Herb's functions include actions of lifting, lowering floating and sinking, as well as channel tropisms. Properties and flavors Properties and flavors are also known as four properties and five flavors. Every drug has its property and flavor.
Property refers to the cold, hot, warm or cool nature of a drug.
These properties of drugs are so sorted out according to the different actions of the drugs on the human body and their therapeutic effects. Drugs of cold and cool natures and drugs of warm and hot natures are of opposite properties. Most of the cool- or cold Cnatured drugs have the effects of clearing heat, purging fire, removing toxic substances, and nourishing yin, and are used to cure heat syndromes. On the contrary, drugs of warm or hot nature usually have the effects of dispersing cold, warming up the interior, supporting yang, and treating collapse, and are therefore used to treat cold syndromes. In addition to the four properties mentioned above, there is the fifth, the neutral or mild one.