{ "slug": "liu-wei-di-huang-wan", "names": { "pinyin": "Liu Wei Di Huang Wan", "chinese": "六味地黄丸", "english": "Six-Ingredient Pill with Rehmannia", "alternate": [ "Six Flavor Rehmannia Teapills", "Six Flavor Teapills", "Rehmannia Six Formula" ] }, "category": "tonify-yin", "family": "di-huang-wan", "source": { "text": "Xiao Er Yao Zheng Zhi Jue (Craft of Medicinal Treatment for Childhood Disease Patterns)", "author": "Qian Yi", "dynasty": "Song", "year": "1119" }, "summary": "The base formula for Kidney yin deficiency and the most widely sold Chinese patent formula in the world. For the person who is dry, warm, and worn down: sore low back, dry mouth at night, ringing ears, dizziness, and a tiredness that sleep does not fix.", "picture": "Three herbs fill the tank and three herbs keep the tank from going stagnant. That balance is why a person can take it for months.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "kidney-yin-deficiency", "role": "primary", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/kidney-yin-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/kidney-yin-deficiency" } }, { "slug": "kidney-essence-deficiency", "role": "base", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/kidney-essence-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/kidney-essence-deficiency" } }, { "slug": "liver-and-kidney-yin-deficiency", "role": "base", "_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" } } ], "indications": [ "Sore, weak low back and knees", "Dry mouth and throat, worse at night", "Dizziness and ringing in the ears", "Night sweats", "Warm palms and soles", "Loose teeth and slowly receding gums", "Chronic dry sore throat", "Nocturnal emissions", "Thirst with a wish for small sips", "Slow growth or late closing of the fontanel in a child, its original use" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Red with little coat.", "pulse": "Thin and rapid, or deep and thin." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Shu Di Huang", "grams": "24", "role": "chief", "job": "Prepared rehmannia enriches Kidney yin and essence and fills the marrow.", "herb_slug": "prepared-rehmannia-root", "english": "Prepared Rehmannia Root", "chinese": "熟地黄", "latin": "Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/prepared-rehmannia-root", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/prepared-rehmannia-root" } }, { "pinyin": "Shan Zhu Yu", "grams": "12", "role": "deputy", "job": "Cornelian cherry nourishes Liver and Kidney and holds the essence in.", "herb_slug": "asiatic-cornelian-cherry-fruit", "english": "Asiatic Cornelian Cherry Fruit", "chinese": "山茱萸", "latin": "Fructus Corni", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/asiatic-cornelian-cherry-fruit", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/asiatic-cornelian-cherry-fruit" } }, { "pinyin": "Shan Yao", "grams": "12", "role": "deputy", "job": "Chinese yam strengthens the Spleen and Kidney and steadies the essence.", "herb_slug": "common-yam-rhizome", "english": "Chinese Yam Rhizome", "chinese": "山药", "latin": "Rhizoma Dioscoreae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/common-yam-rhizome", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/common-yam-rhizome" } }, { "pinyin": "Ze Xie", "grams": "9", "role": "assistant", "job": "Water plantain drains damp turbidity so the rich rehmannia does not stagnate.", "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-oriental-waterplantain", "english": "Rhizome of Oriental Waterplantain", "chinese": "", "latin": "Rhizoma Alismatis", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-oriental-waterplantain", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-oriental-waterplantain" } }, { "pinyin": "Mu Dan Pi", "grams": "9", "role": "assistant", "job": "Tree peony bark clears the mild heat that rises when yin is low.", "herb_slug": "tree-peony-bark", "english": "Tree Peony Bark", "chinese": "牡丹皮", "latin": "Cortex Moutan", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/tree-peony-bark", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/tree-peony-bark" } }, { "pinyin": "Fu Ling", "grams": "9", "role": "assistant", "job": "Poria leaches dampness and helps the Spleen digest the tonic.", "herb_slug": "indian-bread", "english": "Poria", "chinese": "茯苓", "latin": "Poria", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/indian-bread", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/indian-bread" } } ], "actions": [ "Enriches yin and nourishes the Kidney", "Three tonics, three drainers: fills without clogging" ], "how_it_works": "Rehmannia, cornelian cherry, and yam fill the Kidney, Liver, and Spleen. The other three herbs drain the dampness, heat, and stagnation that rich tonics would otherwise cause. That is why this formula can be taken for months where a heavier tonic would bloat you in a week.", "modifications": [ { "for": "Heat signs: night sweats, hot palms, red cheeks", "add": [ "Zhi Mu", "Huang Bai" ], "note": "This becomes Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan." }, { "for": "Loose teeth and receding gums", "add": [ "Gu Sui Bu", "Niu Xi" ], "note": "Gu Sui Bu mends the bone around the tooth; Niu Xi pulls the formula down to the teeth." }, { "for": "Dry or blurry eyes", "add": [ "Gou Qi Zi", "Ju Hua" ], "note": "This becomes Qi Ju Di Huang Wan." }, { "for": "Dry cough or wheeze", "add": [ "Mai Dong", "Wu Wei Zi" ], "note": "This becomes Mai Wei Di Huang Wan." }, { "for": "Ringing ears and poor hearing", "add": [ "Ci Shi", "Wu Wei Zi" ], "note": "The classic ear modification, Er Long Zuo Ci Wan." } ], "cautions": [ "Rich and a little heavy. If stools go loose, appetite drops, or you bloat, take it with food or reduce the dose. If that does not settle it, the Spleen needs help first.", "Not for a cold picture: cold back and knees, pale face, clear frequent urine. That is Kidney yang deficiency and needs the warming cousin, Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan.", "Not for an acute cold or flu. Pause the tonic until the illness clears.", "Pregnancy: use only under a qualified practitioner." ], "forms": [ "teapills", "concentrated tablets", "granules", "decoction" ], "typical_dose": { "teapills": "8 pills, three times a day with warm water, the usual label dose", "decoction": "One bag a day in two doses, with the amounts above", "course": "Three months is a normal first course. Kidney tonics are slow." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "zhi-bai-di-huang-wan", "difference": "Same base plus Zhi Mu and Huang Bai to clear empty heat. Choose it when night sweats, hot palms, or red cheeks are present." }, { "slug": "qi-ju-di-huang-wan", "difference": "Same base plus goji and chrysanthemum for dry, blurry, tired eyes." }, { "slug": "mai-wei-di-huang-wan", "difference": "Same base plus ophiopogon and schisandra for a dry cough and dry throat from Lung and Kidney yin deficiency." }, { "slug": "jin-gui-shen-qi-wan", "difference": "The warming cousin: same base plus cinnamon bark and processed aconite. For the cold picture, not the dry one. Some boxes call it Ba Wei Di Huang Wan, so read the ingredients." }, { "slug": "zuo-gui-wan", "difference": "A richer, pure tonic with no draining herbs, for deeper essence deficiency and weak bones. Harder to digest." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "liu-wei-di-huang-wan", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/liu-wei-di-huang-wan", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Liu Wei Di Huang Wan with the characters 六味地黄丸 and lists exactly six herbs. If the list shows Anemarrhena and Phellodendron, that is Zhi Bai, the cooling version. If it shows Cinnamon and Aconite, that is the warming version for a cold picture. Plum Flower and Lanzhou Foci are the widely sold tested brands." }, "conditions": [ "receding-gums", "toothache", "low-back-pain", "insomnia", "dizziness", "tinnitus", "frequent-urination" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Composition, actions, indications, and modifications." }, { "title": "Qian Yi, Xiao Er Yao Zheng Zhi Jue, 1119", "note": "Original source text." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/liu-wei-di-huang-wan", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/liu-wei-di-huang-wan", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }