Herbs Review: Taste, Temperature, Channels

Hey, this is Nicholas, and let's talk about the basic properties of herbs, like temperature, taste, entering channels, preparation, and dosage. It might be helpful to revisit some of these ideas, because when you first talked about them, it was weird because we were discussing the properties of herbs without actually knowing any herbs. So now that we've learned a bunch of herbs, we can go back and try to put it all together and make more sense of it. First is temperature. Each herb has a temperature, hot, warm, cool, or cold. We call these the 4 Qi, so we can say this is the Qi of an herb. We can also say that an herb is neutral or balanced, so even though we say there are 4 Qi, there are really like 5 temperatures. And our basic treatment principle is, if a patient is cold, give them warm herbs. If a patient is warm, give them cooling herbs. Now this might seem pretty obvious, but it's sometimes easy to overlook. For example, suppose you get the question, what is the taste and temperature of Maimindong? Well, if you remember your categories, you know that Maimindong is in the category herbs that tonify yin. So if you're prescribing this herb to a patient with yin deficiency, that probably means they have signs of heat, meaning you would want to give them cooling herbs. So you can go ahead and cross out any answers that are warm in temperature. This actually gets you most of the way there in terms of answering the question. This highlights a basic test-taking strategy with herbs, which is, if you know nothing else about an herb, at least know the category. Each herb also has a taste or a flavor. The flavor of an herb can tell us about the herb's major functions and possibly some of its channel associations. First is sour. What do sour herbs do? Well, they induce astringency. But what does that mean, induce astringency? It means they can prevent or stop the abnormal leakage of Qi in fluids. Another way of saying this is these herbs stabilize and bind, which is the name of category in Bensky. But really, it's just another way of saying stop leakage. What does leakage look like? Well, it depends on the organ. With leakage of lung Qi, we can get chronic cough or sweating because the lung controls respiration and governs the exterior and the opening and closing of the pores. For middle jowl leakage, we can see diarrhea. And kidney leakage can involve urination problems like frequent, copious, or uncontrolled urination. Or it can involve essence like seminal emission or vaginal discharge. So sour herbs induce astringency to prevent or stop this leakage from occurring. Another thing we should point out is sour herbs are used for long-standing cases due to deficiency. So if a patient has cough or sweating due to an exterior attack, don't use sour herbs. You'll just trap the pathogen in the body. Sour herbs are for cough and sweating due to lung Qi deficiency. Or if a patient has diarrhea due to excess damp heat, don't use sour herbs. You'll just trap the pathogen in the body. These astringent herbs are for diarrhea due to spleen Qi deficiency or kidney yang deficiency. So one herb we learned was Ouweizi. It's in this category, herbs that stabilize and bind. It's sour in flavor, and so its main function is to stop leakage, both lung Qi leakage, like cough and sweating, and kidney leakage. But even herbs not in the category, stabilize and bind, can have an astringent action. For example, we learned Suanzhaoren, which is in the category, herbs that calm Shen. Its main action is to tonify blood to calm Shen, but it has a secondary action of stopping sweating, and that's why it's marked sour in flavor. Also, the Suan in Suanzhaoren literally means sour. So this is sour date seed. So maybe that's another way you can remember that Suanzhaoren is sour in flavor and has this astringent property. In terms of five phase correspondences, sour corresponds to the wood phase and is associated with the liver channel. Later, we'll learn certain herbs that are marked sour in flavor, but really don't have any astringent action. Herbs like Baishao and Muguo are labeled sour, but only because they strongly enter the liver channel, not because they have any action of stopping leakage. Bitter herbs, clear heat and drain fire, and they also dry dampness. So we have a category called herbs that clear heat and dry dampness. The one we learned is Huangqin. So of course herbs in this category are bitter. Even herbs not in one of these categories can be marked bitter if it has some function of clearing heat. So if we look again at Maimendong, it's in the category, herbs that tonify Yin. So its main action is tonifying Yin, but it has this secondary function of clearing heart heat. So that's why we mark it as being slightly bitter in flavor. And then we have some herbs that don't clear heat, but they do have an ability to dry dampness. So Chunpi is aged tangerine peel, and it's in the category, herbs that regulate Qi. It's warm in temperature, so it doesn't clear heat, but it does have this secondary function of drying dampness. So we can see it's marked bitter in flavor. Of the Sweet herbs tonify and moisten. So any herb in the tonify category is going to be marked sweet in flavor, whether it's tonify Qi, tonify blood, tonify Yin, or tonify Yang. So Renxian, Xudihuang, Maimendong, and Lurong are all sweet in flavor because they tonify. But even herbs outside of these categories can be marked sweet in flavor if they have some action of tonifying or moistening. For example, Gua Lo is in the category, herbs that transform phlegm heat. But its way of transforming phlegm is by moistening the lung and making the phlegm thinner and easier to expectorate. Because of this moistening ability, it's marked sweet in flavor. And then it also moistens the large intestine to relieve constipation. So that's another action of the sweet flavor. The sweet corresponds to earth and the spleen channel. Acrid herbs move and disperse. So we have the categories warm acrid herbs that release the exterior and cool acrid herbs that release the exterior. And of course these herbs are going to be acrid. It's in the name of the category. But the reason is they use the acrid flavor to disperse pathogens from the exterior. But also our moving herbs, like herbs that regulate Qi and herbs that invigorate blood, those herbs are also going to be acrid in flavor. And even herbs that warm the interior make use of the acrid flavor to disperse coldness. And herbs that treat bee syndrome are acrid in order to disperse wind cold damp. So all of these herbs, Gui Zhi, Wo He, Chen Pi, Chuan Chong, Zhi Fu Zi, Du Huo, they're all acrid in flavor because they have some moving or dispersing property. The acrid flavor corresponds to metal and the lung channel. Salty herbs can do a couple different things. They can soften hardness in masses and they can purge accumulation. And then, just by tradition, any herb that comes from an animal part is marked as being salty in flavor. We didn't learn a whole lot of salty herbs in the intro class, but some examples are Hai Cao and Kun Bu. These are both seaweeds and they're salty in flavor. They're used to soften hard nodules like goiter and scrofula. Mang Xiao is epsom salt and it's a strong laxative. It draws moisture to soften hard and dry stool and then it purges it out of the body. And then one salty herb we did learn was Lu Rong, but it's really only marked salty because it comes from an animal. And the salty flavor corresponds to the water phase and the kidney channel. And then, because this is Chinese medicine, when we talk about the five we also have bland, aromatic, and astringent. These are more like properties rather than flavors, but we usually just group them all together. Blandness is maybe a lack of flavor, but bland herbs have the action of promoting urination. So the herb we learned is Fu Ling in the category herbs that drain dampness. It promotes urination to leach out dampness and it's indeed bland in flavor. Aromatic herbs have a strong smell or aroma. This strong smell can be used to awaken the spleen and activate its ability to transform dampness. You can think of these herbs like smelling salts. If a person is tired or even unconscious, the strong smell will wake them up and get them moving again. And that's what these herbs do to the spleen. They also open the orifices, either the sensory orifices like the nose and the eyes, or they open the heart orifices to clear the and revive consciousness. So the one we learned is Hou Po, Magnolia Bark. It's in the category aromatic herbs that transform dampness. It transforms middle jowl dampness and it's indeed aromatic. We also learned Chen Pi. It's in the regulate qi category, but it also has this action of dealing with dampness and it's marked aromatic in property. In the category aromatic open heart orifices, we learned She Chong Pu. Here the aromatic property of the herb opens the heart orifices, treating Shen problems due to phlegm, and it also opens the sensory orifices. Then, like the previous two, it also awakens the spleen to transform middle jowl dampness as well. And finally, we have the astringent property. This is pretty much the same as sour. We use it for herbs that don't have a sour taste, but still have an action of stopping leakage. So for example, we learned Long Gu, Dragon Bone. It's not sour in flavor, but it still has this action of stopping sweating. So that's why we mark it as being astringent. So those are the five flavors and these flavors are used to explain the effects herbs have on the body. So rather than thinking of this as a separate thing that you have to memorize, try to make a connection between an herb's actions and its tastes. So if we go back to our question about Mai Min Dong, we already said it's in the category herbs that tonify yin, so it must be cool in temperature. But since it tonifies, we know that it's also probably sweet in flavor. It's also bitter because it can clear heart heat, but we don't actually need to know that in order to answer the question. For this one, as long as we knew the category, then we were able to pick out the right answer. So again, make sure you know your categories. Another example, what is the taste and temperature of Hua Ma Ren? Well, Hua Ma Ren treats constipation, but its way of treating constipation is by moistening the large intestine. It's in the category moist laxatives. And since it moistens, it's probably sweet in flavor. So pick the answer that has sweet in it. And here, what is the taste and temperature of Sheng Di Huang? Well, Sheng Di Huang is in the category herbs that cool blood. Since it's a cooling herb, we can cross out any answer that's warm or hot in temperature. Since it cools blood, the taste is probably bitter. Then if we remember that Sheng Di Huang also tonifies yin, we can guess that it's also sweet in flavor. So that gives us the answer. It's cold, bitter, and sweet. So if you know the functions, or at least the category, you can usually figure out the taste and the temperature on a test. The next thing we can talk about is the entering channels. Each herb has one or more entering channels that help describe the functions and characteristics of an herb. It may be worth pointing out that this idea was not originally present in the It was a later concept that was introduced during the Jin Yuan dynasty. So occasionally, there are some inconsistencies between different books about an herb's entering channels. But like the five flavors, if we know an herb's major functions, or at least what category it's in, we can usually make a connection to what its entering channels are. So herbs that release the exterior tend to enter the lung channel because the lung governs the exterior. Herbs that transform dampness usually enter the spleen channel because that's a function of the spleen. And herbs that transform phlegm usually enter the spleen and or lung channels because the spleen is the source of phlegm and the lung is the house of phlegm. Herbs that calm the shen enter the heart channel because the heart houses the shen. And herbs that treat constipation enter the large intestine channel. And then, herbs that have anything to do with blood usually enter the liver channel. The liver stores blood and the liver commands the blood and tells it where to go. So whether it's tonifying blood like shu di huang, invigorating blood like chuan shuang, or stopping bleeding like san qi, all of these herbs enter the liver channel. And then, even herbs not in these categories, if they have an additional function that has something to do with blood, they also tend to enter the liver channel. So for example, da huang is a purgative, but it also invigorates the blood, so it enters the liver channel. Jin yan hua clears heat toxicity, but it can also be used charred to stop bleeding, so it enters the liver channel. Then there are some maybe less obvious ones. Herbs that brighten the eyes enter the liver channel because the liver is associated with the eyes. And herbs that benefit the breast tend to enter the stomach channel because the stomach channel goes to the breast. So if an herb treats breast pain, swelling, mastitis, or breast abscess, it probably enters the stomach channel. Then herbs that promote lactation tend to enter the liver channel because the liver channel also goes to this area. And the liver governs free coursing, so that has to do with lactation as well. Herbs that regenerate flesh or heal wounds and sores tend to enter the spleen channel because the spleen governs the flesh. And herbs that discharge pus tend to enter the stomach channel because pus is considered to be flesh that's been burned or scorched by fire. So again, we have that connection between the flesh and the spleen stomach. So again, rather than thinking of this as an extra piece of information that you have to memorize, try to make some connection between an herb's functions and its entering channels. So suppose you get the question, what are the entering channels of buo he? Well buo he is in the category herbs that release the exterior, so you can probably guess it enters the lung channel. So cross out anything that doesn't have the lung in it. Then if you remember that buo he has additional functions of brightening the eyes and moving liver qi, you can probably guess that it enters the liver channel. So choose the remaining answer that has the liver in it. What are the entering channels of shu di huang? Well shu di huang is in the category tonify blood, so it enters the liver channel. And shu di huang also tonifies kidney yin, so there's only one choice that has both the liver and the kidney in it. We should also probably talk about pao zhi, the methods of preparation, since you'll probably get a couple questions on your year-end tests about this. These are the different ways to prepare herbs that can change or enhance certain properties. The simplest way to prepare an herb is to toast or to fry the herb in an empty wok. This can make the herb warmer, increase its ability to awaken the middle jiao, or enhance an herb's ability to tonify. So for example, bai ju tonifies spleen qi. If we want to enhance this ability, we can dry fry it and it becomes chao bai ju, and now it has an enhanced ability to tonify the spleen. Or one we learned in intro class is suan zao ren. One of its functions is tonifying blood, tu kom shen. If we want to emphasize this action, we can dry fry it and it becomes chao suan zao ren. We can also stir fry herbs with another medium. The most common example is honey. Stir frying an herb in honey enhances its tonifying and moistening properties. This should make sense because honey is sweet in flavor, and the sweet flavor tonifies and moistens. So we can think a lot of these preparations as just flavor enhancements for an herb. So the most common example is gan sao, licorice root. Among other things, it can tonify spleen qi. But if we want to enhance its ability to tonify, we can stir fry it in honey and it becomes zhe gan sao. Another example is huang qi, astragalus root. It also tonifies spleen qi, but it can be very drying in nature, especially if it's used long term. So if we stir fry it in honey, it becomes zhe huang qi, and it's a little bit more moistening, so it won't be as drying as it is in its raw form. Next, we can stir fry herbs in ginger juice to reduce its toxicity. So fuzi, aconite, is toxic in its raw form. So we stir fry it in ginger to reduce its toxicity, and it becomes zhe fuzi. Ban xia is also toxic in its raw form. So it's stir fried in ginger to become zhe ban xia. Ginger also has the ability to warm the middle jiao and calm rebellion. So ban xia transforms phlegm, but it also treats rebellious stomach qi due to cold for symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and morning sickness. Stir frying in ginger enhances this ability. Even people who don't study Chinese medicine use ginger tea to help with an upset stomach. So maybe this way you can remember that ginger helps to treat nausea and vomiting due to cold. Next is vinegar. Vinegar is sour in flavor, and the sour taste induces astringency. So stir frying an herb in vinegar will enhance its ability to induce astringency and stop leakage. Also, the sour flavor is associated with the liver channel, which governs free coarsening. So vinegar can enhance an herb's ability to invigorate the blood and stop pain. For example, yan hu suo invigorates blood to stop pain. Stir frying it in vinegar makes it cure yan hu suo, and its ability to stop pain is enhanced. Similar actions, alcohol unblocks the channels and treats bee syndrome. It invigorates blood, it reduces pain, and it guides herbs to the head. You can maybe remember this because alcohol goes to the liver, and many people use wine like a blood thinner, meaning that it can invigorate blood. Also, when people drink, they tend to get red in the face, and this tells us that alcohol makes things rise to the head. So chuan xiang invigorates blood and stops pain. Fried in alcohol, it becomes zhou chao chuan xiang. Zhou means alcohol, so this version has an enhanced ability to move blood and stop pain. Then there are some herbs that aren't necessarily prepared with alcohol, but they can be ground into a powder and taken as a single herb with alcohol. San chi is one of those herbs. San chi invigorates blood and stops pain, so taking it with alcohol can increase its effect. And finally, salt. The salty flavor is associated with the kidney channel, so stir frying an herb in salt can guide that herb to the kidney and increase its tonifying action. So many of our kidney tonics can be prepared this way. The last method of preparation we'll talk about is charring an herb. When you char an herb, it enhances the herb's ability to stop bleeding. We learned a few herbs like this. For example, jin yin hua clears heat toxicity, but in its charred form, it can be used for diary and dysentery with blood in the stool. Da huang is a purgative that clears heat and invigorates blood, but in its charred form, it can also stop bleeding, especially for blood in the stool. Shan jia also has an action of invigorating blood, but in its charred form, it can stop bleeding, especially postpartum bleeding and bloody dysentery. And then let's talk about dosage. The normal dosage range for most herbs is 3 to 9 grams, so when we want to pay attention is when an herb's dosage is outside of this range. Heavy herbs, like minerals and shells, tend to use a larger dosage, whereas lighter herbs, like flowers, tend to use a smaller dosage. Think of it this way. If you have a light, fluffy herb and you use the standard 3 to 9 grams, you'll fill up your entire cooking pot and there won't be room for anything else. So for light herbs, you need to use a smaller dosage just so your pot doesn't overflow. Whereas if you have a heavy herb and you use the normal 3 to 9 grams, there'll just be a little speck at the bottom of your pot and it won't be hardly anything at all. So you need a higher dosage just to get the normal amount. Highly toxic herbs use a very small dosage. And then some herbs just have a larger dosage for no real reason at all. For example, shu di wang has a larger dosage just because you need more of it for it to work. And finally, we'll briefly mention cautions and Most of these should follow from your knowledge of an herb's properties. If a patient is cold, don't give them cold herbs. That will make them worse. If a patient has heat signs, don't give them hot herbs. That will just make them worse. Cold and bitter herbs can damage the spleen, so be careful in cases of spleen deficiency. Warm and acrid herbs can be overly drying and damage yin, so be careful in long-term use or in patients with yin deficiency. Sour herbs induce astringency, so don't use them in cases of excess. Tonifying herbs can be sweet and sticky and cloying, so they might cause digestive problems. Again, use caution with spleen deficiency. Then the one we really want to pay attention to is herbs that are contraindicated during pregnancy. These are usually herbs that strongly invigorate blood or have a strong downward action. So for example, da huang does both. It's strongly moving and strongly moves downward. Huo puo is another one that moves downward in action, so use caution during pregnancy. Also, the harsh toxic herbs are contraindicated in pregnancy as well, such as gansui. So that's a review of some of the basic herb properties. I hope you enjoyed it because that's all for today. Thanks and see you next time!