Meridians deficiency

Da Zao is sweet and warm, and enters the Spleen meridian. It can nourish the blood and tonify the Qi. Sheng Jiang and Da Zao are often used together to strengthen the Middle-Jiao and are used in deficiency conditions. 

Bie Jia is salty and cold, and enters the Kidney meridian. It reduces deficient heat and tonifies the... 

First, herbs that are sweet and cold, or salty and cold, enter the Kidney, Stomach or Lung meridian and can reduce deficient heat from the Yin level are selected, along with herbs that can penetrate to the Yin level and bring out the heat. Second, herbs that tonify the Qi and Yin are selected. 

Yin Chai Hu is bitter and cool, and enters the Liver and Stomach meridians. Its functions are similar to those of Qing Hao but it is stronger in descending deficient heat and cooling the blood. It is more suitable for patients who complain of dryness of the throat and mouth, thirst and afternoon fever. 

Bai Wei is bitter, salty and cold, and enters the Lung, Stomach and Kidney meridians. It can reduce deficient heat and cool the blood. The strong point of this herb is that it can be used not only for acute febrile diseases, but also for chronic disorders, such as postpartum fever, lingering fever, night sweats and a warm feeling in the palms and soles in febrile diseases. 

Di Gu Pi is sweet and cold, and enters the Lung, Liver and Kidney meridians. It can reduce deficient heat, especially when heat has consumed the Liver-Yin and Kidney-Yin. These patients have fever in the night, bone steaming, night sweats and irritability. It is often used for treating chronic low-grade fever. 

Bie Jia is salty and cold, and enters the Kidney meridian. It is a strong substance to reduce deficient heat and has the function of tonifying Kidney-Yin. It is particularly suitable for conditions where the warm pathogenic factor has invaded the Lower-Jiao and the Qi and Yin of the body are severely impaired. These features manifest as evening fever, low-grade fever, warm palms and bone steaming. 

Gui Ban is salty, sweet and cold, and enters the Kidney and Heart meridians. It nourishes the Yin and strengthens the Kidney, tonifies the blood and calms the mind. It is used when the Yin, essence and blood in the Lower-Jiao are severely injured. It can also reduce the heat and treat bone steaming due to Yin deficiency in warm-febrile disease. Its function of tonifying the Yin is stronger than its function of reducing deficient heat. 

Hu Huang Lian is bitter and cold. It can reduce the deficient heat and improve digestion as it enters the Stomach and Large Intestine meridians. This herb is especially effective in treating nutritional impairment in children. The disorder shows poor digestion with abdominal distension and afternoon fever. 

Zhi Mu, Di Gu Pi and Zhi Bie Jia serve as deputies they are able to nourish the Yin and reduce the deficient heat. Since they all enter the Kidney meridian, they can also effectively reduce the bone steaming. Qing Hao and Qin Jiao also serve as deputies they are effective at dispersing the Qi and venting the heat. 

Bai He is sweet, bland and slightly cold, and enters the Lung and Heart meridians. It can nourish the Yin and slightly tonify the Qi of the Lung and Heart. It is selected in the formula to reduce excess and deficiency of heat in the Lung when the pathogenic heat has injured the Yin and Qi in a febrile disease. Patients main complaints are of a warm, blocked sensation in the chest, restlessness and depression, a dry cough, insomnia and dream-disturbed sleep. 

These three herbs are bitter, cold and sweet, and all enter the Kidney meridian. They serve as deputies to nourish the Yin and clear the heat of the Kidney. They can be used separately or together, depending on the degree of Yin deficiency. 

Spleen-Yang deficiency often occurs in people with chronic disorders of digestion. When the Spleen-Yang is too weak to warm the internal organs, meridians and muscles, it causes a cold sensation and cramping pain of the abdomen and diarrhea. When the Qi in the Middle-Jiao is too weak, distension of the abdomen and poor appetite appear. 

Fu Zi is a very pungent and hot herb. It enters the 12 regular meridians and moves quickly without any staying tendency. It can very quickly spread the Yang in the body. With these features, it treats internal cold syndrome. Since Fu Zi can spread the warmth quickly to the whole body through the 12 meridians, it can scatter cold and dampness in the body like the sun with the fog. This is the reason why Fu Zi is a very commonly used herb to treat Bi syndrome caused by cold, dampness and wind, as well as Yang deficiency of the body. Although Fu Zi... 

These herbs are sweet and warm, and enter the Kidney meridian. They can tonify the Kidney-Yang and promote the functions of the Kidney. In formulas that warm the Lower-Jiao, these herbs can be used as deputies, particularly treating coldness due to deficiency of Yang in chronic conditions. They improve the condition of patients slowly but steadily. 

Pao Sheng Jiang is bitter and warm, and enters the Middle-Jiao and the Spleen meridian. It particularly warms the Middle-Jiao and stops bleeding caused by Spleen-Yang deficiency, such as in peptic ulcer, chronic colitis and dysentery. It can also be selected as deputy in formulas that warm the Middle-Jiao. 

Damp-cold accumulation often coexists in Yang deficiency syndrome. Because cold obstructs the meridians, this leads to obstruction of Qi movement and water circulation, and cold-dampness is thus formed. Moreover, when the Yang is too weak to steam the fluid into Qi and Yin, the water metabolism becomes very slow and the water may accumulate in certain places in the body. In this condition, herbs that are warm in nature and have the function of transforming dampness should be used as assistants in formulas. 

This formula is able to warm the meridians and expel cold, tonify the blood and promote blood circulation. It is used to treat cold and painful joints and muscles due to Yang deficiency and blood deficiency with invasion of external cold. A pale tongue with a white coating and a very thready and deep pulse are the important signs of this syndrome. 

Shan Yao is neutral and sweet, and enters the Spleen meridian. It can either tonify the Spleen-Qi or stabilize the Yin. It is especially selected in the formula as deputy to enhance the ability of the chief to tonify the Qi and treat both Qi and Yin deficiency in the Middle-Jiao. Shan Yao also possesses a slightly astringent property, which is helpful in stopping diarrhea. Furthermore, this herb also enters the Lung and Kidney meridians, and is often applied to tonify and stabilize the Qi and Yin of these organs. The common symptoms are lack of appetite, fatigue, loose stool, shortness of breath, thirst and sweating. 

Mu Xiang and Sha Ren are pungent and warm, and enter the Spleen meridian. They are often used as assistants in formulas to regulate the Qi in the lower abdomen and reduce distension and abnormal bowel movement, which are caused by Spleen-Qi deficiency or by the heavy and cloying nature of tonifying herbs. In this way, they can accelerate food and water transportation and transformation in the Middle-Jiao. 

Hu Tao Ren is sweet and warm, and enters the Kidney and Lung meridians. E Jiao is sweet and neutral, and enters the Liver and Kidney meridians. Both are moist in nature and are able to moisten the Lung and tonify the Kidney-essence and blood. They are mainly selected in formulas to treat chronic conditions of Lung-Qi deficiency where Kidney deficiency is obviously involved. The difference between these two substances is that Hu Tao Ren is more suitable for treating Kidney-Yin and Kidney-essence deficiency E Jiao is better suited for use in cases of blood deficiency. 

Shu Di Huang, as deputy, treats the coexisting syndromes. This herb is sweet and warm, and enters the Kidney meridian. It can tonify the blood and Kidney-essence, which are weakened in chronic conditions or in constitutional conditions of Lung-Qi deficiency. 

Zhi Gan Cao is sweet and slightly warm, which are the principal properties of herbs that can tonify the Qi. It enters all the ordinary meridians, can tonify the Qi, moderate the speed of Qi and blood, and harmonize the functions of the internal organs. It is particularly selected in the formula with a large dosage as chief to calm the mind and relieve the palpitations and restlessness caused by Heart-Qi deficiency. 

Fu Shen is neutral and bland, and enters the Heart and Spleen meridians. It is able to tonify the Heart-Qi and Spleen-Qi and calm the mind, thereby treating restlessness and insomnia. Since it is neutral and bland, and gentle in property and action, it is often used in the diet for chronic conditions of Heart-Qi deficiency. 

Suan Zao Ren is sweet, sour and neutral, and enters the Heart and Liver meridians. It nourishes the blood of the Heart and Liver and improves sleep. It is very useful in formulas to treat restlessness and insomnia caused by blood deficiency. 

Mai Men Dong is sweet and cold, and enters the Heart, Lung and Stomach meridians. Although it is often used to nourish the Yin and reduce heat, it has a gentle function of tonifying the Qi of the Heart and Lung. It is a perfect choice in a formula when both the Qi and Yin are deficient. 

The stable relationship between the Heart and Kidney is important in maintaining the normal mental state. It is described as the Heart-fire descends to the Lower-Jiao to warm the Kidney-water and the Kidney-water ascends to the Upper-Jiao to calm the Heart-fire. Both herbs are cold in nature and enter the Heart and Kidney meridians. They are able to nourish the Heart-Yin and reduce the excess lire and empty-fire there. They are often chosen in formulas to treat restlessness and palpitation caused by Yin deficiency with heat in the Heart. 

These two herbs are pungent, bitter and warm, and enter the Heart meridian. They are able to eliminate the invisible phlegm, open the chest and calm the mind. They can be applied in the formula if phlegm is generated by deficiency of the Spleen-Qi and Heart-Qi, and the phlegm covers the mind and leads to insomnia, palpitations and restlessness. 

Bai Shao Yao is bitter, sour and slightly cold. It enters the Liver and Spleen meridians. Its sour and cold property can nourish the Yin directly and generate the substantial part of the blood. It is particularly effective for softening the Liver, thereby relieving cramp of the muscles and tendons. It can also effectively moisten the internal organs and the orifices, so it can treat the symptoms of dryness of skin and eyes caused by Liver-blood deficiency. 

Shu Di Huang is sweet and slightly warm, and enters the Kidney and Liver meridians. As it is able to tonify the Kidney-essence and the Liver-blood directly, the function of tonifying the blood is quite strong. It is often used as chief in the formula for serious conditions of blood and essence deficiency, such as in those with a poor constitution, retardation of children and degeneration in elderly people. In the formula, this herb should be used with some herbs that regulate the Qi in the Middle- and Lower-Jiao to reduce its rich and heavy nature. 

Ji Xue Teng is bitter, slightly sweet and warm, and enters the Kidney and Liver meridians. It is a special herb for tonifying the blood as it is also able to promote the blood circulation and relax the tendons. It is therefore selected in formulas to relieve stiffness, tingling, numbness, pain and an uneasy feeling in the body, such as in Bi syndrome and in restless leg disorder due to blood deficiency with Qi and blood stagnation. 

Mu Gua is sour and warm, and enters the Liver and Spleen meridians. It has no function to tonify the blood, but is able to nourish the tendons, expel dampness and open the meridians. It is selected in formulas to relieve spasm and stiffness of the limbs due to Yin and Liver-blood deficiency. 

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