Principles of Chinese Medicine Dispensing

There are certain principles in Chinese medicine prescription, so don't take Chinese medicinal materials randomly at home. If these Chinese medicinal materials are taken, they will cause certain side effects, so you should still take them according to the doctor's instructions, especially some tripterygium wilfordii, motherwort and Xanthium sibiricum, etc. These plant-based medicinal materials will also have a relatively large impact on people's bodies after taking them.

1. Single-acting: A single medicine that can produce the expected effect and does not need the assistance of other medicines is called a single-acting medicine. For example, Du Shen Tang, which uses only ginseng, is effective in treating the syndrome of severe deficiency of vital energy.

2. Mutual dependence: The combined use of drugs with similar properties and effects can enhance their original therapeutic effects. For example, gypsum combined with Anemarrhena asphodeloides can enhance the effect of clearing heat and purging fire.

3. Mutual use: that is, the combination of drugs that have certain common properties and effects, with one drug as the main one and the other as the auxiliary one, can improve the efficacy of the main drug.

4. Drug-to-drug toxicity or side effects can be alleviated or eliminated by another drug. For example, the toxicity of raw pinellia can be reduced or eliminated by ginger, so it is said that raw pinellia is afraid of ginger. [5]

5. Mutual antagonism: one drug can reduce or eliminate the toxicity or side effects of another drug. For example, ginger can reduce or eliminate the toxic side effects of raw pinellia, so it is said that ginger can kill the toxicity of raw pinellia.

6. Antagonism: When two drugs are used together, one drug interacts with the other drug, causing the original efficacy to be reduced or even lose its efficacy.

7. On the contrary: that is, the combination of two drugs can produce toxic reactions or side effects. Such as some of the medicines in the “Eighteen Antidotes”.

The first category is plant-based Chinese medicine: Tripterygium wilfordii, Aconitum kusnezoffii, Akebia trifoliata, Quisqualis chinensis, Leonurus japonicus, Xanthium sibiricum, Melia azedarach bark, Radix Trichosanthis, Seed of Pharbitis chinensis, Root of Cherry Blossom, Fritillaria thunbergii, Bellflower, Schizonepeta tenuifolia, Croton, Aloe vera, Clematis chinensis, Acer truncatum, Trillium gracile, Datura, Oleander, Folium Isatidis, Alisma orientalis, Stephania tetrandra, Gelsemium elegans, Senecio tenuifolia, Clove, Syringa syringae, Psoralea corylifolia, Pulsatilla chinensis, Camellia sinensis, Sophora flavescens, Achyranthes bidentata, Rhizoma Cibotii, Cottonseed, Root of Wintersweet, etc.

The second category is animal-based Chinese medicine: fish gall, seahorse, centipede, snake venom, etc.

The third category is mineral Chinese medicines: arsenic-containing ones (arsenic stone, arsenic trioxide, realgar, red alum), mercury-containing ones (cinnabar, mercuric chloride, calomel), lead-containing ones (red lead) and other minerals (alum), etc.

Most Chinese medicines are natural medicines with relatively complex active ingredients, such as alkaloids, saponins, tannins, volatile oils, etc. Since they are medicines, most of them will have side effects to varying degrees. Generally speaking, the side effects of traditional Chinese medicine are smaller than those of artificially synthesized Western medicine, but some drugs are more toxic, such as red arsenic, white arsenic, mercury, blister beetles, green lady bugs, red lady bugs, and raw garcinia. Those with slightly less toxicity include: white aconite, raw aconite, raw Chuanwu, raw Caowu, raw Pinellia, Strychnos nux vomica, croton, raw Arisaema, raw Gelsemium elegans, wolfsbane, henbane, toad venom, earthworm, Strychnos nux vomica, cloud axis seed, maple eggplant, maple eggplant flower, raw sulfur, croton frost, white radish, poppy shell, etc. When using these medicines, you must be cautious. For example, maple leaf wine can be taken orally to treat rheumatoid arthritis, but excessive doses can often cause poisoning and death. Therefore, toxic Chinese herbal medicines must be taken under the guidance of a physician.