[Continued from earlier article dated 2nd July 2009]
The Five Flavours of Chinese herbs
The flavour of some of the herbs are often described below are different from their true tastes, nonetheless they are grouped together according to the various effectiveness. The various groups of herbs are explained below according to flavour grouping: - [1] Sweet [2] Sour [3] Bitter [4] Salty and [5] Pungent. There are two more groups and they that are Tasteless and Astringent.
[1] Sweet flavour herbs
The sweet flavour herbs have the effect of nourishing, tonifying replenishing and enriching the3 different parts of the human body or its organs. It has the impact on normalising the function of the spleen and the stomach as well as harmonising the properties of different herbs in combination, relieving spasm pain. Herbs of this group are effective usually in treatment of dry cough, lack of spleen – stomach co-ordination, constipation caused by dry intestine, various pains and the syndrome of the deficiency type, etc. Some of the sweet flavour herbs have detoxication effects.
[2] Sour flavour herbs
This group of herbs has the effects of inducing astringency and arresting discharge. Sour flavour herbs are used for treating:
[a] chronic diarrhea [f] emission
[b] sweating due to debility [g] spermatorrhea
[c] chronic cough [h] enuresis (involuntary urination)
[d] chronic leukorrhagia [I] frequent micturition (having the urge to urinate).
[e] metrorrhagia (non-menstruation) or metro-stasis (stoppage of menses)
[3] Bitter flavour herbs
Bitter flavour herbs have the effects of purging out pathogenic fire, clearing heat, sinking of the adverse Qi to treat cough and vomitting, cough and vomiting, cough with dyspnea (laboured breathing) eliminating dampness, relaxing the bowels, constipation due to heat excess, damp-heat syndrome as well as damp-cold syndrome etc.
[4] Salty flavour herbs
Herbs of this group have the effects of relieving constipation, softening and resolving hard mass. It is usually used for treating dry stool, scrofula (disease with glandular swelling), goitre, abdominal mass, etc.
[5] Pungent flavour herbs
This group of herbs has the effect of promoting the circulation of the vital energy and the blood as well as dispersing exo-pathogens (external micro-organisms that can cause diseases) from the body. Pungent flavour herbs such as garlic are usually used to treat blood stasis, stagnation of vital energy (Qi flow) and other superficial and mild illness caused by exo-pathogens, etc.
[6] Tasteless flavour herbs
This group of herbs has the effects of excreting dampness and inducing diuresis (sweating). It is commonly used for treating edema (water retention) and dysuria (difficulty in urination), etc.
[7] Astringent flavour herbs
This group of herbs has the harsh, biting quality. Astringent flavour herbs have the similar actions as those of the Sour flavour herbs.
Generally, herbs of the same flavour will have similar actions and herbs of different tastes will have quite a different actions. Nonetheless, some herbs have the same property, but have different flavour and vice-versa and as such, their effects are not all the same.
The property and the flavour of a herb should be considered as an integrated whole and not be treated separately
W Y Ho
16th July 2009
[To be continued next week – Action of Lifting, lowering. Floating and Sinking ]
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Maestro D’Taijiquan conducts Taijiquan and Qigong in Petaling Jaya. Please contact Master W. Y. Ho at 012-3319234
