There are five flavors: pungent, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. There is also a bland flavor, which is not prominent in taste, so it is still referred to as the five flavors, but in reality, there are six. Different flavors have different effects. The pungent flavor can disperse and move, such as Schizonepeta dispersing wind-cold, Villous Amomum Fruit moving qi, and Sichuan Lovage Rhizome promoting blood circulation. The sweet flavor can tonify and relax, such as Astragalus Root tonifying qi, Donkey-hide Gelatin tonifying blood, and Liquorice Root relieving spasms. The sour flavor can astringe and consolidate, such as Asiatic Cornelian Cherry Fruit stopping night sweats, Cherokee Rose Fruit stopping seminal emission, and Chinese Gall astringing the intestines to stop chronic diarrhea. The bitter flavor can purge and dry, such as Coptis Rhizome purging fire, Rhubarb Rhizoma purging and relieving constipation, and Atractylodes Rhizome drying dampness. The salty flavor can soften hardness and moisten for purgation, such as seaweed and oyster shell treating scrofula, and Mirabilite moistening for purgation of dry accumulation in stools. The bland flavor can eliminate dampness and promote urination, such as Ricepaperplant Pith and Poria. Modern people believe that the different flavors of medicine are related to their chemical components, such as pungent flavors often containing volatile oils, sour flavors containing organic acids, sweet flavors containing sugars, and bitter flavors possibly containing alkaloids, glycosides, or bitter principles.