Nature: sweet, neutral
Enters: Lung, Liver, Kidney
Actions: Stops bleeding; nourishes blood; nourishes Lung Yin and moistens the Lungs.
Indications:
• Any bleeding leading to blood deficiency: hematemesis, hemafecia, epistaxis, uterine bleeding, consumptive disorders with coughing of blood.
• Blood deficiency: dizziness, palpitations, sallow face, vertigo, insomnia.
• Liver Yin deficiency: restlessness, insomnia.
• Lung Yin deficiency: dry cough, asthma.
• Increases WBC’s for cancer, anemia.
• Greasier than Shu di (commonly combined with herbs such as Pei lan, Huo xiang, etc.).
• The substance of choice for blood deficiency with concurrent loss of blood.
• Usually dissolved into a strained decoction or wine, or used in pills.
MLT: Regularly taken by older women to counteract symptoms of dryness associated with aging.
Hsu: Aids in blood clotting, increases RBC count and amount of hemoglobin in the blood, aids against shock due to external wounds.
DY: With Huang lian to drain fire and enrich Yin according to the method of draining the south (i.e. fire) and supplementing the north (i.e. water), reestablish the interaction between the heart and kidneys, quiet the spirit, and treat dysentery damaging Yin. For indications such as:
– 1. Vexation, agitation, and insomnia due to febrile disease which has damaged Yin, deficiency fire, or heart and kidneys not communicating. (Huang Lian E Jiao Tang) Unprepared, or, even better, wine-processed Huang lian should be used.
– 2. Dysentery which damages Yin with pus and blood in the stools due to damp-heat in the large intestine.
– This is a key pair for heart-kidney disharmony, with symptoms mentioned above, plus many psychological disorders, loss of memory, profuse dreams, and tendency to wake up easily and frequently.
• Some treatises say that when E jiao is stored and aged, it is of superior quality. It is then called Chen e jiao.
• E jiao has a remarkable ability to promote red blood cell production.
Dose: 3-15g