WH Acupuncture & Herbs Centre

[INGREDIENTS]:

Ephedra 6g, Bitter apricot kernel 9g, toasted licorice 6g, Gypsum 18g

[DIRECTIONS]:Decoct ephedra first. After removing the foam, put in the oth­er herbs to decoct continuously for oral administration.

[EFFECTS]: Expelling evil by its pungent-coolness herbs and clearing the lung for relieving asthma.

[INDICATIONS]: Exogenous attack of wind evil manifested by persistent fe­ver, cough with dyspnea or nares flaring, thirst, sweating or absence of sweat, thin and white or yellow coating, slippery rapid pulse.

[ANALYSIS OF FORMULA]: This is a heavy pungent-cool formula for clearing away the lung-heat. Being pungent and sweet flavors and extremely cold nature, gypsum as the main herb acts on the Lung and Stomach Meridians* to clear heat and promote production of body fluid. Ephedra is the assistant herb to disperse the lung for relieving asthma and expel the exterior evil. In clinic, for asthma with sweating, gypsum should be five times dosage ephedra, but for asthma without sweating, gypsum should be three times of dosage ephedra. In a word, dosage of pungent-cold herb must be larger than that of pungent-warm herb，and then it is possible to form the pungent-cool formula. As the adjuvant herb, bitter apricot kernel is to assist ephedra in strengthening power of lowering qi to relieve asth­ma. Licorice root acts as the dispatcher herb to harmonize all components of the formula.

This formula is commonly applied to acute bronchitis and pneumonia due to exuberance of the lung-heat.