Liver excess heat

Lu Hui is very bitter and cold, and enters the Liver, Heart, Stomach and Large Intestine meridians. It is a very strong herb to purge the bowels and reduce excess heat. It directly drains Liver-fire and Heart-fire. It is selected when the heat of Heart and Liver affects the Stomach and Large Intestine. 

The signs of the tongue and pulse indicate excess heat and damp-heat in the Liver. 

Besides intensively draining the fire of the Liver, Long Dan Cao can also dry damp-heat. It is particularly used in conditions where there is excess heat in the Liver that flares upwards and causes disorders in the head and sensory orifices, as well as in conditions where there is damp-heat in the Liver that moves downwards and causes disorders in the Lower-Jiao and the genital area. In a formula to treat acute excess conditions of both Liver fire and damp-heat, Long Dan Cao is often used as chief. 

Huang Lian and Zhi Zi are both bitter and cold. They can effectively reduce excess heat from the Liver. 

Gou Teng is sweet and slightly cold, and enters the Liver meridian. It can clear the Liver-heat, calm the Liver and is particularly suitable for use in conditions where excess heat injures the Liver-Yin. The main symptoms are fever, convulsions, irritability and restless sleep. 

Zhi Zi is used to reduce the excess heat from the Heart and Liver caused by stagnation of the Liver-Qi. 

These three herbs are cold in nature. They can nourish Yin and reduce heat. They are often used as a part of chief substances together with minerals in a formula to sedate the Heart-shen and calm the mind in an acute and severe condition of anxiety caused by excess heat or empty-heat. They can also be used as chief herbs to treat moderate or chronic cases of anxiety and insomnia via the approach of reducing the excess fire or empty-fire of the Heart, Liver and Kidney. 

Sheng Di Huang is sweet, bitter and cold, and enters the Heart, Liver and Kidney meridians. As it can directly clear excess heat or empty-heat in the Heart, Liver and Kidney, it can calm the mind and relieve irritability and restlessness. It can cool the blood, thus the function of calming the mind is even stronger. It is frequently used as chief in the formula for treating excess or deficiency syndromes. 

These herbs can be used as deputies in the formula to treat acute and excess conditions where excess heat is blazing in the Heart. They are all bitter and cold, and enter the Heart and Liver meridians. They can strongly reduce the excess fire from the Heart and Liver, and therefore calm the mind. Zhi Zi and Mu Tong can also drain heat by promoting urination. These herbs can be used to treat agitation, difficulty falling asleep, a bitter taste in the mouth, mouth ulcers and scanty and difficult urination. 

Gou Teng is sweet and cold, and enters the Liver and Pericardium meridians. It has a strong function of clearing and reducing the Liver-heat, whether or not it is excess heat or empty-heat, and thus can calm the wind. It is particularly used to treat dizziness, headache, tinnitus, irritability, and red and irritated eyes. Because it enters the Pericardium meridian, it is also very effective for cooling the Heart, relaxing the tendons and calming the mind. 

Syndrome of internal wind due to excess heat in the Heart and Liver... 

The excess heat consumes the Liver-Yin, which is unable to moisten and ease the tendons therefore wind, which is manifested as spasms and twitching, may appear. 

First, cold and salty substances that enter the Liver and Heart meridians and can reduce excess heat, extinguish the wind and eliminate phlegm-heat are selected. 

Ling Yang Jiao is salty and cold, and enters the Liver and Heart meridians. It can effectively cool the Liver and extinguish wind, and is often selected in formulas to treat excess heat in the Liver meridian, which stirs up the internal wind. 

This formula is devised to treat internal wind stirred up by excess heat in the Liver and Heart. A high fever with irritability, convulsions with possible loss of consciousness, a deep red tongue with a dry coating and a wiry and rapid pulse indicate excess heat. 

These are two cold herbs. Zhi Mu is bitter and cold, but is moist in nature. It enters the Lung and Kidney meridians, can strongly reduce heat and protects the Yin. Sheng Di Huang enters the Heart, liver and Kidney meridians. It can nourish the Yin, clear heat and cool the blood. Since they are both strong in action and enter the Kidney meridian, they can be used in the syndrome of internal dryness when the Yin is severely injured with excess heat and empty-heat in the Lung and Kidney. 

Zhi Zi is cold and enters the San Jiao meridian. It can drain the excess heat from the Liver and the San Jiao passage, and leach out the heat by promoting urination. Mu Dan Pi is cold in nature and enters the blood level of the Liver meridian. It can cool the blood, promote the blood circulation and thus moderate the Qi movement. Its pungent taste can also disperse the stagnation of blood. 

Chi Shao Yao is bitter and cold, and enters the Liver meridian, the blood level. It is especially effective in clearing excess heat in the blood. As it is strong in promoting blood circulation and removing congealed blood, it can effectively alleviate pain and reduce swelling. Moreover, it is one of the commonly selected herbs to apply topically to relieve pain and reduce swelling in strain and acute closed injury. 

Mu Dan Pi is pungent and cold, and enters the Liver meridian. It is able to clear empty-heat in the blood and is often selected in the formula to treat a sub-acute condition of Yang-type Yong Yang syndrome when the excess heat has consumed the Yin, especially the Liver-Yin. 

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