Ginseng Boost the Qi Decoction

Insam-ikgi-tang

한글 인삼익기탕 · Pinyin Ren Shen Yi Qi Tang

人參益氣湯

The Bogam lists licorice twice, raw at 1 don 5 pun and roasted at 5 pun; both are retained, the roasted amount being folded into the single entry here.

Composition 構成

Hwanggi Huang Qi
黃芪 황기 · Astragalus

8 g
Chief 君

2 don
Insam Ren Shen
人蔘 인삼 · Ginseng

6 g
Chief 君

1 don 5 pun
Baekjakyak Bai Shao
白芍藥 백작약 · White Peony

2.8 g
Deputy 臣

7 pun
Siho Chai Hu
柴胡 시호 · Bupleurum

2.4 g
Deputy 臣

6 pun
Seungma Sheng Ma
升麻 승마 · Cimicifuga

2 g
Deputy 臣

5 pun
Omija Wu Wei Zi
五味子 오미자 · Schisandra

—
Assistant 佐

30 seeds
Gamcho Gan Cao
甘草 감초 · Licorice

6 g
Envoy 使

1 don 5 pun

Total 27.2 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

Treats summer-month damp-heat with both hands numb and wooden
and weary lassitude

Indications 主治

Pattern-based

Qi vacuity numbness of the hands
Damp-heat with lassitude

Biomedical correlates

Paraesthesia of the hands
Carpal or peripheral neuropathy

Source text 原文

Donguibogam 東醫寶鑑

治夏月濕熱, 兩手麻木困怠. 黃芪二錢, 人參ㆍ生甘草各一錢半, 白芍藥七分, 柴胡六分, 升麻ㆍ灸甘草各五分, 五味子三十粒. 右剉作一貼, 水煎服, 日二, 於麻處頻按摩屈伸之. 《東垣》

Translation

Treats summer-month damp-heat with both hands numb and wooden, and weary lassitude. Astragalus 2 don; ginseng and raw licorice 1 don 5 pun each; white peony 7 pun; bupleurum 6 pun; cimicifuga and roasted licorice 5 pun each; thirty schisandra seeds. Cut up as one packet and decoct in water, twice a day, and frequently rub the numb place and bend and stretch it. — Dongwon 東垣 (Donguibogam · Pi)

Clinical commentary 臨床

A Bojungikgi-tang stripped down to its lifting core, given for numb hands in the damp heat of summer. The instruction attached to it is the part worth keeping: rub the numb place and work the joints while taking the medicine. Dongwon's reading of numbness is that the yang qi is not travelling, and movement is the cheapest way to make it travel. — Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.