WH Acupuncture & Herbs Centre

Middle-Reinforcing and Qi-Benefiting Decoction bu zhong yi qi tang

[SOURCE]: Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach

[INGREDIENTS]: Astragalus root 15g, Roasted licorice root 5g, Ginseng 9g, Chinese angelica root (baked with wine to dry or dried in the sun) 9g, Tangerine peel 6g, Cimicifuga rhizome 3g, Bupleurum root 3g, Bighead atractylodes rhizome 9g

[DIRECTIONS]: All herbs can either be decocted in water for oral administra­tion, or ground into powder for making bolus, each bolus weighs 9 gram, take one bolus for each time with ginger decoction or warm boiled water, 3 times a day.

[EFFECTS]: Reinforcing the middle, benefiting qi, and elevating yang to raise qi sinking.

[INDICATIONS]: Qi deficiency syndrome of the spleen and stomach manifes­ted by fever with perspiration, thirst with desire of warm drink, headache with aversion to cold, short breath and disinclination to talk, lassitude of the extremi­ties ;or loss of appetite, pale complexion, deficient and weak pulse, pale tongue with thin whitish coating as well as prolapse of rectum, prolapse of the uterus, gastroptosis, chronic diarrhea caused by the sinking of the middle-qi.

[ANALYSIS OF FORMULA]: This is a representative formula to invigorate qi and raise yang. It is based on the principles that “The consumptive syndrome should be treated with warm herbs” and “Sinking disorders should be treated with herbs for lifting function” . Of all the ingredients, astragalus root with sweet flavor and warm property effects on the spleen and lung meridians. It is the principal herb with the effects of reinforcing the middle and replenishing qi, elevating yang to raise qi sinking, linking up the internal and external. Ginseng, bighead atractylodes rhizome and roasted licorice root replenish qi and invigorate the spleen to assist the efforts of astragalus root in reinforcing the middle and benefiting qi. They are assistant herbs. Tangerine peel is used to awake the spleen, harmonize the stomach, and regulate qi mechanism, Chinese angelica root as adjuvarnt herb nourishes the blood to harmonize the nutrient-qi. Cimicifuga rhizome leads the clear qi of Yangming Meridian upwards, while bupleurum root leads the clear qi of Shaoyang Meridian upwards. They are used together as dispatcher herbs for ele­vating the lucid yang of the spleen and stomach from the sinking.