Ginseng, Bupleurum and Peony Decoction

Samhojagyak-tang

한글 삼호작약탕 · Pinyin Shen Hu Shao Yao Tang

參胡芍藥湯

The source gives 芍藥 without specifying red or white; registered as white peony, which is the reading the fluid-nourishing intent of the formula supports.

Composition 構成

Saengjihwang Sheng Di Huang
生地黃 생지황 · Raw Rehmannia

6 g
Chief 君
Siho Chai Hu
柴胡 시호 · Bupleurum

4 g
Chief 君
Insam Ren Shen
人蔘 인삼 · Ginseng

4 g
Deputy 臣
Baekjagyak Bai Shao
白芍藥 백작약 · White Peony

4 g
Deputy 臣
Hwanggeum Huang Qin
黃芩 황금 · Scutellaria

4 g
Deputy 臣
Jimo Zhi Mu
知母 지모 · Anemarrhena

4 g
Deputy 臣
Maengmundong Mai Men Dong
麥門冬 맥문동 · Liriope

4 g
Deputy 臣
Jigak Zhi Qiao
枳殼 지각 · Bitter Orange

3.2 g
Assistant 佐
Gamcho Gan Cao
甘草 감초 · Licorice

1.2 g
Envoy 使

Total 34.4 g per packet (첩) · representative dosage — verify against source texts.

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

Clears residual heat and nourishes the fluids
Settles vexation and restores sleep and appetite

Indications 主治

Pattern-based

Ruined pattern beyond the fourteenth day with residual heat
thirst and vexation
Fluid damage after prolonged fever with scanty dark urine

Biomedical correlates

Convalescent fever after prolonged infection
Post-infectious fatigue with dehydration

Source text 原文

Donguibogam 東醫寶鑑

治傷寒十四日外, 餘熱未除, 或渴或煩, 不能安卧, 不思飮食, 大便不快, 小便黃赤, 此爲壞證. 生地黃一錢半, 人參ㆍ柴胡ㆍ芍藥ㆍ黃芩ㆍ知母ㆍ麥門冬各一錢, 枳殼八分, 甘草三分. 右剉, 作一貼, 入薑三片, 水煎服. 《入門》

Translation

Treats cold damage beyond the fourteenth day where the residual heat has not cleared, with thirst or vexation, inability to rest, no desire for food, stool that does not pass freely and dark yellow urine; this is a ruined pattern. Fresh rehmannia, 1 don 5 fun; ginseng, bupleurum, peony, scutellaria, anemarrhena and ophiopogon, 1 don each; bitter orange, 8 fun; licorice, 3 fun. Cut up, make one packet, add three slices of ginger and decoct in water. — Immun 入門 (Donguibogam · Han, lower)

Clinical commentary 臨床

A fortnight of fever leaves two problems at once — heat that has not gone and fluids that have — and this formula treats both without choosing. Fresh rehmannia and ophiopogon replace what was lost, anemarrhena and scutellaria clear what remains, bupleurum lifts out the fragment still caught in the shaoyang, and ginseng holds up a patient who cannot eat. Bitter orange at a small dose for the stool that will not pass. It is a convalescent formula rather than an acute one, and the sign that marks the moment for it is the patient who is no longer very ill but cannot settle, sleep or eat. — Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.