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[Flavor and Nature]
Sour, astringent, non-toxic. Yin within Yin. Enters the Qi level of the Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian and Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian.

[Indications]
Warms the Middle Jiao. Disperses cold-dampness Bi syndrome. Strengthens Yin, benefits essence. Treats tinnitus. Tonifies Kidney deficiency. Promotes sexual function (Xing Yang Dao). Augments essence. Stops urinary incontinence in the elderly.
Warms the waist and knees. Assists the Water Organ (Kidney). Disperses all types of Qi stagnation. Breaks up mass accumulations (Zheng Jie), warms the Liver. Used in Zhang Zhongjing's Ba Wei Wan (Eight-Ingredient Pill with Rehmannia) for its sour and astringent flavor, which can secure essence and arrest sliding/leakage.

[Flavor and Nature]
Pungent, warm, toxic.

[Indications]
Eliminates wind-pathogenic factors. Warms the Middle Jiao, dispels cold-dampness Bi syndrome. Firms teeth and hair. Brightens the eyes. Long-term use makes the body light, improves complexion, delays aging, increases longevity, and enhances spiritual clarity. Treats throat obstruction (Hou Bi), vomiting and rebellious Qi, hernia, and mass accumulation (Jia Zha). Expels old blood and postpartum residual diseases causing abdominal pain. Induces sweating. Benefits the five Zang organs. Relieves rebellious Qi and cough. Treats chronic wind-dampness Bi syndrome. Treats aversion to wind causing Bi syndrome throughout the body and limbs. Treats swelling and mobility of the mouth and teeth. Treats amenorrhea in women. Treats postpartum lochia-induced dysentery and chronic dysentery of many years. Treats cold pain in the abdomen. Promotes hair growth and eliminates scars. Can descend swelling and dampness.
Incompatible with: Ku Lou (Trichosanthes Fruit), Fang Kui (Peucedani Radix). Feared by: Shi Huang (Realgar).

[Flavor and Nature]
Pungent, warm, toxic. Pepper is a pure Yang substance, entering the Qi level of the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian, and the Right Kidney Mingmen (Gate of Life).

[Indications]
Treats cough and rebellious Qi caused by pathogenic factors. Warms the Middle Jiao. Disperses dead muscle tissue in bones, joints, and skin. Treats Bi syndrome with alternating chills and fever. Directs Qi downward. Eliminates cold in the six Fu organs. Treats Shang Han (Cold Damage), Wen Nue (Warm Malaria). Treats severe wind disease with anhidrosis. Treats retained food, intestinal rumbling, diarrhea, and seminal emission. Treats edema and jaundice. Kills parasites, resolves fish toxicity. Long-term use opens the Cou Li (pores/striae), unblocks blood vessels. Firms teeth and hair. Brightens the eyes. Harmonizes joints. Resists cold and heat. Can be made into plasters. Treats head wind with tearing. Treats paralysis or weakness of the waist and feet. Treats deficiency damage with retained stagnation. Invigorates blood. Treats cough and cold pain in the abdomen. Eliminates toothache. Breaks up mass accumulations, opens the chest. Treats epidemic febrile diseases. Treats postpartum retained blood. Strengthens Yang. Treats sweaty yin (scrotal sweat). Warms the waist and knees. Reduces urination frequency. Stops vomiting and rebellious Qi. Enhances spiritual clarity. Removes old blood, generates new blood. Benefits the five Zang organs. Promotes lactation. Eliminates scars. Promotes hair growth. Disperses cold and removes dampness. Resolves depression and stagnation. Digests retained food. Unblocks the San Jiao (Triple Burner). Warms the Spleen and Stomach. Tonifies the Right Kidney and Mingmen. Kills Ascaris, stops diarrhea. However, the red husk of pepper has a pungent and numbing flavor, and its nature is warm and hot. It inherits the Yang of the South and receives the Yin of the West; thus, it can enter the Lung channel to disperse cold.