week 2 - annie Flashcards
4 Qi / 4 temperature characteristics
5 designations
- hot (re)
- cold (han)
- warm (wen)
- cool (liang)
- neutral (ping)
temperature continuum
hot –> warm –> slightly warm –> neutral –> slightly cold –> cool –> cold
examples of how temperature of herbs are used in treatment
- watermelon rind is used to cool heat
- garlic, ginger, and scallion are used to warm
5 tastes + their directions
- acrid (xin) - disperse + move; out + upward
- sweet (gan) - tonify, nourish, strengthen, harmonize, and sometimes moisten
- bitter (ku) - drain + dry; downward
- sour (suan) - astringent; stablize + bind; hold, contract, astringe; prevent or reverse abnormal leakage of fluids + energy
- salty (xian) - purge + soften; downward
additional tastes
- bland (dan) - [no taste] - leach out dampness + promote urination
- aromatic (xiang) - ability to penetrate thru turbidity + revive a part. function
- astringent (se) - ability to prevent leakage of fluids
ascription of actions of herbs
tastes matched with organs
- acridity enters LU
- sweetnss enters SP
- bitterness enters HT
- sourness enters LV
- saltiness enters KD
acrid / spicy / pungent
- disperse out + upward (e.g. thru sweating)
- moving + circulating
- releases the exterior
- enters the LU
- can be a great Qi regulator + help dampness or pain (stasis / stagnation)
sweet
- tonify, nourish, strengthen
- harmonize + moderate (not strong + intense)
- relieves tension (e.g. stomachache, spasms, pain)
- enters the SP
- can normalize function of ST + SP, but caution w/ SP Qi xu + dampness
- richness, stickiness, thickness – blocks Qi – creates stagnation leading to dampness
bitter
- downward draining / purging (promotes bowel movement; purges heat / fire; descents Qi for vomiting, nausea, belching)
- dry dampness (esp. damp-heat in abdomen or below)
- can have a sedating affect due to descending tendency
- enters the HT
salty
- heaviest substance besides minerals
- purges downwards for constipation
- softens hardness
- tends to enter KD
- includes all seaweeds + many animal products (bc sea is salty + blood is salty)
sour
- stabilize + bind
- astringe / hold / contract
- stops movement + can move backwards
- contains fluids + Qi
- enters the LV
- can refresh + improve the apetite, when used appropriately (e.g. kombucha, pickles)
- stomach Yin – preserve Yin (Sour combined w/ Sweet can produce Yin + body fluids)
astringent
- includes sour + sweet
- retains + binds
- feels like a coat on tongue + sucking feeling (e.g. inner lining of pomegranate, tannin from some red wines, non-ripe persimmon)
- if you char an herb, it will be astringent but not necessarily taste sour
- caution: could hold in a pathology and trap it (esp. w/ an exterior invasion)
bland
- diuretic influence (e.g. edema)
- promote urination
- leech out dampness (thru urine) (esp. if dampness is in lower jia)
- has downard direction, but milder than bitter or salty
aromatic
- awakens + revives (e.g. good for a sluggish digestive system)
- moves in all directions
- stronger than acrid (which moves up + out)
- penetrates thru turbidity (if closed or blocked) (e.g. smelling salts)
- eliminates damp in joints (rheumatism)
2 tastes that produce Yang
acrid/pungent + sweet can produce Yang
2 tastes that produce Yin
sour + sweet can produce Yin
ba gang (8 parameters)
exterior – interior
hot – cold
excess – deficiency
yang – yin
6 channels
- Tai Yang (SI, UB) - exterior + cold diseases
- Shao Yang (SJ, GB) - half interior + exterior
- Yang Ming (LI, ST) - interior excess diseases
- Tai Yin (LU, SP) - Lung + Spleen pathologies
- Shao Yin (HT, KD) - Heart + Kidney pathologies (most severe)
- Jue Yin (PC, LV) - reverting
4 levels
exterior to interior:
- wei
- Qi
- ying (nutritive)
- xue (blood)
3 jiaos
- upper jiao (governed by LU)
- middle jiao (governed by SP)
- lower jiao (governed by KD)
directional properties of herbs
- floating + ascending
- sinking + lowering
floating + ascending herbs can be used to…
- expel superficial evils
- ascend Yang
- expel wind + cold
- induce vomiting
- open the orifices (coma = closed orifice)
- promote eruptions (measles)
- warm Yang
sinking + lowering herbs can be used to…
- clear heat
- purge
- promote urination (move down + out)
- calm the mind
- descend Yang (down, but not out)
- stop vomiting
- stop cough + asthma
- astringe
- promote digestion
FUNCTION vs INDICATION of an herb
- function will include TCM terms (e.g. downbear counterflow or rebellious Qi)
- indication will be what the patient tells you (signs + symptoms) (e.g. vomiting, couging, hiccup)
ba fa (8 therapeutic methods)
- promote sweating
- clear (e.g. clear heat)
- purge
- harmonize
- warm
- tonify
- reduce / sedate
- induce vomiting
pathogens enter body via…
- skin
- 9 orifices
pathogens are expelled/eliminated via…
- skin (sweating)
- mouth (vomiting)
- bowels (purging)
- urine
correct way to come up with herbal formula
Sx –> Dx –> T.P. –> Rx
Symptoms –> Diagnosis –> Treatment Principle –> Prescription / Herbal formula
cautions with temperature
- don’t use cooling herbs when there is pathogenic cold
- don’t clear heat when there is a cold condition
cautions with 6 pathogenic factors
- don’t use herbs that drain damp, if there is dryness
- don’t use astringent + binding when a patient needs purging
- caution when using tonifying herbs or astringent herbs when thereis an exterior pathogen present
main caution
pregnancy
contraindications may relate to…
- toxicities when combinedw another specific herb or food
- dosage
dosage refers to…
- amount of drugs/herbs to be used
- mainly: daily amount of each drug/herb for an adult; but also refers to relative amount of different drugs/herbs in a recipe/formula
- use in a decoction (e.g. mix 5g granules with warm water)
- amount of dry, prepared herbs
classical measurement for dosage
qian (1 qian = approx 3 g)
most common heb dosage range
3 to 12 grams
herbs that are typically prescribed in higher dosages
- hard, heavy, moderate, and bland substances
- minerals + shells (bc they tend to weight more)
herbs that are typically prescribed in lower dosages
- light, toxic + strongly-flavored substances
- flowers, leaves + aromatic herbs (bc they tend to be more lightweight)
- drastic or poisonous substances
other factors are involved with dosage
- severity of problem
- patient constitution (do they tend to be sensitive?)
- age (smalelr dosage for children)
- stomach Qi depletion
6 (or 7) techniques for combining herbs
- mutual accentuation
- mutual enhancement
- mutual counteraction
- mutual suppression
- mutual antagonism
- mutual incompatibility
(7. single effect)
mutual ACCENTUATION vs mutual ENHANCEMENT
mutual accentuation = combination of 2 substances with SIMILAR FUNCTIONS to accentuate their therapeutic actions
mutual enhancement = combination of 2 or more subtances with DIFFERENT ACTIONS in which one of the substances enhances the effect of the other in a specific clinical situation
mutual COUNTERACTION vs mutual SUPPRESSION
these are very similar, but the emphasis is either on herb A or herb B:
mutual counteraction = a combination in which the toxicity or side effects of a substance (herb A) are reduced or eliminated by another substance (herb B)
mutual suppression = converse of mutual counteraction in that here the emphasis is on the substance that reduces the undesirable side effections of the other (herb B)
mutual ANTAGONISM vs mutual INCOMPATIBILITY
these are undesirable outcomes!
mutual antagonism = the ability of 2 substances to minimize or neutralize each other’s positive effects
mutual incompatibility = when the combination of 2 substances gives rise to side effects or toxicity which would not be caused by either substance when used alone (18 incompatibles)
example of SINGLE EFFECT with herb combining
use of one medicinal substance (e.g. Gingseng / Ren Sen) to treat a patient
composition of formulas
based on ancient Chinese government structure
- CHIEF (king, sovereign) = substance that provides main therapeutic thrust of Rx
- DEPUTIES (ministers, associates) = enhance or assist the therapeutic actions of the chiefs
- ASSISTANTS (adjutants) = provide one or more of the following FX: treat accompanying SX; moderate the harshness or toxicity of primary substance(s); assist the chief + deputies in accomplishing their main objective; or provide assistance from another therapeutic direction
- ENVOY (messenger, courier) = either guide the other substances to a specific channel or organ, or exert a harmonizing influence (e.g. Gan Cao)
do all roles need to be present in a formula?
can an herb serve more than one of the functions?
- not all roles need to be present in a formula
- one herb can serve more than one function
what is GONG BU?
- simultaneous attack on a pathogen AND reinforcement / tonification
- often seen in patterns of excesswith underlying deficiency
- not the best situation bc ideally you want to drain excess before tonifying deficiency, but occasionally need gong bu
nomenclature of Chinese herbs based on…
- shape
- color
- smell + taste
- geographic location (specific province or continent)
- life cycle
- specific parts
- function
- human action involved / story
shades of red
hong = red (Hong Hua = red flower)
chi = bright red (Chi Shao = bright red peony)
zhu = dull red (Zhu Sha = dull red sand)
shades of yellow
huang = yellow (Da Huang = big yellow)
jin = gold (Jin Yin Hua = gold/silver flower)
shades of white
bai = white (Bai Shao = white peony)
yin = silver (Yin Guo Ye = silver fruit leaf)
shades of green
qing = blue/green (Qing Pi = blue green peel)
lu = green (Lu Dou = green beans)
shades of black
hei = black (Hei Zao = black dates)
wu = black
purple
zi = purple (Zi Cao Gen = purple herb root)
