https://pharmacopedia.wiki/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Category%3ATCM_herbs 2026-05-28T16:09:40Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.46.0-beta https://pharmacopedia.wiki/index.php?title=Category:TCM_herbs&diff=6927&oldid=prev 2026-05-23T19:03:33Z

<p>Create canonical category-page article (history-first)</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>A &#039;&#039;&#039;TCM herb&#039;&#039;&#039; is a plant medicine used within the [[wikipedia:Traditional Chinese medicine|Traditional Chinese medicine]] system, the indigenous medical tradition of China whose continuous written transmission spans more than two millennia. TCM organises its pharmacopoeia by the energetic properties of each medicine (the Four Natures of cold, cool, warm, hot; the Five Tastes of sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty; the meridian channels each medicine &quot;enters&quot;; the direction of action of ascending, descending, floating, sinking) and by therapeutic category (medicines that release the exterior, clear heat, drain dampness, warm the interior, regulate qi, invigorate blood, calm the spirit, and many others). The foundational pharmacopoeial text, the &#039;&#039;[[wikipedia:Shennong Ben Cao Jing|Shennong Bencao Jing]]&#039;&#039; of the early Han dynasty (transmitting earlier traditions), catalogues 365 medicines; the Ming-dynasty &#039;&#039;[[wikipedia:Bencao Gangmu|Bencao Gangmu]]&#039;&#039; compiled by [[wikipedia:Li Shizhen|Li Shizhen]] over twenty-seven years and published in 1596 expanded the catalogue to 1,892 entries with 11,000 prescriptions, and is the single most influential text in the TCM materia medica.<br /> <br /> The clinical use of TCM herbs proceeds almost entirely through compound formulas (&#039;&#039;fang&#039;&#039;), not single plants. The classical formulas of the &#039;&#039;Shanghan Lun&#039;&#039; (the Treatise on Cold Damage, second century CE, by [[wikipedia:Zhang Zhongjing|Zhang Zhongjing]]) and the &#039;&#039;Jingui Yaolue&#039;&#039; (the Essentials from the Golden Cabinet, also Zhang) remain the foundation of contemporary TCM practice; formulas such as &#039;&#039;Xiao Yao San&#039;&#039; (the Free and Easy Wanderer powder, the most-prescribed TCM formula globally for liver-qi stagnation and depression), &#039;&#039;Suan Zao Ren Tang&#039;&#039; (the Sour Jujube Seed decoction for insomnia), &#039;&#039;Si Wu Tang&#039;&#039; (the Four-Substance decoction, the foundational blood-tonic for gynaecological use), and &#039;&#039;Liu Wei Di Huang Wan&#039;&#039; (the Six-Ingredient Pill with Rehmannia, the foundational kidney-yin tonic) have been used essentially unchanged for fifteen hundred years. The contemporary clinical interface with Western medicine has been substantially shaped by the standardised concentrated-granule preparations of Taiwan and Japan and by the integrative-medicine practice of mainland China, where TCM and Western medicine are taught alongside one another in the official curriculum.<br /> <br /> The TCM pharmacopoeia has produced several of the most-studied plant medicines of the past four decades. &#039;&#039;&#039;[[wikipedia:Artemisinin|Artemisinin]]&#039;&#039;&#039;, isolated by [[wikipedia:Tu Youyou|Tu Youyou]] from &#039;&#039;Artemisia annua&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Qing Hao&#039;&#039;) in 1972 during Project 523 (the secret Chinese antimalarial-research programme of the Vietnam-War era), is the foundation of modern artemisinin-based combination therapy for malaria and was recognised with the 2015 Nobel Prize. &#039;&#039;&#039;[[wikipedia:Ephedra|Ephedrine]]&#039;&#039;&#039; was isolated from &#039;&#039;Ephedra sinica&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Ma Huang&#039;&#039;) by Nagai in 1885 and was the original sympathomimetic adrenergic decongestant. The contemporary research literature on &#039;&#039;&#039;[[wikipedia:Astragalus propinquus|astragalus]]&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Huang Qi&#039;&#039;), &#039;&#039;&#039;[[wikipedia:Schisandra chinensis|schisandra]]&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Wu Wei Zi&#039;&#039;), &#039;&#039;&#039;[[wikipedia:Salvia miltiorrhiza|dan shen]]&#039;&#039;&#039; (Chinese sage, the cardiovascular medicine), &#039;&#039;&#039;[[wikipedia:Panax ginseng|ginseng]]&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Ren Shen&#039;&#039;), and &#039;&#039;&#039;[[wikipedia:Bupleurum chinense|bupleurum]]&#039;&#039;&#039; (&#039;&#039;Chai Hu&#039;&#039;) is extensive, with controlled-trial evidence for selected indications.<br /> <br /> The pharmaceutical preparation of TCM herbs is itself a substantial discipline. &#039;&#039;Paozhi&#039;&#039; (the classical processing of crude herbs) modifies the energetic properties and the safety profile of many medicines: &#039;&#039;Fu Zi&#039;&#039; (the lateral root of &#039;&#039;Aconitum carmichaelii&#039;&#039;, a yang-rescuing medicine in serious cold-collapse) is detoxified by salting and steaming before use, transforming the lethal alkaloid aconitine into less-toxic benzoylaconine; honey-frying of &#039;&#039;Gan Cao&#039;&#039; (licorice) shifts the taste from sweet-neutral to sweet-warm and emphasises the tonic effect; vinegar-frying of &#039;&#039;Chai Hu&#039;&#039; (bupleurum) directs the medicine into the liver channel; wine-frying of &#039;&#039;Da Huang&#039;&#039; (rhubarb) moderates the cathartic effect. The contemporary granule preparations have introduced industrial-scale extraction and spray-drying, with the resulting trade-off between standardisation and the traditional individualised practitioner formulation.<br /> <br /> The contemporary safety-pharmacology literature has identified several specific TCM-medicine concerns. &#039;&#039;Aristolochia&#039;&#039; species (&#039;&#039;Ma Dou Ling&#039;&#039;, &#039;&#039;Guan Mu Tong&#039;&#039;, and others) contain aristolochic acid, identified in the late 1990s as the cause of &quot;Chinese herb nephropathy&quot; and as a strong human carcinogen; the implicated species are now restricted or banned in many jurisdictions, although misidentification and adulteration remain occasional issues. &#039;&#039;Ma Huang&#039;&#039; (ephedra) products were withdrawn from the U.S. market in 2004 after cardiovascular events with the herbal-supplement formulations. The medicines containing &#039;&#039;Aconitum&#039;&#039; alkaloids require expert practitioner supervision because of the narrow therapeutic index. The licorice (&#039;&#039;Gan Cao&#039;&#039;) contains glycyrrhizin and produces dose-related hypokalemia, pseudohyperaldosteronism, and hypertension at chronic high doses.<br /> <br /> == Herbs indexed ==<br /> <br /> The TCM herbs of established clinical use are progressively indexed as their individual monographs are built. The foundational set includes: astragalus (&#039;&#039;Astragalus propinquus&#039;&#039;, Huang Qi), schisandra (&#039;&#039;Schisandra chinensis&#039;&#039;, Wu Wei Zi), dan shen (&#039;&#039;Salvia miltiorrhiza&#039;&#039;), ginseng (&#039;&#039;Panax ginseng&#039;&#039;, Ren Shen), bupleurum (&#039;&#039;Bupleurum chinense&#039;&#039;, Chai Hu), rehmannia (&#039;&#039;Rehmannia glutinosa&#039;&#039;, Sheng/Shu Di Huang), peony (&#039;&#039;Paeonia lactiflora&#039;&#039;, Bai Shao / Chi Shao), chrysanthemum (&#039;&#039;Chrysanthemum × morifolium&#039;&#039;, Ju Hua), goji (&#039;&#039;Lycium barbarum&#039;&#039;), fo-ti (&#039;&#039;Polygonum multiflorum&#039;&#039;, He Shou Wu), Chinese skullcap (&#039;&#039;Scutellaria baicalensis&#039;&#039;, Huang Qin), Chinese liquorice (&#039;&#039;Glycyrrhiza uralensis&#039;&#039;, Gan Cao), dong quai (&#039;&#039;Angelica sinensis&#039;&#039;), reishi (&#039;&#039;Ganoderma lucidum&#039;&#039;), Chinese yam (&#039;&#039;Dioscorea opposita&#039;&#039;), codonopsis (&#039;&#039;Codonopsis pilosula&#039;&#039;, Dang Shen), poria (&#039;&#039;Wolfiporia cocos&#039;&#039;), gardenia (&#039;&#039;Gardenia jasminoides&#039;&#039;, Zhi Zi), Chinese rhubarb (&#039;&#039;Rheum palmatum&#039;&#039;), and the Bencao foundational set documented by Li Shizhen.<br /> <br /> == Notes on scope ==<br /> <br /> The boundary of this category is &quot;plant medicine of established use in Traditional Chinese medicine, with a dedicated wiki monograph.&quot; Compound formulas (the &#039;&#039;Shanghan Lun&#039;&#039; formulas and their successors) are referenced on the individual plant pages and may be given their own pages where the formula is the subject of contemporary clinical research. The non-plant entries of the TCM materia medica (the mineral &#039;&#039;zhi&#039;&#039; medicines, the animal-derived medicines including those that raise conservation concerns) are referenced for context where relevant but are not in this plant-category. The classical TCM theoretical framework (Yin-Yang, Five Phases, Zang-Fu organ theory, meridian channels) is described on the [[wikipedia:Traditional Chinese medicine|main TCM article]] and on the individual herb pages where the theory informs the clinical use.<br /> <br /> == About these pages ==<br /> <br /> This category page is an encyclopedia article about its subject. The actual index of herbs belonging to the category is generated automatically by the wiki engine, from category-membership declarations on the individual herb pages, and appears at the foot of the page below the references.<br /> <br /> == References ==<br /> <br /> &lt;references/&gt;<br /> <br /> [[Category:Plants]]<br /> [[Category:Herbal_medicines]]<br /> [[Category:CuratedCategoryPage]]</div>

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