Formulas · Dispel Wind 祛風 · Jipseong (集成)

Black Snake and Sophora Pill

Osagosam-won

한글 오사고삼원 · Pinyin Wu She Ku Shen Yuan

烏蛇苦參元

The source label 集成 is given as Jipseong, following Samsan-tang in the Fright chapter, the corpus having no fuller expansion for this label in the sores chapter. 烏蛇肉 is recorded under osa with the part kept in the prep. 茶淸 is recorded under sechacha, following the corpus.

Composition 構成

Gosam Ku Shen
苦參 고삼 · Sophora Root

960 g
Chief 君

苦參一斤半
Osa Wu She
烏蛇 오사 · Black-Striped Snake

320 g
Chief 君

烏蛇肉八兩 — the flesh of the black-striped snake
Seokchangpo Shi Chang Pu
石菖蒲 석창포 · Acorus

160 g
Deputy 臣

石菖蒲四兩
Bongmil Feng Mi
蜂蜜 봉밀 · Honey

—
Envoy 使

蜜丸 — honey to make the pills
Seacha Xi Ya Cha
細芽茶 세아차 · Fine Tea Buds

—
Envoy 使

茶淸 — clear tea as the draught, a hundred pills

Total g per packet (첩) · representative dosage — verify against source texts. Excludes 2 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 leprous wind and malign tinea
Three drugs only — sophora root, black snake flesh and acorus
Honey pills the size of a paulownia seed, a hundred in clear tea

Indications 主治

Pattern-based

癩風 — leprous wind
惡癬 — malign tinea

Biomedical correlates

Hansen's disease (leprosy) — historical
Extensive tinea or chronic eczematous dermatitis

Source text 原文

Donguibogam 東醫寶鑑

治癩風及惡癬. 苦參一斤半, 烏蛇肉八兩, 石菖蒲四兩. 右爲末, 蜜丸梧子大, 茶淸下百丸. 《集成》

Translation

Treats leprous wind and malign tinea. Sophora root 1 geun 8 nyang; the flesh of the black-striped snake 8 nyang; acorus 4 nyang. Powder the above, make honey pills the size of a paulownia seed, and send down a hundred in clear tea. — Jipseong 集成 (Donguibogam · Jechang)

Clinical commentary 臨床

The shortest of the leprosy pills and the easiest to read: a geun and a half of sophora root, half a geun of black snake flesh and four nyang of acorus, made up with honey. The snake carries the 大風 indication and the sophora root does the work on the skin, with acorus as the drug that is held to open the orifices and carry the others inward. It is the only leaf in this group that names 惡癬, malign tinea, alongside the leprosy, which places it at the join between the chapter's 大風瘡 and 疥癬 sections. Sophora root at this dose is a credible antifungal and antipruritic, so of all the formulas here this is the one most likely to have helped the second of its two indications. **Contains snake flesh, a raw animal material, taken internally in quantity.** The leprosy indication is not met by any of the three drugs; leprosy is treated with rifampicin, dapsone and clofazimine. — Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.