Tranquilizers
Any medicinal herb that calms the mind and has the main action of treating mental disorder is referred to tranquilizers.

They are usually attributive to the heart meridian and mainly indicated for hyperactivity of heart-fire, internal interference of phlegm-heat or heart-qi and heart blood deficiency manifested as irritability, palpitation, insomnia with frequent dreams, infantile convulsion, epilepsy and mania, etc..

They mainly include such medicinal materials as minerals and plant seeds that are used in prescription. The mineral medicines are heavy and lowering in property and have the main action of tranquillizing the mind while the plant seeds are moistening and tonifying in property and have the main action of nourishing the heart and calming the mind.

They should be selected according to causes of disease and pathogenesis, that is, sthenic syndrome should be treated with mineral medicines and asthenic syndrome should be treated with plant seeds. Besides, they must be used in combination accordingly. For example, for hyperactivity of heart-fire, they should be used in combination with medicinal herbs for clearing away heart-frie; for deficiency of yin and blood, those for replenishing the blood and nourishing yin should be combined; and for liver-yang rising, those for calming the liver and suppressing yang should be combined.

Since mineral medicines, if they are used in pill or powder form, easily damage the stomach-qi, they must be combined with those for nourishing the stomach and strengthening the spleen according to the conditions, and are only taken temporarily. Some of them must be used with caution since they are toxic.