Skip to content
Cura x Cura

Sheng Jiang Zhi生姜汁

Zingiberis Rhizomatis Recentis Succus · Fresh Ginger Juice

Herbs that Release the Exterior 解表药

Overview

· Disperse Wind-Cold — to Sheng Jiang 生姜. Sheng Jiang Zhi is simply the juice pressed from fresh ginger rhizome, and it shares Sheng Jiang's acrid, slightly warm nature. What changes is emphasis and route: the juice is concentrated, taken by the spoonful stirred into a warm decoction rather than boiled, and it acts faster and more forcefully on nausea than the sliced root does. It is also the classical antidote for poisoning by raw Ban Xia and Tian Nan Xing, and the liquid those two herbs are processed in — Jiang Ban Xia and Zhu Ru take their names from it.

Nature & Flavor

Acrid · Slightly warm

Channels

Lung · Spleen · Stomach

Typical Dosage

3–10 drops (roughly 3–10 mL) stirred into a warm decoction or taken with warm water; not boiled. External use: an appropriate amount.
生姜汁Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

3 core actions

  • Stops vomitingNausea and vomiting, especially from Stomach cold; stronger and quicker than sliced Sheng Jiang because the juice is not driven off by boiling. With cooling partners it can be used where the vomiting is from Stomach heat.
  • Transforms phlegm, opens the throatCopious thin phlegm, and the classical use for a blocked throat and a clenched jaw where the patient cannot swallow — the juice is dripped in rather than a decoction given.
  • Resolves the toxicity of Ban Xia and Tian Nan XingThe standard remedy for the burning, numbing throat irritation of insufficiently processed Ban Xia or Tian Nan Xing, and the reason ginger juice is the liquid both herbs are processed in.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Sheng Jiang Zhi

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Nausea and vomiting, particularly from cold in the Stomach
    - Copious thin phlegm; a blocked throat with difficulty swallowing
    - Irritation from raw or under-processed Ban Xia and Tian Nan Xing

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

NauseaVomitingMotion sicknessPostoperative nausea

Contraindications

Cautions

Not toxic, but concentrated and warming. Avoid in yin deficiency with heat signs, in heat patterns generally, and where there is bleeding from heat — including haemorrhoidal bleeding. Prolonged or heavy use stokes fire and dries fluids. It is stirred into a finished decoction, never boiled, and the dose is measured in drops rather than grams: treating it like sliced Sheng Jiang by weight overshoots badly.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: Fresh ginger and its juice are traditionally used for nausea, and small culinary-scale amounts are widely regarded as compatible with pregnancy. Larger or prolonged medicinal use during pregnancy should be directed by the treating practitioner.

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Ming Yi Bie Lu《名医别录》— the source record for Sheng Jiang, from which this preparation derives (classical source, public domain).
    2. Ben Cao Gang Mu《本草纲目》(Ming dynasty, public domain).
    3. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.

Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.