Herbs That Drain Downward
Herbs That Drain Downward:
- Purgatives - constipation from interior-heat or interior-cold (both are interior excesses).
- Moist laxatives - often nuts or seeds, lubricates the intestines; mild in nature - elderly or weakness from febrile disease or from child birth.
- Harsh expellants - induce diarrhea; only for severe cases - injures the yin and qi; due to stagnation of fluids in thoracic or abdominal cavities or poor water metabolism.
Section Herbal Summary:
- Da Huang, Mang Xiao, Fan Xie Ye - bitter, cold purgatives.
- Da Huang - drains heat and purges accumulations, fire; reduces heat toxicity; clears heat from the stomach and intestines and reduces heat toxicity at blood level.
- Mang Xiao - moistens dryness and softens hardness - hard and dry stool.
- Fan Xie Ye - similar to Da Huang, good for edema.
- Huo Ma Ren, Yu Li Ren - moistens intestines.
- Huo Ma Ren - more gentle in action, nourishes, used in deficient disorders.
- Yu Li Ren - stonger, promotes urination and treats edema; excessive disorders.
- Gan Sui, Da Ji, Yuan Hua - severe edema and fluids in the abdomen and chest; only for short term usage.
- Qian Niu Zi is more moderate in nature in this grouping; can be used for intestinal worms and food stagnation.
TCM Herbal Sources and More Information
The information on our site is drawn from our own lecture notes and clinical experience. The following lecture notes were used within this section:
- Jin, Yan Ping: New England School of Acupuncture, CHM Pharmacopoeia I and II, Formulas I and II Lecture Notes
For a complete list of valuable resources, see our Herbal Medicine Resources section. The most recommended texts are below:
