🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Drugs for expelling exterior pathogens refer to six external pathogenic factors in nature—wind, cold, summer-heat, dampness, dryness, and fire—that invade the body surface. Traditional Chinese medicine holds: "For conditions affecting the skin, induce sweating to expel them." Meaning, when wind-cold, wind-heat, or summer-dampness invade the surface, sweating therapy can be used. These drugs are collectively known as exterior-pathogen-expelling agents. Their main functions are: dispersing and penetrating, relieving surface pathogens, and regulating nutritive and defensive qi.
① Schizonepeta (Jing Jie): Schizonepeta is the entire herb of Schizonepeta tenuifolia (Lamiaceae). It contains about 1.8% volatile oil, highest in the spike. Schizonepeta has mild antipyretic effects; its decoction inhibits various pathogenic bacteria. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it warm in nature, pungent in taste, with functions to release the exterior, dispel wind, and relieve rashes. Used for headaches due to cold, sore throat, early measles, incomplete eruption, and skin sores. Dosage: 3–9g.
② Arctium Fruit (Niu Bang Zi): Arctium fruit comes from Arctium lappa (Asteraceae). It contains arctiin, isoarctiin, vitamin B2, etc. The root contains various polyphenolic substances, organic acids, and some polyacetylenes. Pharmacological tests show most components in arctium and its root possess antibacterial and antifungal properties; anti-tumor substances exist in the root. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it cool in nature, pungent and bitter in taste, with functions to disperse wind-heat, clear the lungs, relieve rashes, soothe the throat, and reduce swelling. Used for cough due to wind-heat, sore throat, difficult expectoration, pruritic rashes, and boils. Dosage: 3–9g; contraindicated for those with spleen-stomach deficiency-cold or frequent diarrhea.
③ Angelica dahurica (Bai Zhi): Angelica dahurica is the root of Angelica dahurica, A. chinensis, or A. japonica (Apiaceae). Clinical trials show that mixing 60g of angelica dahurica with 0.5g of borneol into powder, placing a small amount in the patient’s nasal vestibule, instructing slow breathing, provides rapid relief (within 1–10 minutes) for toothache, trigeminal neuralgia, and headache. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it warm in nature, pungent in taste, with functions to dispel wind, relieve exterior symptoms, dry dampness, drain pus, reduce swelling, and relieve pain. Used for wind-cold-induced headache, rheumatic headache, eyebrow pain, toothache, nasal obstruction, cold-damp abdominal pain, leukorrhea, and skin itching. Dosage: 3–9g; avoid in cases of blood deficiency with internal heat or yin deficiency with hyperactivity of fire.
④ Saposhnikovia (Fang Feng): Saposhnikovia is the root of Saposhnikovia divaricata (Apiaceae). It contains volatile oil, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, organic acids, mannitol, etc. Both decoction and infusion of saposhnikovia have antipyretic effects and inhibit various pathogenic bacteria, certain dermatophytes, and viruses. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it warm in nature, pungent and sweet in taste, with functions to expel wind, relieve exterior symptoms, overcome dampness, and relieve pain. Used for wind-cold invasion, headache, dizziness, neck stiffness, wind-damp arthralgia, joint pain, muscle spasms, and tetanus. Dosage: 6–9g.
⑤ Elsholtzia (Xiang Ru): Elsholtzia is the whole herb of Elsholtzia splendens or E. angustifolia (Lamiaceae). It contains volatile oil, phenolic substances, flavonoid glycosides, plant sterols, etc. Its volatile oil induces sweating and reduces fever, stimulates digestive gland secretion and gastrointestinal motility, and promotes diuresis. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it slightly warm in nature, pungent in taste, with functions to induce sweating, relieve summer-heat, promote diuresis, warm the stomach, and harmonize the middle burner. Used for summer wind-cold causing fever, chills, headache without sweating; summer-heat injury causing chest tightness, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea; edema, oliguria, foot qi. Dosage: 3–6g.
⑥ Cinnamon Twig (Gui Zhi): Cinnamon twig is the tender branch of Cinnamomum cassia (Lauraceae). It contains volatile oil, tannins, resins, etc. It dilates blood vessels, enhances circulation, has sedative effects, mildly stimulates the gastrointestinal tract, promotes digestive fluid secretion, enhances digestive function, relieves gastrointestinal spasm, and expels intestinal gas. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it warm in nature, pungent and sweet in taste, with functions to induce sweating, relieve muscle tension, warm the meridians, and promote circulation. Used for wind-cold common cold, muscle-joint pain, menstrual blockage, abdominal pain. Dosage: 3–9g.
⑦ Mulberry Leaf (San Ye): Mulberry leaf is the leaf of Morus alba (Moraceae). It contains ecdysterone, plant acids, etc. Pharmacological tests show mulberry leaf decoction inhibits various pathogenic bacteria, acts against leptospira, lowers blood sugar, and inhibits intestinal muscle contraction. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it cold in nature, bitter and sweet in taste, with functions to dispel wind-heat, clear liver, improve vision, and treat wind-heat common cold, cough, sore throat, headache, dizziness, thirst, red eyes, wind-arthritis, prurigo, and elephantiasis of lower limbs. Dosage: 5–9g.
⑧ Mentha (Bo He): Mentha is the whole herb or leaves of Mentha haplocalyx or M. spicata (Lamiaceae). It contains volatile oil, including menthol, menthone, camphene, limonene, etc. Its decoction inhibits human tubercle bacilli and typhoid bacilli. Small amounts of volatile oil orally induce sweating, reduce fever, and excite the central nervous system. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it cool in nature, pungent in taste, with functions to disperse wind-heat, clear the head and eyes, and relieve eruptions. Used for wind-heat common cold, headache, red eyes, sore throat, oral ulcers, toothache, urticaria, eczema, and early-stage measles. Dosage: 1.5–6g.
⑨ Chrysanthemum (Ju Hua): Chrysanthemum is the capitulum of Chrysanthemum morifolium (Asteraceae). It contains volatile oil, chrysanthemum glycoside, flavonoids, adenine, betaine, trace vitamins, etc. Pharmacological tests show chrysanthemum contains multiple cardiac-active components, thus expanding coronary arteries and increasing coronary blood flow, alleviating myocardial ischemia. It also has sedative and blood pressure-lowering effects. Its decoction inhibits various pathogenic bacteria, influenza virus, and leptospira. It also inhibits certain dermatophytic fungi. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it slightly bitter in nature, pungent, sweet, and bitter in taste, with functions to disperse wind and clear heat, calm the liver, improve vision, and treat wind-heat common cold, headache, dizziness, red swollen eyes, and carbuncles.
⑩ Ephedra (Ma Huang): Ephedra is the herbaceous stem of Ephedra sinica, E. equisetina, or E. intermedia (Ephedraceae). It contains alkaloids, including ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, methyl ephedrine, etc., with ephedrine being the most abundant. It also contains ephedraflavone and volatile oil. Ephedrine has sympathomimetic effects, relaxing bronchial smooth muscle, constricting blood vessels, raising blood pressure, and stimulating the heart. Pseudoephedrine relieves bronchial smooth muscle spasm. These are the basis for ephedra’s effectiveness in treating cough and asthma. The volatile oil has antipyretic and cooling effects, stimulates sweat glands to induce sweating. Ephedra decoction inhibits various pathogenic bacteria and multiple influenza viruses. Thus, ephedra and formulas based on ephedra are highly effective for treating chills from common cold, bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, pediatric pneumonia, whooping cough, rheumatoid arthritis, and skin eczema, urticaria, etc. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it warm in nature, pungent and slightly bitter in taste, with functions to induce sweating, relieve exterior symptoms, ventilate the lungs, relieve asthma, and promote urination. Used for wind-cold invasion, chills, fever, headache, nasal congestion, joint pain, anhidrosis, cough, shortness of breath, edema, oliguria, and pruritus from wind rash. Dosage: 6–9g. Avoid in cases of lung deficiency with asthma, wind-heat invasion, abscesses, or carbuncles.
⑩ Perilla (Zi Su): Perilla is the leaf and stem of Perilla frutescens (Lamiaceae). It contains volatile oil, pelargonium acid, and sesquiterpene glycosides. Its decoction dilates blood vessels and stimulates sweat gland secretion, thus inducing sweating and reducing fever. It also inhibits Staphylococcus aureus, dysentery bacillus, and Escherichia coli. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it warm in nature, pungent in taste, with functions to release the exterior, dispel cold, regulate qi, and relieve bloating. Used for wind-cold common cold, asthma, chest and abdominal distension, vomiting, etc. Dosage: 6–9g.
⑩ Kudzu Root (Ge Gen): Kudzu root is the tuberous root of Pueraria lobata (Fabaceae). It contains flavonoids, including puerarin, puerarin xyloside, daidzein, daidzein glycoside, β-sitosterol, arachidic acid, and abundant starch. Its decoction or total flavonoids expand blood vessels, increase cerebral and coronary blood flow. Puerarin inhibits platelet aggregation, preventing angina and myocardial infarction. Additionally, kudzu decoction has hypoglycemic and antipyretic effects. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it cool in nature, sweet and pungent in taste, with functions to release the exterior, relieve muscle tension, promote eruption, stop diarrhea, relieve irritability, and quench thirst. Used for shanghan (febrile disease), warm-heat headache, restlessness, diabetes, diarrhea, dysentery, non-eruptive rashes, hypertension, angina, deafness, etc. Dosage: 9–12g.
[Expelling Exterior Pathogens]