天麻钩藤饮

• Function: Calms the Liver and extinguishes wind, clears heat and invigorates blood, tonifies the Liver and Kidney.
• Core pathomechanism: Liver yang hyperactivity with Liver wind disturbing above. Liver-Kidney yin deficiency fails to restrain Liver yang, causing Liver yang to become hyperactive and rise, transforming into heat and generating wind, which also disturbs the movement of qi and blood and unsettles the spirit (Shen).

1. When it is used

This formula is commonly used for patterns of Liver yang rising and internal stirring of Liver wind. Its composition combines calming the Liver, subduing yang, clearing heat, invigorating blood, and tonifying in a single formula, addressing both the root and the branch, with emphasis on treating the branch.

2. Pattern and presentation

Main symptoms:

• Headache, dizziness, insomnia.
• Tinnitus, bitter taste in the mouth.

Generalized and accompanying symptoms:

• Red face and eyes, irritability and being prone to anger.
• Red tongue with yellow coating.

3. Tongue and pulse

• Tongue: Red tongue body with yellow coating.
• Pulse: Wiry, rapid pulse.

4. Granule conversion and dose

Calculation of the total raw herb weight in the original formula:

Tian Ma (gastrodia rhizome) 9 g + Gou Teng (uncaria stem with hooks) 12 g + Shi Jue Ming (abalone shell) 18 g + Zhi Zi (gardenia fruit) 9 g + Huang Qin (scutellaria root) 9 g + Niu Xi (achyranthes root) 12 g + Du Zhong (eucommia bark) 9 g + Yi Mu Cao (leonurus herb) 9 g + Sang Ji Sheng (mulberry mistletoe) 9 g + Ye Jiao Teng (polygonum multiflorum stem) 9 g + Fu Shen (poria with host wood) 9 g = 114 g.