Sweet

甘 gān is the flavour associated with earth and the Spleen, and sweet herbs usually have nourishing and harmonising properties.

Ginseng (ren shen, Panax ginseng), astragalus (huang qi, Astragalus membranaceus) and goji berries (gou qi zi, Lycium barbarum) are commonly used herbs which tonifying through sweetness, while liquorice (gan cao, Glycyrrhiza glabra) and jujube berries (da zao, Ziziphus jujuba) are used to harmonise formulas and moderate the harsh properties of more drastic herbs.

Herbs such as liquorice and astragalus may also be prepared with honey to enhance their affinity for the Spleen. Since sweet herbs can be rich, cloying and hard to digest, they are used with caution in cases of Spleen deficiency with dampness.