ABSTRACT

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) appears complicated, since typically a batch of medicine is prepared as a decoction of about 9–18 substances, which constitute the prescription. There are roughly 13,000 medicinal animal and plants used in China and over 100,000 medicinal recipes, or prescriptions, which are recorded in the ancient literature. Controversy surrounds the use of animal parts and threatened animal species and there has been little research to justify the claimed clinical efficacy of many TCM animal products. This chapter provides some examples of complex formulas used in TCM. They are Xiao-Chai-Hu-Tang, Sheng-Mai-San containing ginseng, Ophiopogon, Schizandra, a general tonic for weak pulses including congestive heart failure; Liuwei-Dihuang preparations; Buyang-Huanwu-Tang; Danggui-Buxue-Tang; and Suan Zao Ren Tang. Radix Scutellariae, a bitter and cold herb that enters the gallbladder channel, is good for clearing excessive heat. Liuwei-Dihuang is among the most highly regarded Chinese herbal formulas for nourishing the yin component of the kidney and liver.