In terms of drug theory, Shennong Herbal Classic generally describes the theories of monarch, minister, assistant, seven emotions and harmony, four qi and five flavors, and the coordination of yin and yang, and clarifies the principle of "treating cold with heat and treating heat with cold", which makes the drug performance and pathogenesis more closely combined and improves the treatment theory of traditional Chinese medicine. This paper discusses the efficacy, indications, usage and administration of drugs, which is very convenient for clinical application.
Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica puts forward the view that compatibility should be avoided. It contains about 170 indications, including diseases in internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, five senses and other disciplines. In addition, we also pay attention to the origin, collection time, processing, quality and authenticity identification of drugs.
Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica contains many contents of scientific value, and the drug knowledge accumulated by Chinese medicine through a lot of practice at that time is remarkable. Shennong's Materia Medica is the first systematic summary of scattered drug knowledge before Qin and Han Dynasties, which has always been regarded as a classic work of pharmacology with annotations.