Tonify qi
Bai Zhu
白术
White atractylodes
Atractylodes macrocephala
Strengthens the spleen and dries damp.
Not for self-dosing. This page is not a formula, not a strength, and not a substitute for a licensed herbalist or physician.
Category
Warm · Bitter, Sweet
Meridians entered
Traditional uses
The spleen’s representative tonic. Used for poor appetite, loose stool, and a heavy, damp middle. Different from Cang Zhu, which is more drying and less tonic. Do not swap the names.
Common pairings
- Fu Ling 茯苓
Dry and drain. The spleen-damp pair.
- Huang Qi 黄芪
Rebuild qi when tiredness and a soft stool go together.
Cautions
Not for self-dosing. Drying if yin is already thin. Care in pregnancy only means “ask,” not “avoid forever”; prescribers use it, self-experimenters should not.
Points with a similar aim
Beam Gate
Upper belly point beside the midline, for fullness.
Use caution
Celestial Pivot
Level with the navel, the Large Intestine alarm point.
Use caution
Leg Three Miles
The leg point people learn for digestion and everyday energy.
Upper Great Void
Below ST36, the large-intestine he-sea on the leg.
Supreme White
Inner-foot source point for spleen and damp teaching patterns.
Yellow Emperor
Arch point that opens the Chong vessel.
Yin Mound Spring
Inner knee hollow taught for damp and heaviness.
Great Horizontal
Well out from the navel, a spleen abdomen point.
Use caution