Shu Gan Tang
Ingredients: Bupleurum root (chai hu), Carthamus flower (hong hua), Chih-ko fruit (zhi ke), Cnidium root (chuan xiong), Citrus rind (chen pi) (blue), Coptis root (huang lian), Evodia (wu zhu yu), Persica (tao ren), Tang-kuei root (dang gui), White peony root (bai shao).
Mandarin: 疏肝湯 Pin-Yin: Shu Gan Tang English: Bupleurum & Evodia Formula Romaji: Sokan To Kanji: 疎肝湯 Kampo: No |
Source:
- Bring Spring Back to Myriad Diseases (Wan Bing Hui Chun, 1587)
How it works:
- Calms the liver
- Regulates the blood and qi
- Reduces pain
Clinical Applications:
- Pain underneath the hypochondrium
- Stagnancy of blood in the liver
- Injury to the qi caused by excessive anger
This 16th century formula was developed by the Ming dynasty physician Gong Tingxian and was originally published in “Bring Spring Back to Myriad Diseases.” Shu Gan Tang calms the liver, regulates the flow of blood and qi, and reduces pain in order to alleviate pain underneath the hypochondrium, stagnancy of blood in the liver, and qi injuries caused by excessive anger.
English Name |
Pin-Yin Name |
Bupleurum |
Chai Hu |
Angelica Root |
Dang Gui |
Cnidium |
Chuan Xiong |
Persica |
Tao Ren |
Carthamus |
Hong Hua |
Chih-ko |
Zhi Qiao |
Peony |
Shao Yao |
Blue Citrus Peel |
Qing Pi |
Coptis |
Huang Lian |
Evodia |
Wu Zhu Yu |
Main Ingredient(s):
In this formula, Bupleurum encourages the flow of qi in order to combat qi stagnation and alleviate pain, and Evodia is used to calm the liver, disperse cold, and reduce pain.