Suan Zao Ren - 酸枣仁 - Semen Zizyphi Spinosae - Sour Jujube Seeds

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Semen Zizyphi Spinosae / Ziziphi Spinosae Semen
Common English:	Sour Jujube Seeds Spiny Date Seeds Spiny Zizyphus Seeds Zizyphus

Category

Substances that Calm the Spirit

Properties

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Sweet Sour (Acrid)	Neutral	Gallbladder Heart Liver Spleen	9-18g Powder:1.5-3g Tincture: 2-4ml

Actions And Indications

Actions	Indications/Syndromes
Nourishes Heart Yin, tonifies Liver Blood and calms the Spirit	Liver Blood Deficiency or Heart Yin Deficiency with Deficiency Fire Rising with irritability, insomnia and palpitations with anxiety
Astringes sweat and generates fluids	Abnormal sweating, either spontaneous sweating or night sweats

Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions

Major Combinations

Rx. Paeoniae Alba Bai Shao Rx. Angelicae Sinensis Dang Gui Rx. Polygoni Multiflori He Shou Wu	Rz. Anemarrhenae Zhi Mu Poria Fu Ling	Rx. Codonopsis Dang Shen Poria Fu Ling Arillus Longan Long Yan Rou
Irritability, insomnia, and palpitations with anxiety due to Heart Blood and Yin Deficiency.	Insomnia and irritability due to Liver Yin Deficiency and its accompanying Heat.	Insomnia, palpitations and irritability due to Spleen Qi and Heart Blood Deficiency.
Fr. Schisandrae Wu Wei Zi Rx. Astragali Huang Qi Fr. Corni Shan Zhu Yu (Concha Ostreae) (Mu Li)	Rx. Polygalae Yuan Zhi	Rz. Anemarrhenae Zhi Mu
Spontaneous sweating and night sweats.	Balances the contracting, introverted and dispersing, extroverted manifestations of Spirit to ensure the proper balance of openness and sobriety.	Nourishes Liver Blood and Heart Yin to clear Deficiency Fire.
Fr. Schisandrae Wu Wei Zi	Rx. Ginseng Ren Shen Rx. Astragali Huang Qi Rx. Angelicae Sinensis Dang Gui Arillus Longan Long Yan Rou	Rx. Paeoniae Alba Bai Shao Caul. Polygoni Multiflori Ye Jiao Teng Concha Haliotidis Shi Jue Ming Rx. Rehmanniae Sheng Di Huang Poria Pararadicis Fu Shen Concha Ostreae Mu Li Fossilia Ossis Mastodi Long Gu
Altitude sickness.	Shen disturbance due to Spleen and Heart Deficiency.	Shen disturbance due to Liver Yin Deficiency.
Rx. Rehmanniae Sheng Di Huang Fr. Schisandrae Wu Wei Zi Rx. Angelicae Sinensis Dang Gui Sm. Platycladi Bai Zi Ren	Fr. Schisandrae Wu Wei Zi Rx. Astragali Huang Qi Rx. Codonopsis Dang Shen	Fr. Corni Shan Zhu Yu Concha Ostreae Mu Li Fr. Schisandrae Wu Wei Zi
Shen disturbance due to Heart and Kidney Deficiency.	Spontaneous sweating.	Night sweats.

Notes

1. Among the sedative herbs, this one is used most often. Its energy is gentle and its quality nourishing.
2. This herb and Sm. Platycladi Bai Zi Ren are alike, both treating insomnia caused by Blood and Yin Deficiency. Suan Zao Ren is preferred for Heart Yin Deficiency, while Bai Zi Ren is preferred for Heart Blood Deficiency.
3. It astringes the Exterior while tonifying the Interior. By tonifying Blood it quiets the Spirit, and by resolving and astringing the Yin it stops sweating.
4. For neurasthenia it may be taken on its own as a powder at bedtime.
5. It tonifies all five Yin organs, addressing Heart Qi Deficiency, Lung Qi Deficiency, Liver Yin and Blood Deficiency, Kidney Qi Deficiency, Spleen Qi Deficiency and Gallbladder Qi Deficiency.
6. Suan Zao Ren, Rx. Polygalae Yuan Zhi, and Sm. Platycladi Bai Zi Ren each enter the Heart channel, calm the Spirit and treat palpitations, fright and insomnia. Suan Zao Ren and Bai Zi Ren are sweet and neutral, nourish Heart Yin and Liver Blood, and are best suited to insomnia and irritability from Deficiency. Bai Zi Ren mainly treats the Heart and also moistens and lubricates the Intestines for dry constipation, whereas Suan Zao Ren mainly treats the Liver. Its restraining, inhibiting nature astringes sweat and generates Fluids, so it treats profuse sweating from Deficiency and thirst from injured Fluids. Yuan Zhi is acrid to disperse, bitter to drain and warm to unblock; it assists Heart Yang and augments Heart Qi to restore harmonious communication between the Heart and Kidneys, calm the Spirit and strengthen resolve. It is better suited to insomnia and palpitations from a loss of communication between the Heart and Kidneys accompanied by forgetfulness, confusion and poor concentration. It also disperses Stagnation, expels Phlegm, reduces swellings and disperses sores, so it can be used for cough from Cold-Phlegm and for cases where Cold obstructs the Qi so that Phlegm and Dampness enter the collaterals and produce toxic swollen sores.
7. Dry-fried Spiny Zizyphus Chao Suan Zao Ren has a warm tonifying action that nourishes the Heart and astringes the Liver. It calms the Spirit, promotes sleep, and treats sweating from Deficiency and irritable thirst.
8. Dosage: Crush before decocting.
9. Dosage: 9-15g (Secondary source)
10. Dui Yao pair with Zhi Zi: for insomnia and excessive dreaming due to Heart Fire, and for nervous prostration and enervation.