Spicy, Sweet, Sour, Bitter, and Salty: The Five Tastes of Chinese Herbs
The five tastes are also called the flavors of herbs that describe the properties of herbs. Herbs with different tastes or flavors have different pharmacological and therapeutic effects. Here the tastes do not refer to their real tastes in the mouth, but indicate the actions they have on the human body.
In traditional Chinese medicine, each herb has its own features, including four energies, five tastes, four action directions, meridians, and toxicities. These features illustrate how herbs act on the human body, and their therapeutic effects. It is critical to understand these features of herbs before using them.
The five tastes are also called the flavors of herbs that describe the properties of herbs. The five tastes are sour, bitter, sweet, pungent-spicy, and salty. If the taste is not strong or obvious, it is called tasteless or bland. Herbs with different tastes or flavors have different pharmacological and therapeutic effects. Here the “tastes” do not refer to their real tastes in the mouth, but indicate the actions they have on the human body.
Herbs of the pungent-spicy taste can disperse external pathogenic factors, promote the circulation of qi, and energize the blood. For example, safflower (“Honghua” in Chinese) can invigorate the blood and heal diseases with blood stasis.
Herbs of the sweet taste can nourish and tonify the body, harmonize the properties of various herbs, and relieve spasm and pain. For example, prepared rehmannia root (“Shudihuang” in Chinese) can enrich the blood. Licorice root (“Gancao” in Chinese) can harmonize the properties of other herbs and stop pain.
Herbs of the sour flavor have the effects of absorbing and controlling. They are often used for chronic diarrhea, seminal emission, enuresis, and frequent urination. For instance, dogwood fruit (“Shanzhuyu” in Chinese) can relieve spontaneous sweating. Chinese galla (“Wubeizi” in Chinese) can help control chronic diarrhea. Some herbs are characterized as astringent, and they have the effects similar to sour herbs, such as raspberry fruit (“Fupenzi” in Chinese) that can be used to treat frequent urination.
Herbs of the bitter flavor have effects of clearing away heat and fire, and removing dampness. Many of them can be used for cough, vomiting, and constipation. For example, rhubarb (“Dahuang” in Chinese) is a commonly used herb for moving stools and removing heat. Atractylodes rhizome (“Cangzhu” in Chinese) can transform and remove turbid dampness.
Herbs of the salty taste can soften hardness, resolve hardenings, and can be used for constipation or goiter. For instance, glauber’s salt (“Mangxiao” in Chinese) is commonly used for constipation. Ark shell (“Walengzi” in Chinese) can be used to treat subcutaneous nodules and scrofula.
Bland or tasteless herbs usually have effects of removing dampness and promoting urination, and can be used for edema and dysuria. For example, poria (“Fuling” in Chinese) has good effects on healing edema.
Liked it
