{
    "slug": "er-zhi-wan",
    "names": {
        "pinyin": "Er Zhi Wan",
        "chinese": "二至丸",
        "english": "Two-Ultimate Pill",
        "alternate": [
            "Two Solstices Pill",
            "Ligustrum and Eclipta Pill"
        ]
    },
    "category": "tonify-yin",
    "source": {
        "text": "Yi Fang Ji Jie (Medical Formulas Collected and Analyzed)",
        "author": "Wang Ang",
        "dynasty": "Qing",
        "year": "1682"
    },
    "summary": "Two gentle herbs for Liver and Kidney yin deficiency: early grey hair, dizziness, blurry or dry eyes, dream-filled sleep, a dry mouth, and a sore back, in a mild form. Light enough to take for a long time and to add alongside a rehmannia formula.",
    "picture": "One herb is picked at the winter solstice and one at the summer solstice, which is where the name comes from. Two small harvests that together keep the hair dark and the eyes clear.",
    "patterns": [
        {
            "slug": "liver-and-kidney-yin-deficiency",
            "role": "gentle",
            "_links": {
                "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/liver-and-kidney-yin-deficiency",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/liver-and-kidney-yin-deficiency"
            }
        },
        {
            "slug": "kidney-yin-deficiency",
            "role": "gentle",
            "_links": {
                "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/kidney-yin-deficiency",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/kidney-yin-deficiency"
            }
        },
        {
            "slug": "liver-yin-deficiency",
            "role": "gentle",
            "_links": {
                "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/liver-yin-deficiency",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/liver-yin-deficiency"
            }
        }
    ],
    "indications": [
        "Early grey hair, hair that thins",
        "Dizziness, blurry vision, dry eyes",
        "Insomnia with many dreams",
        "Dry mouth and throat",
        "Sore low back and weak knees",
        "Bleeding from heat on a yin-deficient base, such as heavy periods or nosebleeds in a dry person"
    ],
    "signs": {
        "tongue": "Red with little coat.",
        "pulse": "Thin and rapid."
    },
    "ingredients": [
        {
            "pinyin": "Nu Zhen Zi",
            "grams": "12",
            "role": "chief",
            "job": "Privet fruit nourishes Liver and Kidney yin and brightens the eyes. Steamed with wine in the classic preparation.",
            "herb_slug": "fruit-of-glossy-privet",
            "english": "Glossy Privet Fruit",
            "chinese": "女贞子",
            "latin": "Fructus Ligustri Lucidi",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/fruit-of-glossy-privet",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/fruit-of-glossy-privet"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Han Lian Cao",
            "grams": "12",
            "role": "deputy",
            "job": "Eclipta nourishes yin, cools the blood, stops bleeding, and darkens hair.",
            "herb_slug": "eclipta",
            "english": "Eclipta",
            "chinese": "墨旱莲",
            "latin": "Herba Ecliptae",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/eclipta",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/eclipta"
            }
        }
    ],
    "actions": [
        "Tonifies Liver and Kidney yin",
        "Cools the blood and darkens the hair"
    ],
    "how_it_works": "Both herbs are mild and neither is heavy or cloying, which is rare for a yin tonic. That is the whole point: a formula gentle enough to ride in the background for months, on its own or inside a bigger prescription.",
    "modifications": [
        {
            "for": "Stronger Kidney signs",
            "add": [
                "Shu Di Huang",
                "Gou Qi Zi"
            ],
            "note": "Or simply take it alongside Liu Wei Di Huang Wan."
        },
        {
            "for": "Heavy periods from heat",
            "add": [
                "Sheng Di Huang",
                "Di Yu"
            ],
            "note": "Cooling herbs that stop bleeding."
        }
    ],
    "cautions": [
        "Mild, but still cooling. Loose stools or a cold picture call for something else.",
        "Grey hair from age alone does not reverse. The formula is for hair that greyed early in a dry, deficient person.",
        "Pregnancy: use only under a qualified practitioner."
    ],
    "forms": [
        "teapills",
        "granules",
        "decoction"
    ],
    "typical_dose": {
        "teapills": "8 pills, three times a day, the usual label dose",
        "course": "Three months or more. It is built for the long run."
    },
    "cousins": [
        {
            "slug": "liu-wei-di-huang-wan",
            "difference": "The full six-herb Kidney base. Er Zhi Wan is the light version or the add-on."
        },
        {
            "slug": "qi-ju-di-huang-wan",
            "difference": "The eye version of Liu Wei, stronger than Er Zhi Wan for dry and blurry eyes."
        }
    ],
    "commerce": {
        "store": "supplementsapothecary.com",
        "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary",
        "store_slug": "er-zhi-wan",
        "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/er-zhi-wan",
        "status": "planned",
        "label_check": "The box reads Er Zhi Wan with the characters 二至丸. Two ingredients: Ligustrum (privet fruit) and Eclipta."
    },
    "conditions": [
        "hair-loss",
        "dizziness",
        "blurred-vision",
        "insomnia",
        "yin-deficiency"
    ],
    "sources": [
        {
            "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition",
            "note": "Composition, actions, and indications."
        }
    ],
    "meta": {
        "status": "published",
        "last_updated": "2026-10-12",
        "reviewed_by": null
    },
    "_links": {
        "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/er-zhi-wan",
        "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/er-zhi-wan",
        "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas"
    }
}