Formulas · Release the Exterior 解表 · Jeoljae (節齋)

Notopterygium and Atractylodes Decoction

Ganghwalchangchul-tang

한글 강활창출탕 · Pinyin Qiang Huo Cang Zhu Tang

羌活蒼朮湯

Composition 構成

Ganghwal Qiang Huo
羌活 강활 · Notopterygium

6 g
Chief 君
Changchul Cang Zhu
蒼朮 창출 · Atractylodes Lancea

4 g
Deputy 臣
Siho Chai Hu
柴胡 시호 · Bupleurum

4 g
Deputy 臣
Hwanggeum Huang Qin
黃芩 황금 · Scutellaria

4 g
Assistant 佐
Jisil Zhi Shi
枳實 지실 · Immature Bitter Orange

4 g
Assistant 佐
Gyulhong Ju Hong
橘紅 귤홍 · Red Tangerine Peel

4 g
Assistant 佐
Banha Ban Xia
半夏 반하 · Pinellia

4 g
Assistant 佐

toxic raw — requires processing
Cheongung Chuan Xiong
川芎 천궁 · Cnidium

4 g
Assistant 佐
Gamcho Gan Cao
甘草 감초 · Licorice

4 g
Envoy 使
Saenggang Sheng Jiang
生薑 생강 · Fresh Ginger

—
Envoy 使

5 slices

Total g per packet (첩) · representative dosage — verify against source texts. Excludes 1 ingredient measured by count or used as a vehicle, shown as —.

Received this formula from your practitioner? Amounts shown here are classical reference values — granule and prepared products differ. Always follow your prescribed dosage and directions.

Actions 效能

Releases the exterior and dispels wind damp
Harmonizes the alternation of chill and fever
Dries dampness and transforms phlegm in the centre

Indications 主治

Pattern-based

Malaria arising from a common cold caught in mountain mists (感冒嵐瘴)
Cold and heat malaria (寒熱瘧) with the two alternating
Exterior pattern with body aches and a damp heavy head

Biomedical correlates

Malaria
Acute febrile illness with myalgia
Relapsing febrile illness with periodic chills and fever

Source text 原文

Donguibogam 東醫寶鑑

治感冒嵐瘴成寒熱瘧. 羌活一錢半, 蒼朮ㆍ柴胡ㆍ黃芩ㆍ枳實ㆍ橘紅ㆍ半夏ㆍ川芎ㆍ甘草各一錢. 右剉, 作一貼, 入薑五片, 水煎服. 《節齋》

Translation

Treats a common cold caught in mountain mists that has turned into cold and heat malaria. Notopterygium 1.5 don; atractylodes, bupleurum, scutellaria, immature bitter orange, red tangerine peel, pinellia, cnidium and licorice, 1 don each. Cut up, make one packet, add 5 slices of ginger, decoct in water and take. — Jeoljae 節齋 (Donguibogam · Haehak)

Clinical commentary 臨床

Bupleurum and scutellaria at the centre of it make this a Sohosi-tang pattern formula wearing wind-damp clothes. Notopterygium leads at a don and a half, atractylodes stands beside it, and between them they aim at the exterior and at the dampness the chapter blames the mists for; the bupleurum-and-scutellaria pair then takes the alternation of chill and fever itself, which is the half-exterior half-interior reading of a paroxysm. The rest is Ijin-tang in outline — pinellia, red tangerine peel, licorice — with immature bitter orange and cnidium added to move qi and blood. The formula is for the early case, the one the leaf says began as a common cold and only afterwards settled into a rhythm, and it is the mildest of the chapter's attempts to catch a malaria before it becomes chronic. Pinellia is toxic raw and must be properly processed. A periodic fever following travel in a malarial region needs blood films or a rapid antigen test and modern antimalarial treatment. — Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.