Herbs are a very important part of Chinese medicine. Traditionally, they were more commonly used than acupuncture. There are more than ten thousand herbs listed in the Material Medica but only three or four hundred are commonly used here in the United States. Although generally referred to as "herbs", they actually range from plants to animals to minerals and even shells. There are strict rules regarding their cultivation, harvesting, processing, and combining.
Herbs are typically prescribed in combination, or in a formula, rather than individually. Formulas are developed in consideration of each patient's particular symptoms as well as the root causes of the condition, consistent with the holistic approach of Chinese medicine. They are generally classified into five flavors, five temperatures, and about twenty classes of functions. Their propensity to certain meridian(s) is also important. When choosing herbs for a patient, each herb's properties, relative meridians, and functions are taken into account.
Traditionally, raw herbs were most commonly used. However, the raw herbs are rarely consumed directly, rather they are brewed with water into a drinkable form. Some conditions are better treated with herbs in pill or powder form or with herbal wine. Modern technology has also brought us the ability to provide herbs in the form of concentrated granules, extracts, or even homeopathic-type elixirs.