WEN DAN TANG (BP050) Bamboo & Hoelen Formula Complex

Indication

This formula appears in the ‘Golden Mirror of Medicine’ (yi zong jin jian), 1742, a 90 volume treatise on general medicine, written by a staff of 80 persons headed by Wu Qian, under the commission of the Qing imperial government. It is a variant of a formula by the same name from the renowned ‘Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces for Emergencies’ (bei ji qian jin yao fang) by Sun Si-miao, 652.

The original by Sun was a warming formula, designed to treat Cold in the Gallbladder. It contained a mixture of cooling and warming herbal ingredients. Over the centuries the formula was modified by several eminent Chinese physicians, Wu Qian’s group providing us with the version that is popular today.

It still contains a mixture of cooling and warming ingredients, however it is stacked in favour of the cooling ones. Therefore, the retention of the original formula name is somewhat paradoxical: Warm the Gallbladder Formula (wen dan tang). However, the internal logic of the formula is faultless: the warming ingredients act to resolve Phlegm at its source in the Spleen; while the cooling ones clear away the pathogenic complex of Phlegm-Heat.

Clinically, this formula is used for conditions in which Phlegm-Heat affects the Stomach, Heart and/or Lung, with or without Gallbladder involvement. Because Phlegm – and specifically Phlegm-Heat in this case – can affect a variety of bodily systems, this formulas has a wide range of clinical applications, as described above.

The synergistic actions of the herbs are as follows:

Phyllostachys nigra wood (zhu ru), Citrus fruit (zhi shi): clear Phlegm-Heat from the Stomach and Gallbladder.

Pinellia tuber (ban xia), Poria cocos (fu ling), Citrus peel (chen pi), Citrus fruit (zhi shi), Zingiber rhizome (sheng jiang): regulate the Qi, harmonise the middle Jiao to resolve Phlegm and prevent further Phlegm being produced.

Phyllostachys nigra wood (zhu ru), Pinellia tuber (ban xia), Zingiber rhizome (sheng jiang): redirect the Stomach Qi downward to alleviate vomiting.

Glycyrrhiza root (gan cao), Poria cocos (fu ling), Ziziphus fruit (hong zao): tonify the Spleen and harmonise the Stomach.

Indications:

Chronic gastritis

Duodenitis

Peptic ulcer disease

Gastrooesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

Chronic bronchitis

Anxiety

Depressed mood

Mania

Hypomania

Meniere’s disease

Chronic cholecystitis

Hyperthyroidism

Insomnia

Morning sickness during pregnancy

Signs & Symptoms:

Nausea or vomiting

Insomnia or sleep disturbance

Irritability

Bitter taste in mouth

Palpitations with anxiety

Dizziness

Excessive hunger

Acid reflux

Sense of fullness and discomfort in the chest

Productive cough with yellow sputum

Thirst

Red tongue with a greasy yellow coat

Rapid and slippery or rapid and wiry pulse

Combinations:

Acid reflux, heartburn, reflux oesophagitis:

BAO HE WAN

XIANG SHA LIU JUN ZI WAN

BAN XIA HOU PU TANG (Jia Wei)

REFLUX & DYSPEPSIA Formula

Anxiety:

GUI PI WAN

XIAO YAO SAN

GAN MAI DA ZAO WAN (Jia Wei)

STRESS RELIEF 2 Formula

CALM THE SPIRIT Formula

RESTORE THE SPLEEN Formula

CLEAR THE PHLEGM Formula

Depressed mood:

AN SHEN DING ZHI WAN

JIA WEI XIAO YAO SAN

XIAO YAO SAN

TAO HONG SI WU WAN

MOOD-UPLIFT 2 Formula

CLEAR THE PHLEGM Formula

Hypertension due to Phlegm-Damp retention:

TIAN MA GOU TENG WAN

YANG YIN JIANG YA WAN

Insomnia, severe, refractory:

TIAN WANG BU XIN WAN

GAN MAI DA ZAO WAN (Jia Wei)

JIN GUI SUAN ZAO REN TANG

Menopausal syndrome:

JIA WEI XIAO YAO SAN

ER XIAN TANG

GAN MAI DA ZAO WAN (Jia Wei)

TAO HONG SI WU WAN

Morning sickness in pregnancy:

BAN XIA HOU PU TANG (Jia Wei)

CLEAR THE PHLEGM Formula

Nausea related to stress:

JIA WEI XIAO YAO SAN

Neurosis, hypomania:

XUE FU ZHU YU TANG

Premenstrual syndrome:

CHAI HU SHU GAN WAN

JIA WEI XIAO YAO SAN

XIAO YAO SAN

TAO HONG SI WU WAN

Stress:

JIA WEI XIAO YAO SAN

TCM Syndromes: Phlegm-Heat retention: Gallbladder Qi invasion of the Stomach.

TCM Actions: Clears Phlegm-Heat, regulates the Qi and harmonises the Stomach, clears the Gallbladder.