Drain the Yellow Powder
Chinese Prescription: Xie Huang San
English Translation: Drain the Yellow Powder
Formula Type: Clear Heat from the Organs
Actions: Clears lurking fire from the Spleen & Stomach.
Indications: Mouth ulcers, bad breath, thirst, frequent hunger, dry mouth & lips, a red tongue, & a rapid pulse. Also for tongue thrusting in children.
Contraindications: Contraindicated in cases with Stomach yin deficiency & tongue thrusting due to congenital qi deficiency.
Pinyin | English | Suggested Dosage |
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view: Shi Gao |
Gypsum | 15g |
view: Zhi Zi |
Gardenia | 3g |
view: Fang Feng |
Siler Root | 120g |
view: Huo Xiang |
Patchouli / Agastaches Plant | 21g |
view: Gan Cao |
Licorice | 90g |
Shi Gao / Gypsum | |||
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Taste: Sweet, Acrid • Temperature: Very Cold • Category: Clear Heat • Sub Category: Drain Fire | |||
Dosage9-30g, up to 90g for high fevers. Brake up & cook for 20-30 minutes before adding other herbs. |
Actions1. Clears heat & drains fire: for high fever without chills, irritability, intense thirst, profuse sweating, a flooding & big pulse, & a red tongue with yellow coating. This condition is identified as one of excess in the qi level of the four levels of disease, or the yang brightness channel stage of the six stages of disease.2. Clears excessive heat from the Lungs: for cough & wheezing with fever & thick, viscous sputum. 3. Clears blazing Stomach fire: for headache, toothache, or swollen & painful gums due to Stomach fire. 4. For eczema, burns, & ulcerated sores: usually applied topically in powdered form after being calcined & mixed with other herbs. |
MeridiansLung, Stomach |
CautionsContraindicated for patients with weak stomachs, or when the pulse is minute, or in cases of yang deficiency or heat from yin deficiency. |
Zhi Zi / Gardenia, Cape Jasmine Fruit | |||
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Taste: Bitter • Temperature: Cold • Category: Clear Heat • Sub Category: Drain Fire | |||
Dosage3-12g |
Actions1. Clears heat & eliminates irritability: for heat patterns with fever, irritability, restlessness, a stifling sensation in the chest, insomnia, or delirious speech.2. Dries damp-heat: for painful urinary dysfunction due to damp-heat in the lower burner; damp-heat & constrained Liver & Gallbladder (middle burner) with jaundice; & damp-heat in the Gallbladder & Triple Burner channels of the face, affecting the nose & eyes or causing sores in the mouth or facial region. 3. Cools the blood & stops bleeding: for heat in the blood with such symptoms as nosebleed, or blood in the vomit, stool, or urine. For this purpose, the herb is partiallly charred. 4. Reduces swelling & moves blood stasis due to trauma: for this purpose, apply topically as a powder mixed with egg white or vinegar. |
MeridiansHeart, Liver, Lung, Stomach, Triple Burner |
CautionsContraindicated in cases of loose stool or loss of appetite due to cold from deficiency. |
Fang Feng / Siler Root, (Ledebouriella Root) | |||
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Taste: Acrid, Sweet • Temperature: Slightly Warm • Category: Exterior Releasing - Warm • Sub Category: | |||
Dosage3-9g |
Actions1. Releases the exterior & expels wind: for headache, chills, & body aches due to externally contracted wind-cold.2. Expels wind-dampness & alleviates pain: for exterior wind-damp painful obstruction, especially when wind is predominant. 3. Expels wind: as an auxiliary herb to alleviate trembling of the hands & feet & tetany. Also for intestinal wind due to imbalance between the Spleen & Liver manifested in recurrent, painful diarrhea with bright blood in the stool. Also for migraine headaches. |
MeridiansBladder, Liver, Spleen |
CautionsContraindicated in cases of blood deficiency with spasms, & for yin deficiency with heat signs. According to some traditional texts, this herb antagonizes gan jiang & li lu, & counteracts bei xie. |
Huo Xiang / Patchouli or Agastache Plant | |||
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Taste: Acrid • Temperature: Slightly Warm • Category: Transforms Damp - Aromatic • Sub Category: | |||
Dosage4.5-9g |
Actions1. Aromatically transforms dampness: for turbid dampness creating internal obstruction. Specifically dampness obstructing the middle burner & interfering with the Spleen's transportive functions. Symptoms & signs include abdominal &/or epigastric distention & fullness, nausea, vomiting, reduced appetite, & a white, moist tongue coating.2. Harmonizes the middle burner & stops vomiting: most commonly used in cases of nausea or vomiting due to dampness obstructing the middle burner. Can also be used for other types of vomiting when combined with appropriate herbs. Also used for morning sickness. 3. Releases the externior & transforms turbidity: for exterior disorders with dampness including the early stages of damp warm-febrile diseases or summerheat, as well as externally contracted wind-cold with internal injury from dampness. In addition to the exterior signs, these patients have digestive symptoms such as nausea, abdominal distention, or stomachache. |
MeridiansLung, Spleen, Stomach |
CautionsContraindicated in cases of yin deficiency with heat signs, & Stomach fire. |
Gan Cao / Licorice Root (Chinese) | |||
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Taste: Sweet • Temperature: Neutral (raw root) • Category: Tonic / Harmonize • Sub Category: Tonify Qi | |||
Dosage2-12g |
Actions1. Tonifies the Spleen & augments the qi: commonly used for Spleen deficiency with shortness of breath, lassitude, & loose stools. Also for qi or blood deficiency patterns with an irregular or intermittent pulse & /or palpitations.2. Moistens the Lungs & stops coughing: for coughing & wheezing. Because of its neutral properties, it can be used for either heat or cold in the Lungs. 3. Clears heat & relieves fire toxicity: used raw for carbuncles, sores, or sore throat due to fire toxin. For this purpose, it can be taken internally or applied topically. 4. Moderates spasms & alleviates pain: for painful spasms of the abdomen or legs. 5. Moderates & harmonizes the characteristics of other herbs: by virtue of its sweet, neutral, & moderating properties, this herb moderates hot & cold herbs, & mitigates the violent properties of other herbs. Since it is said to enter all 12 primary channels, it can lead & conduct other herbs into the channels. 6. Used as an antidote for a variety of toxic substances, both internally & topically. 7. The raw root clears heat & relieves toxicity, the honey-fried tonifies the middle & moderates spasms. |
MeridiansAll 12 channels (principally the Heart, Lung, Spleen, & Stomach) |
CautionsContraindicated in cases of excess dampness, nausea, or vomiting. May be in compatible with jing da ji, yuan hua, gan sui, & hai zao, & may antagonize yuan zhi. The toxicity of gan cao is very low, but if taken long-term it may cause hypertension &/or edema. Glycyrrhetinic acid has been reported to cause a reduction in the activity of the thyroid & a reducation in the basal metabolic rate. |