Dit da jow



Dit da jow (Jyutping: dit3 daa2 zau2; pinyin: Diē dǎ jiǔ) is a common Chinese liniment used as traditional medicine in the belief it can reduce the pain from external injuries.

Description
Dit da jow – thought to be an analgesic liniment preferred by martial artists – is made from herbs put in a glass or polyethylene terephthalate plastic jar and mixed with an alcohol, such as vodka or gin.

Typical ingredients
The herbs and other ingredients are typically coarse-ground, then steeped in alcohol (vodka or rice wine is common), sometimes with heat, and then aged.

Traditional ingredients
Traditional recipes may include:
 * baji tian (morinda root)
 * baibu (stemona)
 * baidou kou (white cardamom)
 * baihuashe (pit viper)
 * baiji zi (mustard seed)
 * baishao (white peony root, Paeonia lactiflora)
 * baizhi (white angelica root)
 * banxia (Pinellia root)
 * cangzhu (red Atractylodes root)
 * caowu (Aconitum kusnezoffii root - a wild member of the large aconitum genus)
 * cheqian zi (Plantago seed)
 * chenpi (aged tangerine peel)
 * chenxiang (Aquilaria wood)
 * chishao (Paeonia lactiflora root, red peony)
 * chuanpo shi (Maclura tricuspidata)
 * chuanshan long (Dioscorea polystachya, Chinese yam)
 * chuanwu (Aconitum carmichaelii root, Sichuan aconite)
 * chuanxiong (ligusticum root)
 * dahuang (rhubarb root)
 * danshen (salvia root)
 * danggui (angelica root)
 * danggui wei (angelica root tail)
 * digupi (lycium bark)
 * dingxiang (clove bud)
 * duhuo (angelica pubescens root)
 * duzhong (eucommia bark)
 * ezhu (Curcuma zedoaria root)
 * fangfeng (siler root)
 * fuhai shi (pumice)
 * fuling (perenniporia mushroom)
 * fupen zi (raspberry fruit)
 * fuzi (Aconitum root)
 * gancao (glycyrrhiza uralensis, licorice root)
 * ganjiang (ginger rhizome)
 * gaoliang jiang (galangal rhizome)
 * gegen (kudzu root)
 * gouqi zi (lycium berry)
 * gusuibu (drynaria rhizome)
 * gualouren (trichosanthes seed)
 * guizhi (cinnamon twig)
 * haifeng teng (kadsura stem)
 * hong hua (carthamus/safflower flower)
 * hua jiao (prickly ash pepper or sichuan pepper(?))
 * huang bai (phellodendron bark)
 * huang qin (scutellaria baicalensis root)
 * ji xue teng (millettia vine)
 * jiang huang (turmeric rhizome)
 * jiang xiang (dalbergia rosewood heartwood)
 * jie geng (platycodon root)
 * jing jie (schizonepeta aerial parts)
 * kuan jin teng (tinospora cordifolia stem)
 * li lu (veratrum)
 * liu huang (sulfur)
 * liu ji nu (artemisia)
 * long gu (dragon bone, fossilized mammal bones)
 * lu lu tong (liquidambar fruit)
 * luo shi teng (star jasmine vine)
 * ma huang (ephedra stem)
 * menthol
 * mo yao (myrrh)
 * mu dan pi (moutan peony root cortex)
 * mu gua (quince fruit)
 * mu tong (akebia root)
 * mu xiang (Saussurea costus root)
 * niu xi (achyranthes root)
 * pu gong ying (dandelion)
 * pu huang (cattail pollen)
 * qian nian jian (homalomena)
 * qiang huo (Hansenia weberbauerianano, syn. Notopterygium incisum)
 * qin jian (gentian root)
 * qing pi (immature citrus peel)
 * rou cong rong (cistanche root)
 * rou gui (cinnamon bark)
 * ru xiang (frankincense)
 * san leng (sparganium rhizome)
 * san qi (panax pseudoginseng root, notoginseng)
 * shan zhu yu (cornus berry)
 * she chuang zi (cnidium seed)
 * sheng di huang (rehmannia root)
 * shu di huang (wine-cooked Rehmannia root)
 * song jie (pine node)
 * su mu (Caesalpinia sappan wood)
 * tao ren (peach kernel)
 * tian ma (Gastrodia rhizome)
 * tian nan xing (Arisaema rhizome)
 * tubie chong (Eupolyphaga sinensis, cockroach)
 * tu si zi (cuscuta seed)
 * wei ling xian (clematis root)
 * wu jia pi (Eleutherococcus root cortex)
 * wu ling zhi (flying squirrel feces)
 * wu wei zi (Euodia fruit)
 * xi xing (asarum aerial parts)
 * xiang fu (cyperus rhizome)
 * xu duan (dipsacus root)
 * xue jie (dragon's blood resin)
 * yan hu suo (Corydalis rhizome)
 * yu jin (turmeric tuber)
 * ze lan (Lycopus lucidus aerial parts)
 * zhang nao (camphor)
 * zhi ke (bitter orange fruit)
 * zi ran tong (pyrite)
 * zi su ye (perilla leaf)
 * zi wan (Callistephus root)

Westernized recipe ingredients
Some recipes instead use ingredients more readily available, such as:


 * Arnica blossoms
 * Blessed thistle
 * Cinnamon bark
 * Comfrey
 * Ginger root
 * Goldenseal root
 * Myrrh
 * Pseudoginseng
 * Rhubarb root
 * Sarsaparilla root
 * Witch-hazel
 * Eucalyptus oil
 * Rosemary oil
 * Boswellia carteri
 * Boswellia serrata

Analytics
Detailed information on the bioactive components of dit da jow is limited, with formulations varying widely. One report stated the components vary considerably with brand and age, but those found included acetic acid, acetoglyceride, columbianetin, coumarin, rhododendrol, vanillin, chrysophanic acid, and salicylic acid.