Formulas · Tonify Yin 補陰 · Uihak Immun (醫學入門)

Ophiopogon Decoction

Maengmundong-tang

한글 맥문동탕 · Pinyin Mai Men Dong Tang

麥門冬湯

Three other formulas in the Bogam bear the name 麥門冬湯 — the Geumgwe formula, the one in the Cold chapter, and the Samin year formula at 天地運氣 1.36 — and all four are different. This is the one the Sudden Turmoil chapter cites at 1.8.

Composition 構成

Maengmundong Mai Men Dong
麥門冬 맥문동 · Liriope

8 g
Chief 君
Jinpi Chen Pi
陳皮 진피 · Aged Tangerine Peel

4 g
Deputy 臣
Banha Ban Xia
半夏 반하 · Pinellia

4 g
Deputy 臣
Insam Ren Shen
人蔘 인삼 · Ginseng

2 g
Deputy 臣
Baekchul Bai Zhu
白朮 백출 · White Atractylodes

4 g
Assistant 佐
Baekbongnyeong Fu Ling
白茯苓 백복령 · Poria (white)

4 g
Assistant 佐
Somaek Xiao Mai
小麥 소맥 · Wheat

—
Assistant 佐

half a hop
Gamcho Gan Cao
甘草 감초 · Licorice

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

—
Envoy 使

three slices
Omae Wu Mei
烏梅 오매 · Mume Plum

—
Envoy 使

one fruit

Total g per packet (첩) · representative dosage — verify against source texts. Excludes 3 ingredients 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 vexing thirst after sudden turmoil

Indications 主治

Pattern-based

Fluid damage with thirst after vomiting and diarrhoea
Stomach qi not yet recovered

Biomedical correlates

Rehydration phase of acute gastroenteritis

Source text 原文

Donguibogam 東醫寶鑑

治霍亂後煩渴. 麥門冬二錢, 陳皮ㆍ半夏ㆍ白朮ㆍ白茯苓各一錢, 小麥半合, 人參ㆍ甘草各五分. 右剉, 作一貼, 入薑三片ㆍ烏梅一箇, 水煎服. 《入門》 ○一名九君子湯. 《入門》

Translation

Treats vexing thirst after sudden turmoil. Ophiopogon, 2 don; tangerine peel, pinellia, white atractylodes and white poria, 1 don each; wheat, half a hop; ginseng and licorice, 5 fun each. Cut up, make one packet, add three slices of ginger and one smoked plum, and decoct in water. Also called Gugunja-tang, the Nine Gentlemen Decoction. — Uihak Immun 入門 (Donguibogam · Gwallan)

Clinical commentary 臨床

Yukgunja-tang with ophiopogon, wheat and smoked plum added, which is why the alternative name counts nine. The design is for the patient who has stopped vomiting and cannot stop drinking: the six gentlemen rebuild the stomach while ophiopogon and wheat replace what the fluid loss took, and the smoked plum gives the sourness that makes a thirsty patient able to drink it. 煩渴 after sudden turmoil is the rehydration phase, and treating it with a sweet-sour drink containing grain is sound. What a modern clinic would add is salt. — Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.