Dang Gui is sweet, pungent and warm, and enters the Liver meridian. It is the commonly used herb to tonify the Liver-blood as it enters the Liver meridian primarily and tonifies the blood directly. Along with herbs that tonify the Kidney-essence, its function of tonifying the Liver-blood becomes stronger. The strong point of this herb is that it not only tonifies the blood, but also promotes the blood circulation as it has pungent and warm properties. It matches the nature of blood, which prefers warmth and must always be moving.

Bai Shao Yao is bitter, sour and slightly cold. It enters the Liver and Spleen meridians. Its sour and cold property can nourish the Yin directly and generate the substantial part of the blood. It is particularly effective for softening the Liver, thereby relieving cramp of the muscles and tendons. It can also effectively moisten the internal organs and the orifices, so it can treat the symptoms of dryness of skin and eyes caused by Liver-blood deficiency.

Dang Gui and Bai Shao Yao are very often used together as a pair of herbs in the formula, as Dang Gui concerns the functional aspect of blood and Bai Shao Yao concerns the substantial aspect of blood. The former is called a Yang herb and the latter a Yin herb in this situation. They can effectively treat Liver-blood deficiency.

Shu Di Huang is sweet and slightly warm, and enters the Kidney and Liver meridians. As it is able to tonify the Kidney-essence and the Liver-blood directly, the function of tonifying the blood is quite strong. It is often used as chief in the formula for serious conditions of blood and essence deficiency, such as in those with a poor constitution, retardation of children and degeneration in elderly people. In the formula, this herb should be used with some herbs that regulate the Qi in the Middle- and Lower-Jiao to reduce its rich and heavy nature.

These two herbs enter the Kidney and Liver meridians. They are able to tonify the Kidney-essence and Liver-blood. Unlike Shu Di Huang ( Rehmanniae radix praeparata) they are not heavy and cloying in nature, thus they may not bring about the problem of digestion. For this reason, they are often used in formulas to enhance the ability of the chief herb to tonify the Liver-blood.

Ji Xue Teng is bitter, slightly sweet and warm, and enters the Kidney and Liver meridians. It is a special herb for tonifying the blood as it is also able to promote the blood circulation and relax the tendons. It is therefore selected in formulas to relieve stiffness, tingling, numbness, pain and an uneasy feeling in the body, such as in Bi syndrome and in restless leg disorder due to blood deficiency with Qi and blood stagnation.

Mu Gua is sour and warm, and enters the Liver and Spleen meridians. It has no function to tonify the blood, but is able to nourish the tendons, expel dampness and open the meridians. It is selected in formulas to relieve spasm and stiffness of the limbs due to Yin and Liver-blood deficiency.

Suan Zao Ren is sweet, sour and neutral, and enters the Liver, Gall Bladder and Heart meridians. Since sweet and sour may generate the Yin and stabilize the body fluids, it is also able to nourish the Liver blood. It is a perfect herb to calm the mind and improve sleep. It is often selected in the formula to treat anxiety, sweating, restless sleep and dream-disturbed sleep due to Liver-blood deficiency.

The function and characteristics of Bai Shao Yao have been discussed in the chief herbs. Because it is a sour and cold herb, and is able to generate and stabilize the Yin and body fluids, it is often used as an assistant to relieve muscle cramp. If it is used with Zhi Gan Cao, the function of smoothing the muscles and treating cramping pain is increased.

The tonifying function of Dang Gui has been discussed in the chief herbs. As Dang Gui also has the function of promoting the blood circulation, it is used as an assistant to regulate the blood circulation. It is mainly selected in formulas to treat dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, tingling and numbness of the limbs that are caused by deficiency of blood and slowing down of blood circulation.

Chuan Xiong is pungent, bitter and warm, and enters the Liver, Gall Bladder and Pericardium meridians. It has no tonifying function, but is characterized by its ability to move the Qi in the blood. Since its moving speed and strength are high, it is able to reach to any part of the body and is effective in relieving pain caused by Qi and blood stagnation. A small amount of Chuan Xiong may be used as an assistant in the formula that tonifies the Liver-blood to reduce the stagnation of blood caused by deficiency. It is particularly effective for treating hypochondriac pain, stiffness, and tingling and numbness of the muscles due to Qi and blood stagnation.

Xiang Fu is a very commonly used herb to regulate the Liver-Qi. It is pungent, sweet, slightly bitter and warm, without a harsh and drying nature. It enters the Liver and San Jiao meridians and is effective and gentle when regulating Qi. It promotes Liver-Qi movement without injuring the Yin and blood of the Liver. As it is slightly bitter, it can reduce the slight Liver-heat that is generated by Liver-Qi stagnation or blood and Yin deficiency. The sweetness can soften the Liver and moderate the speed of the Qi movement. All these characteristics match the pathological changes in the syndrome of blood deficiency with Liver-Qi stagnation. Because Xiang Fu enters the San Jiao meridian that is the passage of the Qi and water, it can effectively spread the Qi in the entire body. For all these reasons, Xiang Fu is very often used as assistant in formulas that tonify the blood.

Zhi Gan Cao is often used as an assistant in the formula. It moderates and harmonizes the tonifying herbs in the formula, moderates the Liver-Qi movement and reduces its speed. At the same time, it can ease the cramping pain of both muscles and tendons. When it is used with Bai Shao Yao ( Paeoniae radix lactiflora), this function becomes stronger.

Zhi Gan Cao is the most commonly used envoy in formulas that tonify the Liver-blood. Its moderate temperament harmonizes the functions of the herbs in the formula, and moderates the Liver-Qi movement and blood circulation.