acupuncture and phytotherapy |

Chinese Name
Sheng Jiang

Pharmaceutical Name
Rhizoma zingiberis Recens

Botanical Name
Zingiber officinalis Rose.

Cultivation
Throughout China with a particular development in the provinces of Sichuan, Guangdong and Guizhou.
Harvesting is done before the winter solstice.

Classification in Chinese Medicine
Classified as a herbal drug that releases the exterior.
There are some differences, from author to author, in order to classify this herbal drug/natural remedy. Bensky and Long Zhixian classify it as a drug that releases the exterior for wind-cold patterns. Li Fei classifies as a drug that warms the interior. However Li Fei mention this natural drug/herbal remedy ability to release the exterior. These small differences are related to their clinical indications as we shall see later.
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Sang Ju Yin (decoction of mulberry leaf and chrysanthemum flower) was first described in the book Wen Bing Tiao Bian (Detailed Analysis of Seasonal Febrile Diseases). Its actions are: expel wind and heat, disperse lung qi to relieve cough. Consists of eight drugs.[I] [ii] [iii].

Yin Qiao San (Powder of Lonicera – Honeysuckle – and forsythia) described in the book Wen Bing Tiao Bian (Detailed Analysis of Seasonal Febrile Diseases) is actions are releasing the exterior and induce sweating, eliminate heat and toxins. It consists of nine drugs.[Iv] [v], [vi].

Sang Xing Tang (Decoction of mulberry leaves and almond) was first described in the book of Wen Bing Tiao Bian (Detailed Analysis of Seasonal Febrile Diseases) and its functions consist in dispersing heat and dryness to disperse lung qi, moistening the lung to relieve cough. It consists of seven drugs [vii] [viii].
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Ma huang tang (ephedra decoction) was first described in the Treatise on Exogenous Febrile Diseases. This formula induces sweating and helps disperse the Lung Qi to relieve asthma. It consists of four drugs [i] [ii]. It is used to treat wind-cold excess type [iii].

Gui zhi tang (decoction of Cassia Twig) first described in the Treatise on Exogenous Febrile Diseases. This formula eliminates external pathogenic factors of the skin and muscles and regulates the yin qi (nutritive qi) and wei qi (defensive qi) in order to alleviate external syndromes. It consists of five drugs [iv] [v] [vi]. It is used to treat wind-cold deficiency type [vii].

Xiang Ru San (powder elshotziae) first described in the book Benevolent Prescription From Taiping Pharmaceutical Bureau. This formula relieves external syndromes and disperses cold, eliminates dampness and restores the function of the middle burner. It consists of three drugs [viii]. Zhixian states that this herbal prescription is particularly useful during the heat of summer [ix].
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Translating by symptoms and drugs… (continued)

Finally there is the last sub-category that describes chinese herbal prescriptions to release the exterior and strengthen immunity to disease. These herbal prescriptions are recommended when there is invasion of external pathogenic factors and wei qi (defensive qi) deficiency.

In this case both external patterns can be wind-cold or wind-heat and patterns of deficiency can be related to yin, yang, qi and blood. There are some more well-established relations between them: the use of wind-cold-damp more easily invade a patient with qi or yang deficiency. For other side is more common pattern of wind-heat attacking a patient with yin deficiency.

In the case of wind-cold with qi or yang deficiency must use drugs that eliminate wind-cold (pungent and warm) and drugs that tonify the qi and supplement yang (warm and sweet). Dosage will depend on the intensity of symptoms.
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Translating by symptoms and drugs… (continued)

Furthermore the wind-cold pattern can enter the body and become wind-heat. In this case there is an additional problem since we have two different patterns that manifest at the same time and some of its symptoms are contradictory.

When this happens the channels (Jing Luo) of Yang meridians are the most affected. Symptoms like high fever (yang ming disease), slight aversion to cold (a mixture of symptoms of wind heat and wind-cold), bitter taste in the mouth (disease in the shao yang), dry mouth, headache (disease  of the three yang channels – yang ming, shao yang, tai yang), eye pain, dry nose, tongue with dry and yellow coat.

To treat this pattern should be given attention to the intensity of symptoms in order to choose drugs pungent in flavor and warm or cool properties. It is this difference between drugs that may make treatment more complex.
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Translating by symptoms and drugs… (continuation)

So far we have talked mainly of variants of the external wind-cold pattern: such as “excess type” and “deficiency type”, mild and severe. However the complexity of symptoms associated with external patterns of wind and its variants means that the analysis has to direct to other variants. Importantly, before presenting texts with different prescriptions, we still have to analyze the differences between the symptomatic sub-category of cold nature and pungent flavor prescriptions to to release the exterior and prescriptions to release the exterior and strengthen body immunity.

The spicy/pungent flavor is to disperse and expel the wind as already mentioned. For its part cold property serves to cool. Therefore treats heat symptoms. Therefore we speak of wind-heat patterns.

Treatment of these patterns is complicated since there are several therapeutic strategies that can be followed. All these strategies are dependent on the patient’s symptoms.
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Translated by symptoms and drugs… (continued)

Other drugs are used depending on the specification of the symptoms already mentioned. Feeling of fullness in the chest due to Qi stagnation is relieved with Rhizoma Cyperi and Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae. Irritability by internal heat is relieved with drugs such as Gypsum Fibrosum or Radix Scutellariae, for example. Note that in the previous paragraph all the drugs belonged to the category of drugs that relieve external syndromes. Drugs in this paragraph already belong to other categories as regulators of Qi or drugs that eliminate heat.

For its part, the patterns of the external patterns “type deficiency” manifests itself when there is a weak defensive response causing the external pathogenic factors enter the wei qi layer and unbalanced wei qi and ying qi. In symptomatic terms we would translate this technical jargon as night sweats, aversion to wind, shallow and weak pulse.
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Translating by symptoms and drugs…

The patent chinese formulas/herbal remedy/natural herbal remedies that relieve external syndromes are prescribed when the following symptoms are present: symptoms with abrupt onset, aversion to cold, fever, headache, nasal obstruction, weak and floating pulse, tongue with white coating. These are the characteristic symptoms of external wind[i] [ii].

The way to combat these symptoms is through the elimination of external pathogenic factors that can be obtained by inducing sweating. The common feature of all these drugs is that they have spicy flavor.

The external patterns can also be divided into “type excess” and “type deficiency.” The “type excess” can be complicated with other excess patterns such as dampness, stagnation of qi or phlegm. The “type deficiency” may be complicated by patterns of deficiency as the qi and/or yang deficiency patterns.
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Just as individual drugs are cataloged on specific categories that define the symptoms for which these drugs are used, also prescriptions made on the basis of these drugs are properly categorized.

Prescriptions (patented Chinese formulas) that have diaphoretic capacity, inducing diaphoresis, remove the external pathogenic factors of the muscles and skin, promote skin rashes and are used to treat external syndromes in this category of “prescriptions that release the exterior”.

The external syndromes can be divided into two main types: wind-cold and wind-heat. As such, a common feature of all medical prescriptions for is to be composed with pungent flavor drugs because this flavour disperses. Drugs with pungent flavour and warm nature/property are used to treat wind-cold patterns while drugs with pungent flavour and cold or fresh nature are used to treat wind-heat patterns.
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Chinese Name
Xin Yi hua

Pharmaceutical Name
Flos magnoliae

Botanical Name
Magnolia liliflora Desr., M. biondii Pamp., M. sprengeri Pamp., or M. denudata Desr.

Cultivation
This natural drug is grown in the provinces of Anhui, Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Henan.
Harvesting is done in the spring before the flower opens.

Classification in Chinese Medicine
It is a drug that relieves the exterior acting on patterns of wind-cold.
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