Table 1.

Use of Chinese herbal medicine in RA treatment.

Category	Herb	Number	Property and taste	Meridian tropism
Invigorating spleen and resolving dampness	Poria	8,248	Sweet, light, flat	Spleen, kidney
	Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae	7,873	Pungent, bitter, warm	Spleen, lung
	Semen Coicis	7,644	Sweet, light, cool	Spleen, stomach
	Rhizoma Dioscoreae Oppositae	6,926	Sweet, flat	Spleen, lung, kidney
	Fructus Hordei Germinatus	2,527	Sweet, flat	Spleen, stomach, liver
Promoting blood circulation to dredge collaterals	Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae	7,813	Bitter, slightly cold	Heart, liver
	Flos Carthami	7,257	Pungent, warm	Heart, liver
	Semen Persicae	7,034	Bitter, sweet, flat	Heart, liver
	Caulis Spatholobi	3,992	Bitter, slightly sweet, warm	Liver, kidney
	Rhizoma Chuanxiong	2,518	Pungent, warm	Liver
Wind-dispelling and dehumidification	Radix et Rhizoma Clematidis Chinensis	6,189	Pungent, salt, warm	Bladder
	Sigesbeckia orientalis	5,247	Pungent, bitter, cold	Kidney, liver
	Rhizoma Alismatis	4,869	Sweet, cold	Kidney, bladder
	Semen Plantaginis	2,383	Sweet, slightly cold	Liver, kidney, lung, small intestine
	Radix Angelicae Biserratae	1,375	Pungent, bitter, warm	Kidney, bladder
Heat clearing and detoxification	Herba Taraxaci Mongolici	6,956	Bitter, sweet, cold	Liver, stomach
	Herba Hedyotdis	4,890	Bitter, sweet, cold	Stomach, larger intestine
	Radix Scutellariae Baicalensis	2,260	Bitter, cold	Lung, stomach, larger intestine
	Cortex Phellodendri Amurensis	1,739	Bitter, cold	Kidney, bladder
	Rhizoma Anemarrhenae	1,583	Bitter, sweet, cold	Lung, stomach

Values indicate the number of times the drug is used. Invigorating spleen and resolving dampness: herbs have efficacy to invigorate the spleen and resolve dampness. Promoting blood circulation to dredge collaterals: herbs have efficacy to promote blood circulation and dredge collaterals. Wind-dispelling and dehumidification: herbs have efficacy to dispel wind and dehumidify. Heat clearing and detoxification: herbs have efficacy to clear heat and detoxify.