Nature: sweet, slightly warm

Enters: Liver, Heart, Kidney

Actions: Nourishes blood and Yin; supports the Jing and marrow.

Indications:
• Blood deficiency: sallow face, dizziness, insomnia, palpitations, irregular menstruation, uterine bleeding, postpartum bleeding.
• Kidney Yin deficiency: tidal fever, night sweats, seminal emission, steaming bone disorder, wasting and thirsting disorder (may correspond with diabetes), low back and joint pain, vertigo.
• Jing and blood/Yin deficiency: weak lumbar region, knees and lower extremities, dizziness, poor hearing and vision, early greying of hair.
• Very greasy – can cause nausea and damage the digestion (often combined with or toasted with Chen pi and Sha ren).
• Shu di’s function to nourish the Jing is not as strong as Lu rong.
• May lower blood pressure and serum cholesterol.
• Bensky/Gamble: compared to He shou wu, Shu di is thought to focus more on the kidneys, while He shou wu focuses more on the liver. [Though preparing He shou wu with black soy beans enhances its action on the kidneys.]
PFGC: Treats asthma due to Yin deficiency and failure of the kidneys to absorb Qi.
• Taxation cough.
• Kidney deficiency leading to inhibition of the kidneys’ filtering process, causing decreased urination and eventually edema.
• Treats injury to the Yin layer of all organ networks.
Hsu: Cardiotonic; dilates renal blood vessels, diuretic; hypoglycemiant.
Yoga: P, V-; K and Ama +
• Tonic, rejuvenative, aphrodisiac, demulcent, laxative, emmenagogue.
• For weak kidneys, lumbar pain, sexual debility, irregular menses, cirrhosis, anemia, hair loss, diabetes, senility.
DY: With Dang gui to nourish blood, enrich Yin, supplement the liver and kidneys, downbear the Lung Qi and promote Qi intake by the kidneys, stop cough, and calm asthma. See Dang gui for specific indications and notes.
• Shu di and Dang gui are probably the two most effective medicinal substances for treating constipation due to blood deficiency.
• Shu di is incompatible with animal blood, onions, chives, turnips, radishes, and garlic.

Dose: 9-30g