Sang Zhi桑枝
Ramulus MoriMulberry Twig
Also known asMorus Twig
- Category
- Herbs that dispel Wind-Dampness
- Nature
- neutral
- Taste
- bitter
- Channels entered
- Liver
- Dosage
- 9–15 g
Usual doses
- Dosage
- 9–15 g
- Severe cases
- 60 g
- Tincture
- 2–5 ml
Actions & indications
- Dispels Wind-Dampness, unblocks the channels and collaterals, benefits the joints and stops spasms
- Wind-Damp with spasms, especially warm Bi in the upper extremities
- Numbness in the extremities or hemiplegia as sequelae for Wind-Stroke
- Promotes diuresis and reduces edema (regulates water metabolism)
- Edema especially when accompanied by joint pain
Combinations
Wind-Damp Bi.
Disperses external Wind-Heat from the head, face, muscle layer, channels, collaterals and joints — expelling Wind, draining Heat, freeing the collaterals and easing pain — to treat whole-body pain from external Wind-Heat.
Pain in the upper extremities.
Notes
- A mild herb that expels Wind and clears Heat, it suits Bi pain in children and adolescents, who tend not to present with Deficiency but are instead more prone to short-lived Wind-Dampness invasion.
- Used alone, it treats Wind-Heat Bi syndrome affecting the shoulders and arms.
- At a large dosage it treats hemiplegia or paralysis following stroke.
- Sang Zhi and Ram Cinnamomi Gui Zhi both free the collaterals, but Gui Zhi is acrid and warm, making it better suited to Cold Bi and giving it a broader range of action than Sang Zhi, which instead expels Wind and eliminates Dampness. Being slightly cooling, Sang Zhi is preferable for Wind-Heat and Dampness or where itching is a prominent symptom.
- Sang Zhi and Lignum Pini Nodi Song Jie both dispel Wind-Dampness and are frequently combined to treat Wind-Damp Painful Obstruction of the sinews, bones and joints. Sang Zhi is neutral and suits either Cold or Heat Bi, whereas Song Jie is warm and drying and suits Wind-Cold-Damp Bi.
- Sang Zhi, Ram. Cinnamomi Gui Zhi, Rx. Achyranthis Bidentatae Niu Xi and Fr. Chaenomelis Mu Gua are commonly combined to treat Bi syndrome: Sang Zhi and Gui Zhi work best in the upper body, while Niu Xi and Mu Gua work best in the lower body. Of the two upper-body herbs, Sang Zhi suits Hot Bi and Gui Zhi suits Cold Bi; of the two lower-body herbs, Mu Gua relieves pain by easing muscle spasm and cramping, while Niu Xi relieves pain by tonifying the Liver and Kidneys.