Yin Qiao San
[Source]
Collected Treatises on Warm Diseases
[Composition]
(Jin) Honeysuckle flower, Forsythia fruit, Mint, Schizonepeta stem and leaves (spikes), Bamboo leaves, Burdock fruit, (Ku) Platycodon root, Lightly fermented soybean, (Sheng) Licorice root, Reed rhizome
(10)
[Categorization]
<Tonify Spleen and Middle Jiao>: Licorice root
<Dispel Exterior with Acrid Coolness>: Lightly fermented soybean, Burdock fruit, Mint
<Dispel Exterior with Acrid Warmth>: Schizonepeta stem and leaves
<Resolve Phlegm>: Platycodon root
<Clear Heat and Purge Fire>: Reed rhizome, Bamboo leaves
<Clear Heat and Detoxify>: Honeysuckle flower, Forsythia fruit
[Rationale of Formula]
From “Commentaries on Prescriptions”: Yin Qiao San treats wind-warmth, warm-toxins, and all seasonal epidemic febrile diseases. The illness comes from the exterior, with initial symptoms of body heat and thirst, no aversion to cold, and the pathogen is entirely in the exterior. Therefore, an acrid cool agent is used to gently relieve the upper jiao. Honeysuckle flower, Forsythia fruit, Mint, and Schizonepeta stem and leaves are all acrid and cool substances that are light, uplifting, and dispersing, clearing the upper jiao. Lightly fermented soybean promotes chest circulation and resolves stagnation, burdock fruit benefits the diaphragm and clears the throat, bamboo leaves and reed rhizome clear heat from the lungs and stomach and guide it downwards, Platycodon root and licorice root resolve stagnation in the chest and diaphragm and ascend, this is a specific method by Wu of Huaiyin to open the qi of external pathogens and epidemic warmth, which was not previously discussed.
[Functions]
Dispel the exterior with acrid coolness, clear heat, and detoxify.
[Indications]
Various diseases within the scope of epidemic febrile diseases, belonging to exogenous epidemic pathogens with lung and exterior syndromes. Early stage of epidemic febrile disease, with symptoms of fever, slight aversion to cold, no sweat or little sweat, headache, thirst, cough, sore throat, red tongue tip, thin white or thin yellow coating, superficial and rapid pulse.
[Syndromes]
Common cold, influenza, measles, pneumonia, mumps, acute pharyngitis, acute tonsillitis, acute bronchitis, whooping cough, early stage of Japanese encephalitis with wind-heat exterior syndrome.
[Mnemonic]
[Additions and Subtractions]
(1) If there is chest and diaphragm fullness, add Agastache 3 qian, Curcuma 3 qian, to protect the Dan Zhong; (2) If thirst is severe, add pollen; (3) If there is neck swelling and throat pain, add Lycoperdon, Scrophularia; (4) If there is epistaxis, remove Schizonepeta spikes and lightly fermented soybean, add Imperata cylindrica rhizome 3 qian, carbonized Platycladus orientalis seed 3 qian, carbonized Gardenia fruit 3 qian; (5) If there is cough, add Apricot kernel to facilitate lung qi; (6) If after two to three days the illness still remains in the lung, and heat gradually enters the interior, add Rehmannia glutinosa prepared root and Ophiopogon japonicus tuber to preserve body fluids; (7) If it does not resolve, or if urination is scanty, add Anemarrhena, Scutellaria, and Gardenia fruit for their bitter cold properties, combined with the sweet cold properties of Ophiopogon and Rehmannia, to transform into yin energy and treat the predominance of heat.
[Pharmacology]
In vitro, it has an inhibitory effect on influenza virus. It has effects such as inducing sweating, reducing fever, resisting pathogenic microorganisms, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-allergic, and enhancing immune function.