WH Acupuncture & Herbs Centre

Five Kinds of Peels Powder wu pi san

[SOURCE]: Huatuo’s Visceral Classic

[INGREDIENTS]:

Ginger slices 9g , Mulberry bark 9g , Tangerine peel 9g , Shell of areca nut 9g , Poria peel 9g

[DIRECTIONS]:Decoct all the above herbs in water for oral administration.

[EFFECTS]: Excreting dampness to subduce edema and regulating .qi to strengthen the spleen.

[INDICATION]:General subcutaneous edema, tired limbs or the whole body, distention of chest and abdomen, dyspnea, oliguria and edema during pregnancy, whitish and greasy tongue coating, and deep, moderate pulse.

[ANALYSIS OF FORMULA]:It is a common formula for treatment of general- edema. Poria peel in the formula induces diuresis and excretes dampness, and strengthens the spleen to promote the functions of transportation and transforma­tion at the same time. Ginger being pungent in flavor disperses fluid-retention. Mulberry bark descends the lung-qi to clear and regulate water passage. Shell of areca nut activates water-qi to relieve distention of the abdomen. Tangerine peel soothes the stomach-qi and resolves damp-turbidity. The combination of the five herbs produces the effects of regulating qi and invigorating the spleen and excre­ting dampness to relieve edema.This formula promotes normal water flow and eliminates edema. If the spleen-qi is very deficient, bighead atractylodes rhizome and astragalus root should be added to the formula to replenish qi and strengthen the spleen. If edema accom­panied by wind-evil is in the upper body, ledebouriella root and notopterygium root should be .added to the formula to dispel wind and dampness. If edema is in the lower body, this formula is often combined with Poria Powder with Five Herbs to increase the effects of diuresis and relieving edema.

It is should be treated by the modified formula that edema of acute or chronic nephritis, edema of heart failure, edema during pregnancy, edema of abrupt onset and menopausal syndrome, etc manifested in general-edema syndrome due to spleen deficiency and excessive dampness can.