Du Zhong
Eucommiae Cortex
sweet, slightly acrid, warm
PRIMARY FUNCTION:
Tonify Yang
CLASSICAL MANIFESTATIONS:
- Low back pain
- Frequent urination
- Weakness of tendons and ligaments
- Weak bones
- Bleeding during pregnancy
- Threatened miscarriage
- Hypertension
- Dizziness
- Lightheadedness
The sweet characteristic of Du Zhong makes it a tonifying herb and it enters the liver and kidney systems. The liver and kidney are two important filtration systems for the body and dysregulation of these two systems will drive up blood pressure. In the past this may have been identified as hepato-hypertension or renal- hypertension or even hepato-renal-hypertension. Today’s medical doctors are rarely concerned with the cause of hypertension. They treat the number not the cause. Du Zhong has an effect on both the liver and kidney that improves the functions of filtration which reduces blood pressure. The slightly acrid aspect gets the blood moving and improves circulation in the liver and kidney systems.
The kidney system also includes the adrenal glands and the gonads. This explains the effect on improving tendons, ligaments, and bones. The benefit is support of hormone production. This support can also be seen in the warming effect for yang hormone deficiency. This is likely how this herb prevents miscarriage by warming and tonifying.
Channels: kidney, liver
COMMON APPLICATIONS AND CLINICAL POSSIBILITIES:
- Antihypertensive
- Fatigue
- Low back pain
- Blood circulation
- Arthritis
- Miscarriage prevention
- Urinary dribbling
- Excess urination
- Erectile dysfunction
- Spermatorrhea
- Muscle spasms
- Analgesia
- Immune support
Formulas:
- Ai Tai Yin
- Bu Shen Gu Chong Wan
- Dang Gui Di Huang Yin
- Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang
- Qing E Wan
- Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin
- You Gui Wan
- You Gui Yin
Contraindications: do not prescribe Du Zhong to patients that present with deficiency heat patterns
Zoo Image: two pregnant conjoined grizzly bears with slouching backs are riding the circulator and getting dizzy and turning red while a baby bear is hitting their heads with bones