[Source]

“Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang”

 [Composition]

Agastache, Perilla leaf, Angelica dahurica, Areca peel, Poria cocos, Atractylodes macrocephala, Dried tangerine peel, Magnolia officinalis, (Bitter) Platycodon grandiflorus, Pinellia ternata (processed), Licorice root, Fresh ginger, Jujube
(13)

 [Classification]

<Regulating Qi>: Dried tangerine peel (Citrus reticulata)

<Tonifying Spleen and Middle Qi>: Jujube, Atractylodes macrocephala, Licorice root

<Releasing the Exterior with Acrid and Warm Herbs>: Perilla leaf, Angelica dahurica, Fresh ginger

<Tonifying the Spleen and Promoting Water Elimination>: Poria cocos

<Aromatizing and Resolving Dampness>: Agastache, Magnolia officinalis

<Transforming Phlegm>: Platycodon grandiflorus, Pinellia ternata (processed)

<Promoting Water Elimination and Resolving Dampness>: Areca peel

[Formula Rationale]

“Yi Fang”: This formula is for the Lung and Stomach channels. (1) Agastache: Acrid and warm, regulates qi and harmonizes the middle, dispels evil and stops vomiting, also treats the exterior and interior, serving as the chief. (2) Perilla, Angelica, Platycodon: Disperse cold and benefit the diaphragm, assisting in releasing exterior pathogens. (3) Magnolia officinalis, Areca peel: Move water and reduce fullness. (4) Dried tangerine peel, Pinellia: Disperse rebellious qi and eliminate phlegm, assisting in smoothing interior stagnation. (5) Poria, Atractylodes, Licorice root: Tonify the spleen and remove dampness, serving as ministers and assistants to support righteous qi. When righteous qi is smooth, pathogenic factors are naturally eliminated. “Shan Bu”: Wu Kun states: The irregular qi of the four seasons enters through the nose, residing not in the exterior but in the interior. Therefore, it does not use strong diaphoretics to release the exterior, but rather aromatic and qi-moving herbs to rectify the interior. Perilla, Angelica, tangerine peel, areca, Magnolia officinalis, Platycodon are all potent in qi and can therefore rectify irregular qi. Poria, Pinellia, Licorice root are bland and sweet herbs used to nourish the middle qi. If the disease is in the Tai Yang channel, this formula is entirely irrelevant. It is contraindicated for those with floating pulse, fever, or those with fundamentally deficient yuan qi, as well as those with complicated yin fever. Furthermore, Jin Bu Huan Zheng Qi San is Ping Wei San plus Pinellia and Agastache, indicated for those who have contracted miasma, are unaccustomed to the climate, or suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, and dysentery. Ping Wei San can pacify damp earth and resolve miasma, Pinellia‘s dryness awakens the spleen, and Agastache‘s fragrance opens the stomach. It is named Zheng Qi, meaning it can rectify irregular qi. “Cheng Fang Bian Du”: Irregular qi of the four seasons, malaria, etc., are all caused by insufficient middle qi, allowing them to enter. Individuals with deficient middle qi often have phlegm stagnation, leading to invisible qi combining with visible phlegm, causing illness. Therefore, this formula uses Atractylodes macrocephala and Licorice root to tonify earth and strengthen the middle, followed by Pinellia, tangerine peel, and Poria cocos to transform phlegm and resolve dampness. However, irregular qi often enters through the mouth and nose, so Platycodon grandiflorus is used to disseminate the lungs, and Magnolia officinalis to pacify the stomach, as the nose connects to the lungs and the mouth to the stomach. Agastache, perilla, and Angelica dahurica are all aromatic, acrid, and dispersing herbs that can release the exterior, disseminate the interior, dispel evil, and remove pathogens. Areca peel enters the spleen and stomach channels alone, moves water, reduces fullness, breaks up qi stagnation, and broadens the middle. Adding ginger and jujube harmonizes the营卫 (Ying and Wei) and generates fluids, harmonizing the middle and reaching the exterior, thus expelling pathogens and rectifying qi. “Han Dian”: The perilla leaf, Agastache, Angelica dahurica, etc. in the formula can release the exterior and dissipate summer dampness. Atractylodes macrocephala, Poria cocos, tangerine peel, Pinellia, Magnolia officinalis, etc. can resolve retained food and water. Platycodon grandiflorus, Areca peel, etc. can dredge the chest and abdomen and regulate qi.

 [Functions]

Releases the exterior and resolves dampness, regulates qi and harmonizes the middle.

 [Indications]

(1) External contraction of wind-cold with internal injury from food stagnation, or internal injury from cold-dampness, summer injury from summer-dampness, miasma from mountains and marshes, malaria, presenting with aversion to cold and fever, headache, fullness and distention in the chest and diaphragm, cholera with vomiting and diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, borborygmus and diarrhea, bland taste, and white greasy tongue coating. (2) Belongs to the category of digestive agents, also treats internal injuries, with the effect of releasing the exterior, and is often used in summer. It is used for internal injury from cold and raw foods, external contraction of summer dampness, retained food and stagnant water in the stomach and intestines, leading to abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, epigastric fullness, headache, fever, and absence of sweating. It can release the summer heat and dampness, and guide out stagnant water and retained food. Even without these symptoms, regular use in summer can adjust the stomach and intestines, making one feel refreshed and light. “Yi Fang”: (1) Treats external contraction of wind-cold, internal injury from food, aversion to cold and fever, headache, vomiting, fullness and distention in the chest and diaphragm, cough and asthma, and injuries from cold or dampness, malaria, heatstroke, cholera with vomiting and diarrhea. (2) Indicated for those who have contracted irregular qi from mountains and marshes, with appropriate modifications (use with caution in those with fundamentally deficient yuan qi). “Shan Bu”: External contraction of the irregular qi of the four seasons, internal retention of food, headache, chills and fever, or cholera with vomiting and diarrhea, or malaria.

 [Therapeutic Indications]

Gastroenteritis, acute gastroenteritis, acute enteritis, cold-damp type duodenal ulcer, chronic colitis, morning sickness, heatstroke, cough due to food stagnation in children, etc.

 [Mnemonics]

(1) For gastroenteritis: : Jujube, licorice, atractylodes, poria. : Ginger, Angelica, perilla. : Magnolia officinalis, agastache, areca peel. : Tangerine peel, pinellia, platycodon. (2) Si Jun Zi Tang without ginseng, three assistants, Chen Xia Zi (Chen, Xia, Jie) ate, thick intestines and stomach stop abdominal pain and vomiting suddenly comfortable (Hou, Zhi, Fu, Huo, Su).

 [Modifications]

“Han Dian”: For recurrent juvenile warts on the face, add Coix seed. (1) If exterior pathogens are predominant, increase the dosage of perilla leaf. (2) If accompanied by food stagnation, chest tightness, and abdominal distention, remove licorice root and jujube (due to their cloying nature) and add radish seed, chicken gizzard lining, and germinated grain to resolve food stagnation and aid digestion. (3) If dampness is predominant, replace Atractylodes macrocephala with Atractylodes lancea to enhance the dampness-resolving effect. (4) If diarrhea is severe, add hyacinth bean and coix seed to dispel dampness and stop diarrhea. (5) If urine is scanty, add Akebia and Alisma to remove dampness and promote urination. (6) For summer-dampness, with symptoms of chest and epigastric fullness, vexation, body fever, and yellow greasy tongue coating, remove perilla leaf, Angelica dahurica, and add Artemisia annua, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Talc to clear heat and remove dampness. (7) For cold-dampness, with symptoms of aversion to cold, cold limbs, abdominal distention, loose stools or diarrhea, long-term edema, white tongue coating, and slow and deep pulse, remove Angelica dahurica, perilla leaf, Platycodon grandiflorus, and add stir-fried dried ginger, Evodia rutaecarpa, and Polyporus umbellatus to warm the middle, dispel cold, and promote urination. (8) Remove Platycodon grandiflorus, Angelica dahurica, and Areca peel, and add stir-fried kudzu root and stir-fried white peony root, and prepared dried ginger to treat menstrual diarrhea. (9) Remove Angelica dahurica, Platycodon grandiflorus, and Areca peel, and add Corydalis yanhusuo, Dandelion, and Curcuma wenyujin to treat reflux esophagitis.

 [Pharmacology]

It has antispasmodic, analgesic, antiemetic effects, enhances cellular immune function, and has antibacterial properties.