Herbology Library
Zhōng Yào Xué — 中药学
Chinese herbal medicine classifies therapeutic substances by their pharmacological action. Each entry here is also part of our Food Library — in AHM, the boundary between food and medicine is often a matter of dose and preparation, not kind. Browse by traditional herb category to understand how each substance works within the broader materia medica.
Therapeutic Properties
Herb Category
Thermal Nature
Tonifies
Clear Heat
3 herbsReduce internal heat from inflammation, infection, or excess Yang patterns.
Clear Heat & Purge Fire
1 herbClear intense heat and fire toxicity — used for severe inflammatory and infectious patterns.
Clear Summer Heat
1 herbRelieve heat exhaustion and summer-heat patterns — cooling and fluid-restoring.
Drain Dampness
1 herbPromote urination and resolve fluid retention, edema, and damp accumulation.
Drain Dampness (Diuretics)
1 herbStronger damp-draining action — for edema, urinary difficulty, and damp-heat in the lower body.
Relieve Dampness
1 herbGently resolve dampness without strong diuresis — for spleen damp patterns and digestive sluggishness.
Tonify Qi
5 herbsStrengthen Qi — for fatigue, weak digestion, low immunity, and post-illness recovery.
Tonify Yin
1 herbReplenish Yin fluids — for dryness, heat in the palms/soles, and night sweats.
Tonify Yang
1 herbStrengthen Yang — for cold limbs, low back weakness, and declining vitality.
Extinguish Wind & Stop Tremors
1 herbSettle internal wind — for tremors, spasms, dizziness, and neurological wind patterns.
Herbs that Release the Exterior: Cool, Acrid
1 herb
Clinically authored and reviewed by Dr. Katrina Chojnicki-Hill, DAOM, AP, Dipl. OM. Cross-referenced against classical AHM sources and the traditional Chinese pharmacological system (Zhōng Yào Xué). For educational purposes only.