Jie Geng

This herb is the root of Platycodon grandiflorm (Jacq.) A. DC. (family Campanulaceae), produced mainly in the provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu and Shandong.

Effects: ventilating the lung, resolving phlegm, promoting pus discharged and subduing carbuncles.

Dang Gui

This herb is the root of Angelica sinensis (oliv.) Diels. (family Umbelliferae) which is mainly produced in Gansu and Shanxi provinces.

Effects: tonifying the blood, promoting blood circulation, relieving pain and moistening the bowels.

Ren Sheng

This herb is the root of Panax ginseng C. A Mey. (family Aralaceae), which is chiefly produced in Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces, the drug produced in Fusong of Jilin being of good quality.  The cultivated ginseng is called "garden ginseng" while the wild is known as "mountain ginseng".  Cultivated ginseng is harvested in autumn, dried in the sun  or roasted, which is called: "sun-dried ginseng", or dried after being steamed, known as "red ginseng", or soaked in syrup, known as "sugar-processed ginseng".  The fibrous rootlets are known as ginseng rootlets.  Wild ginseng dried in the sun is known as sun-cured wild ginseng.  The drug is sliced for use after being rid of the rhizome.

Effects: replenishing the primordial qi, restoring pulse and treating clloapae, tonifying the spleen and lung, promoting the production of body fluid to quench thirst, tranquilizing the mind and improving mental power.

     Ge Gen

The herb is the root of Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi or Preraria thomsonii Benth.  Grown mostly in the provinces of Henan, Hubei, Zhejiang and Sichuan.

Effects: dispelling pathogenic factors from the superficial muscles to allay fever, promoting the production of body fluid to quench thirst, promoting the eruption of measles and invigorating the spleen-yang to stop diarrhea.

Xing Ren

This herb consists of the kernels of Prunus armeniaca L. var. ansu Maxim, or Prunus sibirica L., or Prunus mandshurica (Maxim) Koehne, or Prunus armeniaca L., (family Rosaceae).  It is prodced mainly in the provinces of Shanxi, Hebei, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shandong.

Effects: relieving cough and asthma, moistening the intestines to relax the bowels.