Tangerine red has the effects of regulating qi and broadening the middle (regulating the qi of the spleen and stomach), drying dampness and resolving phlegm (expelling dampness by drying dampness and resolving phlegm). Sheng Gan Cao generally refers to licorice, which has the effects of tonifying the spleen and benefiting the qi, clearing heat and removing toxins, expelling phlegm and relieving cough as well as harmonizing medicines.
1. Tangerine red is the dried outer fruit peel of tangerine and its cultivated varieties in the family of Rutaceae, with pungent and bitter taste, warm nature, belonging to the lung and spleen meridians, it has the effect of regulating qi and relaxing the middle, drying dampness and resolving phlegm, and it can be used for coughing and phlegm, food stagnation (the stagnation of indigested food in the stomach), injuries to wine, vomiting and so on.
2. Licorice is sweet in taste and flat in nature, belonging to the heart, lung, spleen and stomach meridians, with the effects of tonifying the spleen and benefiting the qi, clearing heat and removing toxins, expelling phlegm and relieving coughs, easing the pain and relieving urgency (relieving the symptoms of pain in a more urgent situation), and harmonizing all medicines (harmonizing the properties of different traditional Chinese medicines).
It is mainly used for spleen and stomach weakness, tiredness and fatigue, cough and phlegm, palpitation and shortness of breath, contractile pain in the limbs, carbuncle, swelling and sores, and can also be used to alleviate the toxicity and potency of drugs.
It should be noted that patients with yin deficiency and dry cough and coughing qi deficiency should not take tangerine red; patients with dampness in fullness (too much dampness leading to fullness and discomfort in the spleen and stomach) and edema need to be cautious in using licorice, so as not to aggravate the original symptoms, and it is not suitable to use licorice together with seaweed, Kyoho, Hongdajia, Gansui, and Coriolus Versicolor.
Patients should go to regular Chinese medicine hospitals in time when they have discomfort, and use medication under the guidance of Chinese medicine practitioners, and should not blindly use tangerine red and licorice on their own, or increase the dosage of medication without authorization.