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Chinese Medicinal Material
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【Chinese Name】 |
大黃附子湯
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【Phonetic】 |
Da Huang Fu Zi Tang
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【English Name】 |
Rhubarb and Aconite Decoction |
【Classification】 |
Purgative formulas |
【Source】 |
《Essentials from the Golden Cabinet》Jin Gui Yao Lue《金匱要略》 |
【Combination】 |
Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (Da Huang) 3 liang (9g), Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (Pao Fu Zi) 3 pieces (12g), Asari Radix et Rhizoma (Xi Xin) 2 liang (3g) |
【Method】 |
Prepare it as a decoction. |
【Action】 |
Warms the interior, dissipates cold, promotes defecation, and relieves pain. |
【Indication】 |
This formula is designed for an excess pattern of cold stagnation in the interior. The symptoms are abdominal pain, constipation, rib-side pain, fever, reversal cold of the hands and feet, a white and greasy tongue coating, and a wiry, tight pulse. |
【Pathogenesis】 |
This is an excessive pattern caused by yin cold and stagnation blocking the intestines. The interior excess yin cold prevents yang qi from warming and flowing freely, which causes qi and blood to become blocked. The symptoms include abdominal pain and reversal cold of the limbs; and when cold accumulation blocks the qi of the intestines, there is constipation. The white, greasy tongue coating and wiry, tight pulse are also evidence of excess cold. Warming the interior, dissipating cold, promoting defecation, and expelling accumulation treat the interior excess cold accumulation. |
【Clarification】 |
Why is da huang, a medicinal with a bitter and cold property, included in this formula when its action is to expel cold accumulation? While this formula contains bitter and cold da huang, it still maintains its action to warmly purge. This is because da huang is combined with the extremely hot and acrid fu zi, which in this formula, is dosed at the largest amount found within the《Treatise on Cold Damage》. In addition, it is combined with warm xi xin. Da huang’s cold property is constrained by hot medicinals and only its action to expel accumulation through purgation remains. This method of combination is called “disregard properties and utilize the actions”. |
【Application】 |
1. Essential pattern differentiation Da Huang Fu Zi Tang serves as the representative warm purgation prescription and is a common formula used to treat excess patterns of constipation due to cold accumulation. This clinical pattern is marked by abdominal pain, constipation, and cold limbs. 2. Modern applications This formula may be used in the following biomedically defined disorders when the patient shows signs of interior excess cold accumulation: acute appendicitis, acute ileus, swollen and painful testis, cholecystalgia, post cholecystectomy syndrome, chronic dysentery, and uremia. 3. Cautions and contraindications This formula is prohibited to use in patterns of interior excess due to heat. The dosage of da huang is not supposed to surpass that of fu zi. |
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