Tonify yin herbs: 15 Chinese herbs compared

15 herbs in the Shen Study library belong to the Tonify yin category.

Tonify yin herbs are mostly cool or cold and sweet, and most enter the Kidney and Liver channels.

Herb	Nature	Flavour	Channels	Main action
Mài Dōng Ophiopogon	Cool	Sweet, Slightly bitter	Lung, Heart, Stomach	Nourishes Lung and Stomach Yin, clears Heat
Nǚ Zhēn Zǐ Privet fruit	Cool	Sweet, Bitter	Liver, Kidney	Nourishes Liver and Kidney Yin
Gǒu Qǐ Zǐ Goji berry/Wolfberry	Neutral	Sweet	Liver, Kidney, Lung	Nourishes Liver and Kidney Yin and Blood
Shēng Dì Huáng Raw rehmannia	Cold	Sweet, Bitter	Heart, Liver, Kidney	Clears Heat, cools Blood — Ying and Xue levels
Tiān Dōng Chinese asparagus root	Cold	Sweet, Bitter	Lung, Kidney	Nourishes Lung and Kidney Yin, clears Heat
Yù Zhú Solomon seal rhizome	Neutral	Sweet	Lung, Stomach	Nourishes Lung and Stomach Yin, generates fluids
Shí Hú Dendrobium stem	Cool	Sweet	Stomach, Kidney	Nourishes Stomach Yin, generates fluids, relieves thirst
Hàn Lián Cǎo Eclipta/False daisy	Cold	Sweet, Sour	Liver, Kidney	Nourishes Liver and Kidney Yin
Guī Bǎn Tortoise plastron	Cool	Sweet, Salty	Liver, Kidney, Heart	Nourishes Yin, anchors Yang — strong
Biē Jiǎ Soft-shell turtle carapace	Cool	Salty	Liver, Kidney	Nourishes Yin, anchors Yang — stronger for clearing deficiency Heat than Gui Ban
Bǎi Hé Lily bulb	Cold	Sweet	Heart, Lung	Nourishes Yin, moistens Lung, stops cough
Běi Shā Shēn Glehnia root	Cool	Sweet, Slightly bitter	Lung, Stomach	Nourishes Yin, clears Lung Heat
Huáng Jīng Polygonatum rhizome	Neutral	Sweet	Spleen, Lung, Kidney	Tonifies qi, nourishes Yin
Sāng Shèn Mulberry fruit	Cold	Sweet, Sour	Heart, Liver, Kidney	Nourishes Yin, tonifies Blood
Hēi Zhī Má Black sesame seed	Neutral	Sweet	Liver, Kidney, Large Intestine	Tonifies Liver and Kidney, nourishes essence and Blood

Other herb categories

Learn the Tonify yin herbs

Shen Study quizzes you on each herb and shows the pattern its category shares, so you memorise less.

Try the 5-question herb quiz

Or practise a TCM case