Semen ginkgo a.k.a Ginkgo seed (Baiguo) - TCM Materia Medica compiled by Raymond Cheng PhD DPA @ Traditional Chinese Medicine Basics (TCMBasics.com) - TCM theories, resources, herbs, materia medica

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Pharmaceutical Name

Semen Ginkgo

Botanical Name

Ginkgo biloba L.

Common Name

Ginkgo seed

Source of Earliest Record

Bencao Gangmu

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations

The ripe seeds are gathered in autumn, cleaned and dried in the sun. After the shells of the seeds have been broken, the seeds are removed and pounded into pieces.

Properties & Taste

Sweet, bitter, astringent, neutral and slightly toxic

Meridian

Lung

Functions

1. To strengthen lung qi and soothe asthma; 2. To relieve leukorrhea

Indications & Combinations

1. Asthma (a) asthma with stifling sensation in the chest and cough with profuse, dilute sputum. Ginkgo seed (Baiguo) is used with Ephedra (Mahuang) and Licorice root (Gancao); (b) asthma with stifling sensation in the chest and cough with thick yellow sputum. Ginkgo seed (Baiguo) is used with Scutellaria root (Huangqin) and Mulberry bark (Sangbaipi) in the formula Dingchuan Tang. 2. Leukorrhea (a) downward flowing of damp-heat manifested as yellow, odorous leukorrhea. Ginkgo seed (Baiguo) is used with Phellodendron bark (Huangbai) and Plantain seed (Cheqianzi) in the formula Yihuang Tang; (b) deficiency of kidney yang manifested as whitish, odorless leukorrhea. Ginkgo seed (Baiguo) is used with Cinnamon bark (Rougui), Astragalus root (Huangqi) and Dogwood fruit (Shanzhuyu).

Dosage

6-10 g

Cautions & Contraindications

Overdosage of the herb is toxic.

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WHAT IS TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE?
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With over 3000 years of experience, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has remain one of the many fascinating areas in ancient Chinese culture. First known to be documented in the Yellow Emperor's Canon of Medicine, TCM is believed to have been practised in as early as 475 to 221 B.C. The field of working knowledge of TCM stretches from anything related to general healthcare practice to the philosophy of the mind, the logic of life, religion, and even to as far as cosmology and astronumerology. This is why in order to thoroughly understand the concepts behind TCM, one must be comprehensive in learning and embracing the Chinese culture as a whole.

Just as Douglas Hoff put it when he explained about accupuncture, "The systems of TCM uses the concepts of elements and meridians and are completely immersed in the Asian cosmology which takes shape through the religions." The meridian-brain mechanism, the fundamental working concept of acupuncture, in which the pain block from the message that the needle or burning cone of herbs gives to the point of stimulus, was only found centuries later by the West through science and technology.

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR – MARCH 2020

Raymond Cheng, PhD DPA Thank you for visiting this TCM and acupuncture information website. If you have previously been to this website, you might have noticed that some of the pages on ancient historical ideas and holistic thinkings related to Chinese metaphysics are temporarily taken offline. This is because I will be revamping the whole website and be moving those information into a new \"Ancient Chinese Culture\" section so as to reflect a more current perspective on the interpretation of some of the fundamental concepts as well as to include some of the latest information in the area. But if you have just found this website for the very first time, I welcome you again and wish you could find what you require and, hopefully, you could also be benefitted from reading the articles I published on this website.

Please be patient and do come and check out this website frequently as it's being revamped.

Raymond Cheng, PhD DPA FRSA FRSPH

March 28, 2020.

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