Properties: Pungent, bitter, cold
Meridans Entered:
Primary: Liver, Gallbladder and Heart
Divergent Channels: San Jiao, Pericardium
Extraordinary Vessels: Yin Wei
Traditional Actions/Indications:
- Invigorates the Blood, dispels Blood Stasis, regulates Qi flow, speeds healing of chronic sores and alleviates pain
Blood Stasis due to trauma (topical and internal)
Chronic sores
Liver Qi Stagnation with chest, flank menstrual and abdominal pain
Especially useful for Liver Qi Stagnation with Heat signs
- Clears Heat and cools the Blood
Xue Level Heat with epistaxis, haematemesis and haematuria
Especially for epistaxis at the onset of menstruation (Inverted menstruation)
- Clears the Heart and Pericardium and opens the Orifices
Phlegm Heat Obstructing the Heart Orifices with anxiety, agitation, seizures or mental derangement
- Benefits the Gallbladder and reduces jaundice
Gallbladder disorders Jaundice
- Expels Gu Parasites
Gu Syndrome with Blood Stasis leading to mental agitation (Fruehauf, 1998)
Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
Suggested Daily Dosage: 5-12g in decoction.
Cautions: Use with cautions for pregnant women because this herb can activate blood and resolve stasis leading to uterine excitation. Do not combine with Ding Xiang.
Due to its ability to increase bile secretion, caution should be used in cases of gallstones and avoided in biliary tract obstruction.
Notable Constituents:
- Curcumin
Anti-inflammatory, antineoplastic, hepatoprotective, antifungal and radical scavenger. Also used as a pigment and dye.
- Ar-tumerone
Sesquiterpenoid essential oil that acts as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor probably responsible for anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects, giving turmeric its reputation preventing dementia. It is also the aspect most likely absorbed by the gut (curcuminoids have poor water solubility and bioavailability).
- Tetramethylpyrazine
Alkylpyrazine with roles as an antineoplastic agent, an apoptosis inhibitor, a neuroprotective agent, a vasodilator agent, a platelet aggregation inhibitor and a bacterial metabolite. Also known as ligustrazine and found in natto and fermented cocoa beans. It also acts on purinergic receptor P2RX3 to attenuate acute nociception in dorsal root ganglia and sensory nerve terminals of burned skin.
Notes:
The simplified characters for this herb are 郁金 for which the first character only really translates as "fragrant" or "refined" whereas the traditional character has over 10 meanings that are more appropriate to the usual translation of "constrained" including: "dense", "profound", "melancholy", "gloomy", "resentful" as well as "stagnant" and "putrid". 金 which translates as "metal", or "gold" specifically, has figurative meanings reflecting "wealth", "the sun", "nobility" or "the emperor", all used to refer to the Heart as ruler in Chinese medicine.
Appears in 17 formulae listed on this site: (click to display)
An Gong Niu Huang Wan (Calm the Palace Pill with Ox Gallstone)
From: Systematic Differentiation of Warm Pathogen Diseases by Wu Tang / Wu Ju Tong (1798)
Bu Shen Gu Chi Wan (Tonify the Kidneys to Firm the Teeth Pills)
From: Chengdu Jiuzhitang Jinding Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Da Chang Tu Shi Chen Liao Yang Cao Yao Fang (Large Intestine Rabbit Time Recuperative Herbal Prescription)
From: Treatise on Armament Technology by Mao Yuanyi (1621)
Dang Tan Tang (Flush the Phlegm Decoction)
From: Essays on Medicine Esteeming the Chinese and Respecting the Western by Zang Xi Chun / Zang Shou Fu (1918-1934)
Dian Zhu Wan (Lightning Pearl Pills)
From: Classical Pearls by Heiner Fruehauf (2025)
Huang Dao Yi Huo Luo You (Wood Lock Medicated Balm)
From: Product information sheet by Wong To Yick
Jia Jian Su He Tang (Modified Perilla and Menthol Decoction)
From: New Methods for the Treatment of Gu Syndrome by Lu Shunde (Qing Dynasty)
Li Dan Pai Shi Tang (Boost the Gall Bladder to Expel Stones Decoction)
From: Jiang Chunhua's Prescriptions by Jiang Chunhua (20th Century)
Li Dan Tang (Boost the Gall Bladder Decoction)
From: New Acute Abdomen by Qingdao Taixi Hospital (1978)
Niu Huang Cheng Qi Tang (Ox Gallstone Decoction to Order the Qi)
From: Systematic Differentiation of Warm Pathogen Diseases by Wu Tang / Wu Ju Tong (1798)
Qi Ge San (Open up the Diaphragm Powder)
From: Awakening of the Mind in Medical Studies by Cheng Guo-Peng (1732)
Qing Dan Xie Huo Tang (Clear the Gallbladder and Drain Fire Decoction)
From: Integrated Chinese and Western Medical Treatment of the Acute Abdomen (1973)
Wan Shi Niu Huang Qing Xin Wan (Wan's Ox Gallstone Pill to Clear the Heart)
From: Essential Teachings about Pox and Rashes Passed Down in Medical Lineages (1568)
Xing Ren Hua Shi Tang (Apricot Kernal and Talcum Decoction)
From: Systematic Differentiation of Warm Pathogen Diseases by Wu Tang / Wu Ju Tong (1798)
Xuan Yu Tong Jing Tang (Diffuse Constraint and Unblocks the Channels Decoction)
From: Fu Qing-Zhu's Women's Disorders by Fu Qing-Zhu (1826)
Zhen Gan Fu Sui Tang (Liver Settling Successful Recovery Decoction)
From: Ten Lectures on the Use of Formulas from the Personal Experience of Jiao Shu-De by Jiao Shu-De (2005)
Zi Jing Wu Jia Jiu (Redbud and Acanthopanax Wine)
From: A+ Medical Encyclopedia (2011)
Research Links & References: (click to display)
Research Links:
Reference Notes:
Individual herb information has sourced mainly from TCM Wiki and American Dragon for basic data and then updated manually with my own notes. Zhou, Xie and Yan (2011): Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Vol. 5, and A+ Medical Encyclopaedia have been used for entries not available from those sources with additional material searched for and filled in where available. Western herbs not appearing in the Chinese literature have used Ross (2010): Combining Western Herbs and Chinese Medicine: A Clinical Materia Medica, White Rabbit Institute of Healing and therapeutika.ch. Choices of which source to use or combine have been my own.
These pages are intended to assist clinicians and are not intended for self-diagnosis or treatment for which a qualified professional should be consulted. Actions and indications are taken from traditional uses and do not necessarily reflect the evidence base which should be researched independently. Dosages are for guidance only and will vary dependening on the potency of the batch and the tolerance of the individual so should be evaluated by a professional based on individual needs.
