Amber (Hu Po or Hou Po)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Succinum |
| Botanical Name: | Pinus spp. |
| Common Name: | Amber Succinus |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Mingyi Bielu |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The brownish fossil resin is taken from a pine tree which has been buried underground for a long time. It is then ground into powder. |
| Properties and Taste: | Sweet and neutral |
| Meridian: | Heart, liver and urinary bladder |
| Functions: | To calm and tranquilize the mind; sedates and calms the spirit To invigorate the blood and release stagnation To promote urination Promotes menstruation Reduces swelling and promotes healing |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Infantile convulsions and epilepsy. *Use with Centipede (Wu gong) and Scorpion (Quan xie). 2. Palpitations, insomnia and dream-disturbed sleep. *Use with Wild jujube seed (Suan zao ren) and Multiflower knotweed (Ye jiao teng). 3. Dysmenorrhea or amenorrhea due to blood stagnation. *Use with Chinese angelica root (Dang gui). Zedoary (E zhu) and Lindera root (Wu yao) in the formula Hupo San. 4. Urinary tract disorders manifested as frequent urination, painful urination, bloody urine or calculus formation in the urinary tract. *Use with Lysimachia (Jin qian cao), Clematis stem (Mu tong) and Imperata rhizome (Bai mao gen). |
| Dosage: | 1.5-3 g (powder form) |
| Cautions: | Do not use with heat signs due to Yin deficiency. |