Stomach-Calming Powder

Stomach-Calming Powder

Atractylodis Rhizoma (Cang Zhu) 4 liang (120g), Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex (Hou Po processed with ginger juice) 3 liang (90g), Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (Chen Pi) 2 liang (60g), Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata cum Melle (Zhi Gan Cao) 1 liang (30g)

Grind the medicinals into powder. One dose is approximately 4-6g. The powder is to be taken with a decoction of sheng jiang and da zao. It can also be prepared as a decoction.

Dries dampness and activates the spleen, moves qi and harmonizes the stomach.

This is a pattern caused by dampness accumulation in the spleen and stomach. Spleen pertains to the earth of taiyin, is localized in middle jiao, and governs transportation and transformation. It is adverse to humidity and prefers dryness. When dampness accumulation blocks the middle jiao, the result is failure of transportation and transformation marked by abdominal distension and fullness, poor appetite and tastelessness. Additionally, the stomach qi might fail to descend. Counterflow of the stomach qi leads to nausea, vomiting, belching, and acid swallowing. Dampness is a yin pathogen that is heavy and lingering by its nature. Therefore, dampness accumulation in the body leads to heavy sensation in the limbs, lassitude, and somnolence. Dampness entering the intestine results in diarrhea. The therapeutic principles are to dry dampness and to activate the spleen as the primary function and move qi and harmonize the stomach as the secondary function. The ability to remove dampness is increased when qi moves smoothly.

This pattern is due to externally contracted wind-cold causing the lung qi to fail to diffuse. The invasion of the exterior by external wind-cold obstructs the wei yang, blocks and congests the striae and interstices, constrains ying yin, and obstructs the channels. The result is aversion to cold, fever, absence of sweating, headache, and generalized pain. The lung governs the qi and belongs to wei, which is connected with the skin and body hair at the body’s exterior. The regular diffusion and descent of lung qi is affected when the exterior of the body is restrained by wind-cold. The body’s exterior is linked internally with the lung. Therefore, the tension of the body’s exterior constrains the lung qi within. The constrained lung qi ascends counter-flow to induce labored breathing. Thin and white tongue coating and a superficial, tight pulse are indications of an exterior fettered by wind-cold. The treatment is to induce sweating to release the exterior and diffuse the lung to calm labored breathing.

1. Essential pattern differentiation Ping Wei San is a basic formula applicable to the pattern of dampness stagnation in the spleen and stomach. This clinical pattern is marked by abdominal distension and fullness, thick and greasy tongue coating. 2. Modern applications This formula may be used in the following biomedically defined disorders when the patient shows signs of dampness stagnation in spleen and stomach: chronic gastritis, functional disorders of gastrointestinal tract, gastric and duodenal ulcer. 3. Cautions and contraindications This formula is not applicable for patients with yin deficiency, qi stagnation, or deficiency of the spleen and stomach because it is acrid, bitter, warm, and dry.

1. Bu Huan Jin Zheng Qi San (Precious Than Gold Qi-Correcting Powder 不換金正氣散)

Officinal Magnolia ( Magnolia officinalis ) is listed as "Endangered" in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.