Formulas · Drain Dampness 利水滲濕 · Hwarin (活人)

Mulberry Root Bark Powder

Sangbaekpi-san

한글 상백피산 · Pinyin Sang Bai Pi San

桑白皮散

Cut and made into one packet with 3 slices of ginger, decocted and taken. **Note on modern practice: leg swelling with breathlessness and abdominal fullness is a cardiac emergency and requires immediate medical assessment.**

Composition 構成

Jeokbokryeong Chi Fu Ling
赤茯苓 적복령 · Poria (red)

8 g
Chief 君
Sangbaekpi Sang Bai Pi
桑白皮 상백피 · Mulberry Root Bark

4 g
Chief 君
Mokhyang Mu Xiang
木香 목향 · Costus Root

4.8 g
Deputy 臣
Bangi Fang Ji
防己 방기 · Sinomenium

4.8 g
Deputy 臣
Daebokpi Da Fu Pi
大腹皮 대복피 · Areca Husk

4.8 g
Deputy 臣
Ukriin Yu Li Ren
郁李仁 욱리인 · Bush Cherry Pit

4 g
Deputy 臣
Jasoyeop Zi Su Ye
紫蘇葉 자소엽 · Perilla Leaf

2.8 g
Assistant 佐
Moktong Mu Tong
木通 목통 · Akebia

2.8 g
Assistant 佐
Binrang Bing Lang
檳榔 빈랑 · Areca Seed

2.8 g
Assistant 佐
Cheongpi Qing Pi
靑皮 청피 · Green Tangerine Peel

2.8 g
Assistant 佐
Saenggang Sheng Jiang
生薑 생강 · Fresh Ginger

6 g
Envoy 使 3 slices

Total 47.6 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

Drains the water of a leg qi that has swollen upward
Frees a urine gone rough and a breath gone short

Indications 主治

Pattern-based

Leg qi with puffy swelling and rough urination (脚氣浮腫尿澁)
Hurried breath with abdominal fullness (氣急腹滿)
Swelling that has moved above the legs

Biomedical correlates

Edema with urinary difficulty and breathlessness
Congestive presentations — historical management
Fluid overload

Source text 原文

Donguibogam 東醫寶鑑

治脚氣, 浮腫尿澁, 氣急腹滿. 赤茯苓二錢, 木香ㆍ防己ㆍ大腹子各一錢二分, 桑白皮ㆍ郁李仁各一錢, 蘇葉ㆍ木通ㆍ檳榔ㆍ靑皮各七分. 右剉, 作一貼, 薑三片, 煎服. 《活人》

Translation

Treats leg qi with puffy swelling and rough urination, hurried breath and abdominal fullness. Red poria 2 don; aucklandia, stephania, and areca seed, 1 don 2 fun each; mulberry root bark and bush cherry kernel, 1 don each; perilla leaf, akebia, areca nut, and green tangerine peel, 7 fun each. Cut the above, make one packet, add 3 slices of ginger, decoct and take. — Hwarin 活人 (Donguibogam · Jok)

Clinical commentary 臨床

The formula for leg qi that has stopped being a leg problem: swelling with scanty urine, hurried breath, and a full abdomen. Mulberry root bark and areca husk are the pair for water that has risen into the chest, and bush cherry kernel moves it through the bowel as well as the bladder. Read against the chapter's section on critical signs, this is the formula for the presentation it says kills quickly — which is why the modern note above matters. — Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.