TCM Herbs by Channel Influences

TCM Herbal Database - Materia Medica - Channels Influenced

Within Traditional Chinese Medicine, herbs are divided into many categorizations which help to ensure they are used effectively. Below you will find herbs categorized by the meridians, or channels, that the herbs will influence. When preparing formulas for a given condition you may use herbs that either effect a particular meridian or organ directly or herbs that will help lead the properties of other herbs into a particular channel.

For example, you may want an herbal formula that cools lung heat for a cough. You can use herbs that are directly cooling on the lungs or a combination of herbs that are cooling and have a strong influence on leading that property of the herbs to the lungs.

You may also use herbs to protect a certain channel or organ system from side effects of stronger herbs that you are using to treat a particular condition.

Listed below are the channels influenced along with the number of herbs within each meridian that are contained in our tcm herbal database.

375 TCM Herbs Listed By The Channels They Influence

Below is a table of the Traditional Chinese Medicine herbs categorized by the channels they influence. You may click on a channel to view the names and functions of each individual herb as well as to learn more about the channel influences. You may also view the herbs categorized by properties and functions.

Channel Influenced	Num of Herbs
Gall Bladder	22
Heart	85
Kidney	102
Large Intestine	71
Liver	200
Lung	145
Pericardium	7
Small Intestine	22
Spleen	117
Stomach	135
Triple Heater	5
Urinary Bladder	43

Some Herbs To Peruse...

Jiu Chao Zhi Mu Wine Fried Anemarrhena Rhizome

This is the wine fried version of zhi mu. For general usage information see the Zhi Mu page. Frying helps to moderate the bitter and cold aspects.

Functional Grouping

Herbs That Drain Fire

Properties

Channels Influenced

Jiu Chao Zhi Mu

Tu Bie Chong Wingless Cockroach

Breaks up and drives out blood stasis - wide variety of blood stasis such as abdominal masses and amenorrhea, numb and swollen tongue due to blood stasis.
Renews joints, sinews, bones - contusions, fractures, lacerations.

Functional Grouping

Herbs That Invigorate Blood

Properties

Channels Influenced

Tu Bie Chong

Mu Hu Die Oroxylum Seeds

Moistens the lungs and clears and the voice - cough, sore throat, hoarseness.
Comforts the liver and regulates qi - flank and epigastric pain due to constrained qi.

Functional Grouping

Herbs That Relieve Coughing and Wheezing

Properties

Channels Influenced

Mu Hu Die

Gan Jiang Dried Ginger Root

Warms the middle and expels cold - warms spleen and stomach both in conditions of excess due to externally contacted cold, as well as cold from deficiency due to yang qi deficiency.
Rescues devastated yang, expels interior cold - very weak pulse and cold limbs.
Warms the lungs and transforms phlegm - lung cold with thin, watery or white sputum.
Warms the channels, stops bleeding - hemorrhage of various types, especially for uterine bleeding (must be due to cold - chronic and pale in color, with cold limbs, soggy pulse).