Author: Unknown
Source: Bald's Leechbook (9th century)
Category: Formulas that are Applied Externally
Pattern: A "Wen", a stye. In TCM terms probably Wind-Heat or Toxic Heat and Blood Stasis around the eye.
Key Symptoms: A red, painful lump on the inside or outside of the eyelid.
Ingredients
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Cong Bai
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Pinyin: Cong Bai
Chinese: 葱白
Pharmaceutical: Bulbus Allii
English: Spring Onion / Green Onion / Scallion / Fistular Onion Stalk |
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Tastes: Pungent, warm
Meridians Entered: Lung and Stomach |
Actions & Indications:
- Releases the exterior and induces sweating
Wind-Cold especially very early stages
- Disperses Cold and unblocks Yang
Abdominal pain due to blockage of Yang Qi by Cold
Nasal congestion and pain due to blockage of Yang Qi by Cold
- Relieves toxicity and disperses clumps
Toxic sores and abscesses (topical)
- Kills parasites
Abdominal pain due to Intestinal parasites
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Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.
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Da Suan
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Pinyin: Da Suan
Chinese: 大蒜
Pharmaceutical: Bulbus Allii sativi
Taxonomy: Allium sativum
English: Garlic |
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Tastes: Pungent, warm
Meridians Entered: Spleen, Stomach, Lung and Large Intestine |
Actions & Indications:
- Kills Parasites and Expels Demons
Hookworms and pinworms and, with appropriate herbs for other types of intestinal parasites
Tinea of the scalp
Single-clove purple garlic from Sichuan, is often recommended as the most effective single remedy for Gu Sydnrome (Fruehauf, 1998) as the Gu-snakes greatly fear garlic Qi
Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
- Disperses abscesses and reduces swellings
Primarily for early stages of abscesses and sores (internally and topically)
- Resolves toxicity
Tinea and other pruritic rashes (primarily topically)
- Warms the Stomach, strengthens the Spleen, promotes the movement of Qi, reduces Stagnation and resolves toxicity
Diarrhoea and dysenteric disorders due to epidemic toxins or Food Stagnation (can be used as a stand-alone herb for mild cases of Food Stagnation)
- Prevents influenza and treats shellfish poisoning
Bacterial and viral epidemics Shellfish poisoning
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Standard Dosage: 5-10g eaten raw or made into syrup.
Cautions: It is contraindicated for oral taking in case of yin deficiency with effulgent fire and people with eye disease or tooth disease or tongue disease or throat disease.
Its potential to increase antiplatelet activity means it can enhance the effects of anticoagulants, NSAIDs and acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). |
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Niu Dan
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Pinyin: Niu Dan
Chinese: 牛膽
Pharmaceutical: Bos Taurus seu Bubalus bubalis
Taxonomy: Fel Tauri
English: Ox Gall |
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Tastes: Bitter, extremely cold
Meridians Entered: Liver, Gallbladder and Lung |
Actions & Indications:
- Clears Heat, resolves Toxicity, disperses swelling and improves the eyesight
Wind-Heat eye disease
Jaundice
Infatile convulsions
Sores
- Promotes bile secretion and relaxes the bowel
Diabetes, constipation
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Standard Dosage: Made into pills or powders, or extracted as juice for topical application or eye drops.
Cautions: It is contraindicated in case of deficiency-cold in spleen and stomach and eye disease without wind-heat syndrome. |
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Jiu
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Pinyin: Jiu
Chinese: 酒
Pharmaceutical: Alcohol
English: Rice Wine |
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Tastes: Hot, pungent, sweet, bitter, toxic
Meridians Entered: Stomach, Heart, Lung and Liver, but reaches every part of the body |
Actions & Indications:
- Nourishes and moves Blood and Qi, opens the Meridians
Taken internally or applied topically as the medium for liniments in Blood stasis, especially from trauma or Bi syndromes in the elderly
- Warms Yang and Expels Cold
All Cold syndromes including Cold Bi, Interior Cold and Yang deficiency
Often serves as the basis for longevity "elixirs" by soaking Yang tonifying herbs
- Strengthens the Shen, dispels sorrow and promotes happiness
Temporary low mood, celebration
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Standard Dosage: 10-60ml, two to three times per day. Often combined with other herbs to bring out their Blood moving or warming aspects by washing them, or adding to a decoction, or soaking herbs in alcohol to make medicinal wines.
Cautions: Caution with Damp-Heat syndromes or long term consumption in the young and middle aged.
The Materia Dietetica (Shiwu Bencao 食物本草) by Lu He 卢和 from the Ming Dynasty says that excess drinking can hurt the spirit and consume blood, damage the stomach and deplete the body fluid, produce phlegm and induce fire. |
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Subsitutions:
Ox gall is not commonly available today but in the research of Harrison et al (2015): DOI 10.1128/mBio.01129-15 showed it was possible to remove with only a partial reduction in antimicrobial activity.
Preparation: "Make an eyesalve against a wen: take equal amounts of cropleac [an Allium species] and garlic, pound well together, take equal amounts of wine and ox gall, mix with the alliums, put this in a brass vessel, let [the mixture] stand for nine nights in the brass vessel, wring through a cloth and clarify well, put in a horn and at night apply to the eye with a feather; the best medicine."
Actions: Heals a "Wen". In TCM terms clears Wind-Heat and resolves toxicity.
Notes:
Although not a Chinese formula this has come to considerable attention for its potential to eliminate Medically Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) discovered by Harrison et al (2015): DOI 10.1128/mBio.01129-15 and reflects my eventual intention to include both western and eastern remedies in this database since I believe that ancient medicine shared a similar approach of using formulas to create complex solutions that we are only beginning to recognise as an science in itself.
In the paper and in a follow up video update to the research Freya Harrison discusses by removing single ingredients they found that the brass seems to be dispensable and probably the ox gall too if a small sacrifice in efficacy is acceptable, suggesting the main action comes from onion or leek, garlic and wine distilled for 9 days.
It is interesting to note its choice of ingredients are very similar to a Chinese method of formula creation including ox gall whose Chinese indications are Toxic Heat syndromes and deep rooted boils, garlic that is also indicated for swellings and boils, and onion or leek whose Chinese equivalent would be Cong Bai (spring onion) that can be used as an external wash for pain and injury. All these are extracted in wine that also has Blood Invigorating properties on its own and draws out the more invigorating aspects of the other ingredients.
Research Links:
Reference Notes: (click to display)
Most formulas are found in Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet (2009): Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies and Chen & Chen (2015) Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications. Others are from translations of primary sources. It is recommended that the original material is cross-referenced for mistakes and additional information.
Substitutions have been taken from Ken Lloyd & Prof. Leung (2004): Mayway UK Substitution List or the above publications and are intended as suggestions to help navigate the tight restrictions in the UK quickly. More applicable substitutions may be appropriate in specific situations.
Individual herb information has initially been sourced from TCM Wiki and American Dragon for basic data and then updated manually with my own notes.
These pages are intended to assist clinicians and are not intended for self-diagnosis or treatment for which a qualified professional should be consulted.
