WH Acupuncture & Herbs Centre

Gui zhi tang(Cassia Twig Decoction )

[INGREDIENTS]:

Cassia twig 9g

White peony root 9g

Roasted licorice 6g

Fresh ginger 9g

Chinese date 3 pcs.

[DIRECTIONS]: The above herbs should be decocted in water for oral adminis­tration.

[EFFECTS]:Relieving muscles and the exterior, harmonizing the nutrient and defensive qi.

[INDICATIONS]:Exogenous attack of wind and cold manifested by headache, fever, sweating, aversion to wind stuffy nose, retching, absence of thirst, white coating, floating loose or floating feeble pulse.

[ANALYSIS OF FORMULA]: This ia a representative formula for treating the exterior deficient syndrome due to exogenous attack of wind and cold. Being pun­gent and sweet flavors and warm nature, acting on the Urinary Bladder Meridian, cassia twig is the main herb to reinforce the defensive qi and activate the nutrient qi for expelling the exterior wind-cold evil. With sour and bitter flavors and slight cold nature, white peony root acts as the assistant herb to nourish the nutrient qi and astringe yin. The cooperation between cassia twig and white peony root is to harmonize the nutrient and defensive qi by means of dispersing and astringing simultaneously. Fresh ginger as an adjuvant herb assists cassia twig in expelling the exterior evils. Chinese date helps white peony root harmonize the nutrient blood. Fresh ginger and Chinese date together can also assist cassia twig and white peony root in harmonizing the nutrient and defensive qi. Roasted licorice acts as the dispatcher herb to harmonize all the components, besides, it can rein­force yang to relieve muscles by cooperating with cassia twig as well as nourishing yin to harmonize the nutrient qi by cooperating with white peony root.

This formula specially harmonize the nutrient and defensive qi and strengthen the genuine to expel evils, so it is different from the other diaphoretic formulae. In addition to the exterior deficient syndrome due to wind and cold, it can also be ap­plied to miscellaneous internal diseases, rehabilitation of illness or delivery mani­fested by symptoms of disharmony between the nutrient and defensive qi such as fever, sweating, aversion to wind, floating loose pulse. However, it cannot be ap­plied to exterior excessiveness without sweating, or exterior cold with internal heat marked by absence of sweat but fidget, or the beginning of warm diseases manifested by fever, thirst, sore throat, floating rapid pulse. If it is applied errone­ously to syndromes pertaining to exuberant heat, epistaxis will happen some­times .

In the present clinic, this formula is usally applied to various skin diseases such as eczema, urticaria, polymorphic erythema, prurigo and chilblain.

[ASSOCIATED FORMULAE]:

(1)    Pueraria plus Cassia Twig Decoction (gui zhi jia ge gen tang)，(Treatise on Cold-Attack)：

Pueraria root 12g, cassia twig 6g, white peony root 6g，fresh ginger 9g, Roast­ed licorice root 6g, Chinese date 3 pcs.

All the above herbs should be decocted in water for oral use. It relieves mus­cles and the exterior,moistens vessels and relaxes tendons and is applied to Taiyang diseases with symptoms of tight neck and back, sweating and aversion to wind.

(2)    Magnolia and Apricot Kernel plus Cassia Twig Decoction (gui zhi jia hou po xing zi tang)，(Treatise on Cold-Attack):

Cassia twig 9g, Roasted licorice 6g, fresh ginger 9g，white peony root 9g, Chi­nese date 3 pcs. , magnolia bark 6g, bitter apricot kernel 9g.

The above herbs should be decocted in water for oral use. It has the effects of relieving muscles and the exterior, lowering qi to relieve asthma, so it is suitable to the chronic asthma with attack of wind-cold and symptoms indicated by Cassia Twig Decoction, or the cases as the exterior syndrome of wind-cold is erroneously purged, the exterior syndrome is not relieved but mild asthma appears.

NOTES:Both Pueraria plus Cassia Twig Decoction and Magnolia and Apricot Kernel plus Cassia Twig Decoction are modified from Cassia Twig Decoction. They all can be applied to the exterior deficient syndrome due to wind-cold. Puer­aria plus Cassia Twig Decoction is used for tight neck and back due to the meridi- an-qi of Taiyang failing to distribute body fluid, so pueraria root is added to relieve muscles and the exterior as well as promoting production of body fluid for relie­ving tendons. While Magnolia and Apricot Kernel plus Cassia Twig Decoction is to treat the remaining of exterior deficient syndrome with asthma, magnolia bark, and bitter apricot kernel are added to lower qi for relieving asthma.

(3)   Cassia Twig plus Cassia Twig Decoction (gui zhi jia gui tang)，(Trea­tise on Cold-Attack)：

On the basis of Cassia Twig Decoction additional 6 gram of cassia twig is added. It is used to relieve the exterior and muscles as well as lowering the rebel­lious qi. Indications： After erroneous use of moxibustion or over-sweating, there appear symptoms such as paroxysmal gas pushing up to chest from the lower ab­domen with epigastric throb, shortness of breath and restlessness.

(4)   Peony plus Cassia Twig Decoction (gui zhi jia shao yao tang)，(Trea­tise on Cold-Attack)

On the basis of Cassia Twig Decoction additional 9 gram of white peony root is added. It has the effects of relieving the exterior and harmonizing the interior. Indications： After purgation is erroneously applied to Taiyang diseases, the evil qi sinks in the Taiyin Meridian marked by abdominal distention and episodic abdomi­nal pain with staying of exterior syndrome.

NOTES: Both Cassia Twig plus Cassia Twig Decoction and Peony plus Cassia Twig Decoction are based on Cassia Twig Decoction with certain additional herbs. With 6 grams additional cassia twig to Cassia Twig Decoction, the formula can not only expel the exogenous cold but also lower the rebellious qi, so it is used to treat the running piggy syndrome. The purpose of doubling the dosage of white peony root in Peony plus Cassia Twig Decoction is to relieve spasm and pain.