Cyperus and Perilla Powder

Cyperus and Perilla Powder

Cyperi Rhizoma (Xiang Fu) 4 liang (120g), Perillae Folium (Zi Su Ye) 4 liang (120g), Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Zhi Gan Cao) 1 liang (30g), Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (Chen Pi) 2 liang (60g)

Grind all of the medicinals into powder and blend together evenly. Boil nine grams for each dose, and take while it is warm. Xiang Su San can also be prepared as a decoction by adjusting the medicinals’ quantities based on the original ratio.

Scatters and dissipates external wind wind-cold, rectifies qi and harmonizes the middle jiao.

Xiang Su San is indicated for an externally contracted wind-cold with qi constraint pattern. Signs and symptoms are aversion to cold, general fever, headache, absence of sweating, chest and epigastric fullness and distress, lack of appetite, a thin and white tongue coating and a superficial pulse.

Wind-cold pathogens exist all year round. This formula is indicated for a mild pattern of externally contracted wind-cold at the superficial level with internal qi constraint. The symptoms such as aversion to cold, fever, headache, absence of sweating, a thin and white tongue coating and a superficial pulse are typical manifestations of an exterior pattern. Lack of appetite, distress and fullness in the chest and abdomen reveal qi constraint. The proper treatment is to release the exterior and rectify qi. Because the impact of the external pathogens is mild, it is “appropriate [to apply] light, relaxing and soothing [medicinals] , not ones with drastic effect”《Treatise on Medical Formulas》Volume One, Yi Fang Lun.

1. Essential pattern differentiation Xiang Su San is commonly indicted for external contracted wind-cold with qi constraint. It is clinically marked by aversion to cold, fever, headache, absence of sweating, distention in the chest and epigastric region, thin and white tongue coating, and superficial pulse. 2. Modern applications This formula is often used for stomach flu in those exhibiting an externally contracted wind-cold with qi constraint pattern.

1. Xiang Su Cong Chi Tang (Cyperus, Perilla, Scallion and Soybean Decoction, 香蘇蔥豉湯)