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[Shengma] (Rhizoma Cimicifugae)
Sweet and bitter in flavor, neutral and slightly cold in nature, non-toxic. It primarily resolves various toxins, kills hundred spirits and old entities, wards off warm epidemics, miasma, evil qi, and causes gu poison to be vomited out upon entering the mouth. It treats zhong'e abdominal pain, shiqi du zhu (seasonal toxic stagnation), headache with chills and fever, wind swelling and various toxins, sore throat, and oral ulcers. *Yaoxing Lun* states that it treats pediatric wind convulsions, fright epilepsy, and seasonal febrile diseases; it can treat wind swelling and pain of the gums, floating and rotting teeth with foul odor, and heat toxin pus and blood. It clears wind toxin and heat obstruction in the heart and lungs, abscesses, and smallpox. Ri Huazi says: It calms the soul and stabilizes the spirit, treating ghost possession weeping, wandering wind swelling and toxins, and mouth gangrene. Modern physicians use it to treat sore throat and swelling, oral and tongue sores, relieve headache from shaohan (cold damage), and for all types of swelling toxins, showing remarkable efficacy. Finely chopped one liang, decocted in one sheng of water to obtain a thick liquid; upon ingestion, it immediately expels toxic vapors by vomiting.

[Cheqianzi] (Semen Plantaginis)
Sweet and salty in flavor, cold in nature, non-toxic. It primarily treats qi long (urinary retention), relieves pain, promotes urination via the water pathways, and removes damp-bi. For men, it treats internal injury; for women, it treats dribbling urine, food stagnation, nourishes the lung and strengthens yin, benefits essence, enables conception, brightens the eyes, and treats redness and pain. Leaves and roots: Sweet in flavor, cold in nature. They primarily treat metal wounds to stop bleeding, epistaxis and blood stasis, blood masses with lower bleeding, and red urine. They stop irritability and descend qi, and eliminate small parasites. *Yaoxing Lun* states: It serves as the sovereign herb. Sweet in flavor, neutral in nature. It can remove wind-heat from the liver, toxic wind attacking the eyes, red painful eyes, nebula, headache with tearing, suppress danshi toxicity, and remove vexing heat in the chest and heart. Leaves: Primarily treat seminal emission and hematuria; they can tonify the five zang organs, brighten the eyes, promote urination, and unblock the five types of lin syndrome. Ri Huazi says: Used with Changshan (Radix Dichroae) as the assistant herb. It unblocks dribbling urine, strengthens yang, and secures escaping essence. Another view states: The leaves are currently used by physicians raw, ground and mixed with water for drinking, which is very effective for treating epistaxis.

[Zexie] (Rhizoma Alismatis)
Sweet and salty in flavor, cold in nature, non-toxic. It primarily treats wind-cold-damp bi, difficulty in lactation, reduces water retention, nourishes the five zang organs, boosts qi and strength, promotes robustness, tonifies deficiency and damage from five labors, removes fullness in the five zang organs, raises yin qi, stops seminal emission, treats xiaoke (wasting-thirst), lin dribbling, and drives away stagnant water in the bladder and sanjiao. Leaves: Salty in flavor, non-toxic. They primarily treat complete lack of milk secretion, difficult labor, and strengthen yin qi. Seeds: Sweet in flavor, non-toxic. They primarily treat wind-bi, xiaoke, benefit kidney qi, strengthen yin, tonify insufficiency, and boost qi. *Yaoxing Lun* states: Bitter in flavor. It primarily treats spontaneous seminal emission due to kidney deficiency, treats the five lins, promotes bladder heat clearance, and unblocks water pathways. Ri Huazi says: It treats the five labors and seven injuries, primarily addresses vertigo, tinnitus due to ear deficiency, muscle and tendon contraction, unblocks the small intestine, stops dribbling urine, hematuria, induces labor, treats dystocia, tonifies women's deficiencies, and enables conception. Leaves: Strengthen the water organ (kidney), promote lactation, and unblock blood vessels. Aversion: Haige (Concha Arcae), Wen Ge (Concha Meretricis).