Hu Po - 琥珀 - Succinum - Amber
| Pharmaceutical Latin: | Succinum |
| Common English: | Amber Pinus |
Category
Substances that Calm the Spirit: Substances that Anchor, Settle and Calm the SpiritProperties
| Taste | Temperature | Entering Meridians | Dosage |
| Sweet | Neutral | Bladder Heart Liver (Small Intestine) | Powder or Pill: 1.5-3g Do not decoct or calcine |
Actions And Indications
| Actions | Indications/Syndromes |
Stops tremors and palpitations and calms the Spirit | Shen disturbance with palpitations with anxiety, excessive dreams, insomnia, forgetfulness, and seizures Childhood convulsions and seizures due to Heart Blood Deficiency with Internal Wind |
Invigorates the Blood, dissipates Stasis and unblocks the menses | Amenorrhea or pain associated with palpable immobile masses due to Blood Stasis (can be used alone for this) Coronary artery disease |
Promotes urination and unblocks painful urinary dysfunction | Urinary retention or painful urinary dysfunction (especially bloody urine) |
Reduces swelling and promotes healing (topical) | Sores, carbuncles, and skin ulcerations Swelling and pain of the scrotum or vulva |
Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions
| CONTRAINDICATIONS |
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| INCOMPATIBILITIES |
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| HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS |
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Major Combinations
| Rx. Polygalae | Sm. Zizyphi Spinosae | Concretio Silicea Bambusae |
Emotional distress, anxiety with palpitations, forgetfulness, and insomnia | Palpitations with anxiety and insomnia due to Blood Deficiency | Childhood convulsions and insomnia due to Heat |
| Cinnabaris | Ram. Cum Uncis Uncariae | Rz. Sparganii |
Childhood convulsions and insomnia | Seizures | Palpable, immobile masses, and pain due to Blood Stasis. |
| Rx. Angelicae Sinensis | Rx. Notoginseng | Sm. Persicae |
Dysmenorrhea or amenorrhea due to Blood Stasis | Chest Bi Coronary Heart disease Blood Stagnation causing angina | Retained lochia |
Spora Lygodii | Spora Lygodii | Rx. Aucklandiae |
Bloody Lin Urinary retention, as in renal or urinary calculi | Bloody Lin Stone Lin | Edema with urinary dysfunction |
Rz. Atractylodis Macrocephalae | Margarita | Realgar |
Generalized edema with urinary dysfunction due to Spleen and Kidney Deficiency Cold | Sores that ulcerate yet do not heal for a long time | Topically to aid venting and expulsion of toxin for abscess on the back |
Sm. Momordicae | Flos Chrysanthemi | Rx. Ginseng |
Topically for scrofula | Superficial visual obstruction | Insomnia, Palpitations, Restlessness |
Cinnabaris | Carapax Trionycis | Olibanum |
Epilepsy or trance | Amenorrhea Postpartum bleeding due to Qi and Blood Stagnation | Traumatic injury to the scrotum |
Medulla Junci | Spora Lygodii | Caul. Akebiae |
Hematemesis | Urinary stones | Burning dysuria |
Notes
- Amber is the fossilized resin of a pine species that no longer exists.
- Its name comes from a legend holding that a tiger's soul sinks into the earth at death and turns into amber.
- It serves well as a sedative, particularly where there are convulsions or muscle spasms.
- For Blood Stagnation in the Lower Jiao, it may be used on its own: take 0.9g internally twice daily for nine to ten days.
- Taken alone as a powder, it can treat Kidney stones accompanied by hematuria.
- According to some sources, it subdues fright and stops astonishment.
- Certain sources also credit it with stopping bleeding.
- Hu Po and Poria Fu Ling both calm the Spirit, promote urination and address Spirit disorders. Hu Po acts at the Blood level, leans toward draining, and fits best when ascendant Yang or excessive Fire is disturbing the Heart. By transforming Stagnation and opening the orifices, it treats painful urinary dysfunction from Bladder Damp-Heat or Blood Stagnation, where urination is scanty, painful and bloody. Fu Ling acts at the Qi level, leans toward tonifying, and fits best when the Heart is undernourished or pathogenic water is disturbing it. It boosts the Qi and leaches out Dampness, treating Qi Deficiency that fails to transform fluids and so produces edema and scanty urine.
From Class
- Hu Po (Amber): Settles the spirits, kills Gui in the Jing, and breaks blood stasis especially along the Heart–Kidney axis. (Lewis)
- Ding Xian Wan (Arrest Seizures Pill): Ding Xian Wan (Tian Ma, Chuan Bei Mu, Ban Xia, Chen Pi, Deng Xin Cao, Hu Po, Zhu Li, Dan Nan Xing) arrests seizures; can be maintenance every third day. (Gioioso)
- Xiao Tiao Jing Tang (Small Regulating the Menses Decoction): For deficient blood rebelling upward to harass the Heart (postnatal psychosis): Bai Shao, Dang Gui, Mo Yao, Hu Po, Rou Gui, Xi Xin; musk is now forbidden. (Maciocia)
- Hu Po (amber resin) essential oil: Alchemical oil (Alchemical Botanica carries these); amber resin is used for the Po — breaks up what makes the Po solidify/'mummify'. (Lewis)
- Hu Po (Amber) — mineral/resin: Also listed as a stone/mineral substance: settles the spirits and kills Gui (see Herb entry). (Lewis)