WH Acupuncture & Herbs Centre

[DIRECTION]:Decoct the above herbs in water for oral administration. EFFECTS: Warming meridians to dispel cold, relieve constipation and assuage pain.

[INDICATIONS]: Cold accumulation manifested by abdominal or hypochondriac pain, constipation, fever, cold limbs, deep, taut and tight pulse.

[ANALYSIS OF FORMULA]: Being extremely pungent flavor and extremely hot nature, the prepared aconite lateral root warms the interior to dispell cold and assuage cold pain of epigastrium and abdomen;rhubarb purges feces. Both of them act as the main herbs. The formula becomes the warm purgation because the dos­age of prepared aconite lateral root is larger than that of rhubarb. As the assistant herb, asarum herb activates yang and expels cold to alleviate pain.

It is commonly used by Zhang Zhongjing to apply both asarum herb and pre­pared aconite lateral root to treat the latent cold evil in yin-phase. The examples can be seen in this formula and in Ephedra, Aconite and Asarum Decoction. In the latter, working with ephedra, the asarum herb is mainly to assist yang in relieving the exterior; while in the former, Working with rhubarb, asarum herb helps pre­pared aconite lateral root to change the bitter-cold formula into warm purgation. It is especially worth to mention that the dosage of prepared aconite lateral root in this formula is far larger than that in Ephedra, Aconite and Asarum Decoction. So it is clear that there is a profound meaning in the aspects of setting therapies, choosing herbs and creating formulae by the ancients.