Formulas · Tonify Yin 補陰 · Manbyeong Hoechun (萬病回春)

Eight Immortals Syrup

Palseon-go

한글 팔선고 · Pinyin Ba Xian Gao

八仙膏

Two of the eight juices have no entry of their own in the herb list — lotus root (藕) and sugar cane (甘蔗) — and so do not appear in the ingredient list above; the source's own substitution of sugar for cane juice is listed instead.

Composition 構成

I Li
梨 이 · Pear

—
Chief 君

the juice of fresh pears, one cup
Saenggang Sheng Jiang
生薑 생강 · Fresh Ginger

—
Deputy 臣

the juice of the fresh root, one cup
Nabok Luo Bo
蘿蔔 나복 · Radish

—
Deputy 臣

the juice of fresh radish, one cup
Baekgwa Bai Guo
白果 백과 · Ginkgo Nut

—
Assistant 佐

the juice of ginkgo nuts, one cup
Jungnyeok Zhu Li
竹瀝 죽력 · Bamboo Sap

—
Assistant 佐

one cup
Bongmil Feng Mi
蜂蜜 봉밀 · Honey

—
Envoy 使

one cup
Sadang Sha Tang
砂糖 사당 · Granulated Sugar

—
Envoy 使

stands in for the cane juice where no cane is to be had

Total g per packet (첩) · representative dosage — verify against source texts. Excludes 7 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 gullet-blocked food
Moistens dryness and lets food pass

Indications 主治

Pattern-based

Dryness of the gullet with food not going down
Fluid damage with a dry stomach duct

Biomedical correlates

Dysphagia with dehydration — supportive feeding

Source text 原文

Donguibogam 東醫寶鑑

治噎食. 生藕汁ㆍ生薑汁ㆍ生梨汁ㆍ生蘿葍汁ㆍ甘蔗汁無則砂糖代之ㆍ白果汁卽銀杏ㆍ竹瀝ㆍ蜂蜜各一盞. 右和勻, 盛飯甑蒸熟, 任意食之. 《回春》

Translation

Treats gullet-blocked food. The juice of fresh lotus root, of fresh ginger, of fresh pears, of fresh radish, of sugar canewhere there is none, sugar stands in for it and of ginkgo nutsthat is, the white nut, with bamboo sap and honey, one cup each. Mix them even, set the mixture in a rice steamer and steam it through, and let the patient eat as much as he likes. — Manbyeong Hoechun 回春 (Donguibogam · Guto)

Clinical commentary 臨床

Eight juices steamed together into a syrup, and of everything offered for gullet block it is the one a modern clinician would not argue with. A patient who cannot swallow solids can usually manage a sweet thickened liquid, and this is sugar, water, fruit juice and honey — energy in the only form that will go down, flavoured with ginger and radish so that it can be taken in quantity. 任意食之 — let him eat as much as he likes — is the instruction that matters, and it is the opposite of the fasting the Sudden Turmoil chapter prescribes. In a wasting patient with a narrowed gullet, free access to a palatable liquid feed is still the mainstay of supportive care. — Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.