【Chinese Name】 |
八珍湯
|
【Phonetic】 |
Ba Zhen Tang
|
【English Name】 |
Eight-Gem Decoction |
【Classification】 |
Tonic formulas |
【Source】 |
《Empirical Formulas from the Auspicious Bamboo Hall》Rui Zhu Tang Jing Yan Fang《瑞竹堂經驗方》 |
【Combination】 |
Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Ren Shen) 1 liang (30g), Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Bai Zhu) 1 liang (30g), Poria (Fu Ling) 1 liang (30g), Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Dang Gui) 1 liang (30g), Chuanxiong Rhizoma (Chuan Xiong) 1 liang (30g), Paeoniae Radix Alba (Bai Shao) 1 liang (30g), Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata (Shu Di Huang) 1 liang (30g), Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata cum Melle (Zhi Gan Cao) 1 liang (30g) |
【Method】 |
Chop the medicinals into small pieces or cubes. Take nine grams of the formula; add five pieces of sheng jiang and one piece of da zao, and boil together with three hundred milliliters water until thirty percent of the water is vaporized. Remove the dregs and drink the soup whenever necessary. It is also commonly prepared as a decoction with the same ingredients. |
【Action】 |
Boosts qi and supplements blood. |
【Indication】 |
Ba Zhen Tang is intended for a syndrome of qi and blood deficiency marked by pale or withered-yellow complexion, dizziness, auditory vertigo, lassitude of the four limbs, shortness of breath, reluctance to speak, palpitations, and decreased food intake. The tongue is pale with a thin, white coating and the pulse is thready, weak or deficient, big, and weak. |
【Pathogenesis】 |
Patterns suitable for this formula are mostly those caused by delayed treatment in chronic illnesses, dysfunction following a disease, or massive blood loss. The disease is located in the heart, spleen, and liver. The complexion, dizziness, auditory vertigo, palpitation, pale tongue with a thin, white coating, and a thready pulse all indicate heart and liver blood deficiency. The heart governs the blood while the liver stores the blood. The complexion, lack of strength in the four limbs, shortness of breath, reluctance to speak, poor appetite, and deficient forceless pulse indicate spleen qi deficiency as it governs transportation and transformation of food into qi and blood. Therefore, the treatment must supplement both qi and blood. |
【Application】 |
1. Essential pattern differentiation Ba Zhen Tang is commonly used for patterns of qi and blood deficiency. This clinical pattern is marked by shortness of breath, debilitation, vertigo, palpitations, pale tongue, thin, weak pulse. 2. Modern applications This formula may be used in the following biomedically-defined disorders when they have been differentiated as patterns of qi and blood deficiency: general weakness after a disease, various chronic diseases, menstrual irregularities, etc. |
【Additonal formulae】 |
1. Shi Quan Da Bu Tang (Perfect Major Supplementation Decoction 十全大補湯) [Source]《Beneficial Formulas from the Taiping Imperial Pharmacy》Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang《太平惠民和劑局方》 [Ingredients] Ren shen 6g, rou gui 3g, chuan xiong 6g, shu di huang 12g, fu ling 9g, bai zhu 9g, gan cao (dry-fried) 3g, huang qi 12g, dang gui 9g, bai shao 9g, sheng jiang 3 pieces, da zao 2 pieces. [Preparation and Administration] Prepare it as a decoction. [Actions] Warms and nourishes qi and blood. [Applicable Patterns] Qi and blood deficiency. Symptoms include: a withered-yellow complexion, poor appetite, fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath, palpitation, spontaneous perspiration, night sweat, cold extremities, a pale tongue, a thready and weak pulse, irregular menstruation, flooding and spotting, sores or woundsthat are difficult to heal. Ren Shen Yang Rong Tang (Ginseng Supporting and Nourishing Decoction 人參養榮湯) [Source]《Treatise on Diseases, Patterns, and Formulas Related to the Unification of the Three Etiologies》San Yin Ji Yi Bing Zheng Fang Lun《三因極一病證方論》 [Ingredients] Zhi huang qi 1 liang (30g), dang gui 1 liang (30g),rou gui 1 liang (30g), zhi gan cao 1 liang (30g), ju pi 1 liang (30g), bai zhu 1 liang (30g), ren shen 1 liang (30g), bai shao 3 liang (90g), shu di huang 3 liang (90g), wu wei zi 3 fen (4g), fu ling 3 fen (4g), yuan zhi (dry-fried) 0.5 liang (15g), sheng jiang 3 pieces, da zao 2 pieces [Preparation and Administration] Prepare it as a decoction. [Actions] Replenishes qi and nourishes blood, tranquilizes the mind by nourishing the heart. [Applicable Patterns] Qi and blood deficiency of the heart and spleen. Symptoms include: lassitude, poor appetite, easily to be sacred, amnesia, insomnia, spontaneous sweating, deficient fire signs such as dry pharynx and lips, dry skin, emaciation, cough and shortness of breath, severe panting after movement, sores or wounds that cannot completely heal due to qi and blood deficiency. 2. Tai Shan Pan Shi San (Taishan Mountain Massive Rock Powder 泰山磐石散) [Source]《The Complete Compendium of Ancient and Modern Medical Works》Gu Jin Yi Tong Da Quan《古今醫統大全》 [Ingredients] Ren shen 1 qian (3g), zhi huang qi 1 qian (6g), bai zhu 2 qian (6g), zhi gan cao 5 fen (2g), dang gui 2 qian (3g), chuan xiong 8 fen (2g), bai shao 8 fen (3g), shu di huang 8 fen (3g), chuan xu duan 1 qian (3g), nuo mi 1 fistful (6g), huang qin 1 qian (3g), sha ren 5 fen (1.5g) [Preparation and Administration] Prepare it as a decoction. [Actions] Nourishes qi and fortifies the spleen, and supplements blood to prevent abortion. [Applicable Patterns] Fetus insecurity due to qi and blood deficiency. Symptoms include: early miscarriage, habitual miscarriage, restless fetus with a pale complexion, lassitude, no appetite, a pale tongue with a thin, white coating, and a slippery, forceless pulse. |
【Remark】 |
Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II. Its trade is allowed but subject to licensing controls. |
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