Author: Sun Si Miao, 孫思邈
Year: 650
Source: Important Formulas Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces (Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方)
Category: Formulas that Open the Sensory Orifices
Pattern: Abundant Phlegm blocking the Qi and causing collapse
Key Symptoms: Sudden collapse, loss of consciousness, clenched jaw, extreme difficulty in breathing, pale ashen complexion, obstruction by abundant phlegm, spittle and foaming
Ingredients
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Zhu Ya Zao
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Pinyin: Zao Jiao
Chinese: 皂角
Pharmaceutical: Fructus Gleditsiae Abnormalis
Taxonomy: Gleditsia sinensis
English: Abnormal Chinese Honeylocust Fruit / Soap bean |
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Tastes: Pungent, salty, warm, slightly toxic
Meridians Entered: Lung and Large Intestine |
Actions & Indications:
- Dispels Phlegm
Obstruction due to stubborn Phlegm impairing the normal descent of Lung Qi with cough or wheezing with copious sputum that is difficult to expectorate as well as Phlegm nodules
- Opens the Orifices and revives the Spirit
Sudden loss of consciousness with facial paralysis or seizures due to excessive Phlegm. (treats only the manifestation, combine with other herbs to treat the root)
- Dissipates clumps and reduces swellings
Initial stages of abscesses or boils Abscesses in which there is difficulty in discharging pus
- Unblocks the bowels and expels roundworms as a suppository
Constipation and Intestinal obstruction due to roundworms
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Standard Dosage: 1-1.5g as pills or powder.
Cautions: Do not overuse orally to avoid vomiting and diarrhea. It has drastic pungent, strong property of pungent, distracting and moving and use with cautions for stubborn syndrome and strong body. Prohibited for pregnant women, qi and yin deficiency and who tends to bleed. |
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Xi Xin
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Pinyin: Xi Xin
Chinese: 细辛
Pharmaceutical: Herba cum Radix Asari
Taxonomy: Asarum sieboldii
English: Chinese Wild Ginger |
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Tastes: Pungent, warm, slightly toxic
Meridians Entered: Lung, Kidney and Heart |
Actions & Indications:
- Releases Exterior Wind and Cold
As an adjunctive for any exterior Wind-Cold especially with Dampness in Lung or underlying Yang Deficiency
Frequently used for Wind-Cold when the dominant symptoms are head and body aches
- Disperses Wind-Cold and Internal Cold and alleviates pain
Pain due to Wind and/or Cold anywhere in the body, particularly headache, painful obstruction, abdominal pain or headache due to obstruction of Fluids and Blood by Cold, often with anhydrous Wind-Cold-Damp Bipain
- Warms the Lungs and transforms Phlegm and Thin Mucus (circulates water)
Cough and Qi which surges upward and fullness in the chest in the chest with continuous cough from clumped Qi in the chest and diaphragm marked by copious, watery sputum due to Phlegm-Damp or Wind-Cold with congested fluids
- Disperses and unblocks the Qi of the nasal orifices (clears the orifices of the head)
Nasal congestion
Oral pathology
Loss of consciousness
- Promotes healing of oral ulcerations
Oral lesions or ulcerations
- Relieves toothache
Toothache
- Aids fasting
Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the superior class of herbs which can, with protracted taking, make the body light and prolong life. This may suggest it was part of supplementing the diet when engaging in an "avoiding grain" (Bigu 辟穀) fasting regime to cultivate life (Yangsheng 養生).
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Standard Dosage: 1-3g in decoction.
Cautions: Traditionally contraindicated for headache due to hyperactivity of yang caused by yin deficiency and dry cough caused by lung dryness hurting yin. It is incompatible with Li Lu.
While not prohibited in the UK, the RCHM has enacted a voluntary ban by use due to possible fears of aristolochic acid. It is usually substituted with Gui Pi (Cinnamon Bark), or Rou Gui, or Gui Zhi and Qiang Huo for channel problems, Zi Su Ye and Bai Qian for lung issues, Gao Ban and Bai Zhi for treating the head and Cong Bai and Bai Zhi for the sinuses. |
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Subsitutions:
Both ingredients may be hard to obtain in the UK. The RCHM enacted a voluntary ban on Xi Xin although it is still legal to purchase. Zhu Ya Zao/Zao Jiao was listed in some suppliers catalogues at last check (2017) although it seems unlikely any modern practitioner is going to use 500g when this and Zheng Gu Shui are the only formulae I have seen it used in to date. Whether two alternatives such as Bai Zhi and Shi Chang Pu which also aromatically release the exterior and transform Phlegm will have the same effect will have to be seen.
Preparation: Equal proportions are ground into powder and blown into the nose. only a very small amount should be used.
Actions: Unblocks the gate (jaw) and opens the sensory orifices
Contraindications: Pregnancy, loss of consciousness due to abandonment disorders or hypertensive crisis, cerebral haemorrhage, or traumatic cranial injuries.
Notes:
This is intended for temporary emergency use only. Once consciousness is restored or sneezing induced it should be discontinued.
Research Links:
Reference Notes: (click to display)
Most formulas are found in Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet (2009): Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies and Chen & Chen (2015) Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications. Others are from translations of primary sources. It is recommended that the original material is cross-referenced for mistakes and additional information.
Substitutions have been taken from Ken Lloyd & Prof. Leung (2004): Mayway UK Substitution List or the above publications and are intended as suggestions to help navigate the tight restrictions in the UK quickly. More applicable substitutions may be appropriate in specific situations.
Individual herb information has initially been sourced from TCM Wiki and American Dragon for basic data and then updated manually with my own notes.
These pages are intended to assist clinicians and are not intended for self-diagnosis or treatment for which a qualified professional should be consulted.
