Another Insight into Liver Disease Treatment, October 6, 2003

Another Insight into Liver Disease Treatment, October 6, 2003

According to “Jin Gui Yao Lue,” the treatment for liver diseases involves “tonifying with sour flavors.” Based on this principle, Dr. Cen Heling from the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that the liver belongs to the wood element and governs the fire aspect; wood generates fire, but fire easily harms yin. Therefore, the primary approach to treating liver diseases should be nourishing yin. There are many yin-tonifying herbs—so which formula should be used? Dr. Cen suggests using paper mulberry as the main ingredient, supplemented with five-flavor berry powder, privet berry, sour jujube, white peony, he shou wu, goji berry, cornelian cherry, bupleurum, dandelion, dang gui, mai dong, and salvia miltiorrhiza. Adding astragalus, black nightshade, and sheng di huang to this formula creates a four-substance (missing chuan xiong), two-to, six-flavor, and five-flavor tonic—a blood-tonifying and blood-regulating formula, quite different from the liver-strengthening formula in Shanxi. Remember this distinction. Mnemonic: Five female jujubes, white head, bupleurum, mountain, and private life.