dynamic, vital for health.
  • Philosophy:
    • "When the qi and blood are flush and harmonious, the myriad diseases cannot arise. Once they become restrained and constrained, various diseases arise from that."
  • Properties:
    • Generally aromatic, warm, often acrid or bitter.
  • Functions:
  • Promotes the movement of qi
  • Reduces distention
  • Smooths the flow of qi
  • Expands the chest
  • Relieves constraint
  • Stops pain
  • Directs rebellious qi downward

Chén Pí (陳皮) - Citri reticulatae Pericarpium

  • Category: Herbs that Regulate Qi
  • Properties: acrid, bitter, warm, aromatic
  • Channels: Lung, Spleen, Stomach
  • Key Characteristics:
    • Promotes the flow of qi; dries dampness
  • Dosage: 3-9g.
  • Cautions & Contraindications:
    • Use with caution in individuals with heat from excess.
    • Not suitable for dry cough due to qi or yin deficiency.
    • Long-term use can injure the primal qi.
  • Actions & Indications:
    • Regulates the qi, adjusts the middle, and relieves the diaphragm; dries dampness and transforms phlegm; helps prevent stagnation.
    • Specifically useful for patterns involving epigastric or abdominal distention, fullness, bloating, belching, and nausea & vomiting.
    • Important for phlegm-damp coughs with a stifling sensation in the chest and copious, viscous sputum.
    • Used to prevent stagnation when combined with tonifying herbs.

Herbs that Stop Bleeding

  • Definition:

    • Bleeding is described as blood leaving its normal passageways.

  • Causes of Bleeding in TCM:

    • Spleen qi fails to contain the blood, leading to leakage from vessels.
    • Heat/ascendant yang causes reckless blood movement.
    • Blood stagnation obstructs pathways, causing blood to extravasate from vessels.

  • Applications of Herbs that Stop Bleeding:

    • Effective for a variety of bleeding conditions, such as:
    • Vomiting blood
    • Nosebleeds
    • Coughing up blood
    • Blood in urine or stool
    • Excessive menstruation
    • Abnormal uterine bleeding
    • Trauma-induced bleeding.
    • These herbs are usually not prescribed in isolation but in conjunction with others to address the underlying condition.

Sān Qī (三七) - Notoginseng Radix

  • Category: Herbs that Stop Bleeding
  • Properties: sweet, slightly bitter, warm
  • Channels: Liver, Stomach
  • Key Characteristics:
    • Stops bleeding without causing blood stasis, transforms blood stasis, reduces swelling, and alleviates pain.
  • Dosage: 3-9g
    • 1-1.5g when taken as a powder in decoction; in cases of severe bleeding, can be dosed at 3-6g.
  • Cautions & Contraindications:
    • Use with caution during pregnancy.
  • Actions & Indications:
    • Stops bleeding and transforms blood stasis for various forms of bleeding such as vomiting blood and blood in stool.
    • Effective for trauma, alleviating swelling and pain.

Herbs that Invigorate the Blood

  • Properties:
    • Generally acrid, bitter, and warm
  • Usage Conditions:
    • Use with caution in pregnancy and for those with a tendency to bleed or on blood thinners.
    • Typically used for:
    • Pain, numbness, and paresthesias in limbs
    • Abdominal masses or other types of lumps
    • Blood stasis conditions characterized by dark purple blood and clots.
  • Common Disorders Benefitted:
    • Amenorrhea, abnormal uterine bleeding, postpartum abdominal pain, and traumatic pain.

Chuān Xiōng (川芎) - Chuanxiong Rhizoma

  • Category: Herbs that Invigorate the Blood
  • Properties: acrid, warm
  • Channels: Liver, Gallbladder, Pericardium
  • Key Characteristics:
    • Invigorates the blood and promotes qi movement; expels wind; stops pain (especially effective for headaches).
  • Dosage: 3-9g (1-1.5g when taken as a powder).
  • Cautions & Contraindications:
    • Use caution during pregnancy or for those with profuse menses.
    • Not recommended for conditions associated with yin deficiency.
  • Actions & Indications:
    • Enhances blood circulation, useful for gynecological conditions, and relieves any type of headache tied to blood stasis or wind.

Herbs that Warm the Interior and Expel Cold

  • Purpose:
    • Treat interior cold due to either internal creation or external pathogen invasion.
  • Properties:
    • Generally acrid, bitter, warm, or hot.
    • Act to dispel and disperse interior pathogenic cold while stimulating yang qi.
  • Cautions:
    • Use with caution if there is heat, blood loss, or y in deficiency.
    • Not ideal for patients who are weak or debilitated, and should be combined with tonifying herbs as needed.
    • Use extreme caution during pregnancy.

Zhì Fù Zǐ (製附子) - Aconiti Radix lateralis praeparata

  • Category: Herbs that Warm the Interior and Expel Cold
  • Properties: acrid, hot, toxic
  • Channels: Heart, Kidney, Spleen
  • Key Characteristics:
    • Revives the yang, tonifies vitality, guides the effects of other herbs, and expels cold-induced painful obstruction.
  • Dosage: 3-15g (special instructions: boil for 30-60 min before adding other herbs).
  • Cautions & Contraindications:
    • Contraindicated in cases of yin deficiency accompanied by abundant yang, true heat and false cold, and during pregnancy.
  • Toxicity:
    • Symptoms of toxicity include:
    • Nervous system: burning sensation, numbness, dizziness.
    • Digestive system: severe nausea, abdominal pain.
    • Circulatory system: arrhythmias, hypotension, in severe instances fatalities.
  • Actions & Indications:
    • Primarily used for reviving yang, warming channels, alleviating pain, and for conditions characterized by cold and deficiency.