When heat rises and the temper flares

A bitter taste in the mouth on waking, a face that feels hot, red eyes, a temper quick to flare, a feeling of damp heat in the lower body… In TCM, these signs may be associated with Liver Fire, often mixed with Heat-Dampness in the Liver and Gallbladder. Heat, which rises, reaches the head and eyes; Dampness, which descends, settles in the lower body. Tradition readily links this situation to frustrations that pile up and to a rich, fried or very spicy diet.

Long Dan Xie Gan Tang was recorded under the Qing, in 1682, in the Yi Fang Ji Jie (《医方集解》) by Wang Ang (汪昂), a collection that gathers, classifies and comments on the formulas of the tradition, and which set the form in which many of them still circulate today. It bears the name of its emblematic herb, gentian (Long Dan), reputed to be the bitterest in the Chinese pharmacopoeia, and belongs to the family of formulas that clear Heat.

Cooling vigorously, protecting at the same time

The formula carries out two movements at once. Gentian, Baikal skullcap and gardenia, all three bitter and cold, clear Liver Fire and Heat-Dampness; plantain seeds and water plantain dispel Damp-Heat in the lower body. But so many cold herbs could deplete what must be preserved: rehmannia and Chinese angelica protect the Blood and the Yin of the Liver. This is where commentators see the elegance of the formula.

Clears Heat: Gentian, one of the few herbs that cools both Liver Fire above and Heat-Dampness below, gives the formula its character; Baikal skullcap and gardenia reinforce it, the first in the upper body, the second across the three Burners.

Clears Heat-Dampness: Plantain seeds, the most highly dosed alongside rehmannia, and water plantain dispel the Damp-Heat that lingers and weighs down the lower body.

Helps promote the smooth flow of Liver Qi: Bupleurum guides the formula to the Liver and preserves the free flow of its Qi, which tradition links to mood. By cooling the rising Fire, the formula helps restore a more even mood.