Chinese Herbs - Philosophy

In most cases, TCM herbal therapy requires that multiple herbs be used together in a formula to treat the various symptoms of a disease.

A standard herbal formula consists of:

• King herb(s): Primary herb(s) in the formula; deals with the primary symptom under treatment
• Subject herb(s): Assist the king herb(s) to:
  • reinforce the action of king herb
  • treat the concurrent symptoms
• Assistant herb(s): Play one of the three roles:
  • treat a minor symptom
  • control side-effects or toxic effects of king herb and/or subject herb
  • play an opposing or supplemental role to the action of the king herb
• Servant herb(s): Play one of two roles:
  • direct the formula to the affected region
  • harmonize the herbs in a formula

The synergistic and balancing effects of the formulation maximize the long-term benefits and minimize potential side-effects.

Chinese herbs have historically been developed on experience and clinical results. In recent years, scientific studies have been incorporated to better understand the medicinal properties of the herbs, which have led to improved formulations of many products.