She gan ma huang tang
she gan 9 ma huang 12 sheng jiang 12 wu wei zi 12 ban xia 12 xi xin 9 kuan dong hua 9 zi wan 9 da zao 3 (use jie geng for kuan dong hua)
Cough and adverse flow of qi, with the sound of a water bird in the throat, she gan ma huang tang governs.
This is a tai yang wind cold pattern. The sheng jiang, xi xin, ban xia, and wu wei zi all treat the cold damp accumulation in the lungs. Then the zi wan, she gan and kuan dong hua correct the counter flow and also support the clearing of accumulation and stop coughing.
She gan, Belamcandae rhizoma is bitter draining of phlegm in the lung that causes obstruction with sore throat, cough, short of breath, and wheezing.
Cold, bitter draining of phlegm in the lung that causes obstruction with sore throat, cough, short of breath, and wheezing.
Ma huang, Ephedrae herba is bitter descending of the lung. It is pungent dispersing of the imperial and ministerial fire. It enters the lung and bladder channel, it opens the surface, and dispels the cold on the surface. Further it dissipates lung qi and pacifies panting through opening the closed lung qi.
Sheng jiang, Zingiberis rhizoma recens is pungent dispersing of the liver and pericardium blood and the ministerial fire in the san jiao. Sheng jiang is pungent dispersing of dampness and cold in the stomach domain, spleen and lung. Sheng jiang is pungent connecting of the tai yin with the tai yang. It supports raising of the clear qi to the chest and the 100 vessels.
Sheng jiang is pungent warm dispersing and is supporting ma huang and xi xin in warming the interior and surface.
Sheng jiang helps xi xin is dispersing the tai yin fluids.
Wu wei zi, Schisandrae fructus is sour tonifying and collecting of the lungs. It is astringing of the lungs and stomach domain. It is sweet tonifying of the lungs.
It eliminates phlegm and moistens and tonifies the lung qi. This balances the effect of the strongly drying and dispersing action of pungent herbs like ma huang, xi xin and sheng jiang.
Ban xia, Pinelliae rhizoma is pungent dispersing of the liver blood and the ministerial fire in the san jiao. It is pungent dispersing of the cold and dampness in the stomach domain, spleen and lung. It transforms tai yin damp phlegm generated from excessive and stagnant cold dampness and counteracts nausea and adverse flow.
Combined with gan jiang it dries and transforms excessive internal dampness.
The spleen is considered the source of phlegm and the lung the storage of phlegm. Ban xia dries tai yin spleen dampness which is the source of lung phlegm. Transforms and dries tai yin damp phlegm generated from excessive and stagnant cold dampness and counteracts nausea and adverse flow.
Ban xia transforms the phlegm and descends Metal to restore function of the lungs.
Xi xin, Asari herba is pungent dispersing of the liver blood and the ministerial fire. It is pungent dispersing of the heart, kidneys and lungs. It is pungent dispersing of the tai yang channel.
Xi xin warm the tai yin lung and is often used with wu wei zi to warm the lungs and clear cold and dampness.
Jie geng, Platycodi radix is pungent dispersing of liver blood and the ministerial fire in the san jiao. It is pungent dispersing of the lungs. It is bitter draining of dampness and phlegm in the lungs.
Pungent, bitter, and warm it transforms stagnant phlegm. It is a pungent surface cold clearing herb that transforms phlegm and arrests coughing.
Zi wan, Asteris radix is bitter pungent correcting of counter flow qi in the lung while transforming phlegm accumulation.
Warm pungent bitter it clears phlegm and drains it downward and so corrects counter flow qi of the lung and in this regard it works together with wu wei zi and jie geng.
Da zao, Jujubae fructus is sweet tonifying and moderating. It tonifies and nourishes the stomach domain, spleen, lungs, and heart. It directly nourishes the shao yin heart.
Da zao adds material to the tai yin middle to generate heart blood while building spleen qi to strengthen lung and heart qi to revive the pulse beat.
Harmonize the formula and the middle burner while enhancing the tonifying and warming aspects of the formula.