Ban xia xie xin tang
ban xia 24 huang qin 9 huang lian 3 ren shen 9 gan jiang 9 da zao 9 zhi gan cao 9
If there is fullness only without pain this indicates a glomus and one should not give xiao chai hu tang but ban xia xie xin tang.
This formula corrects vertical disharmony in the yang ming and tai yin realm. It treats a pattern of yang ming stomach heat and glomus with cold in the intestines. It dries earth dampness, harmonizes the middle and restores the proper ascending and descending action of middle burner qi.
A horizontal pattern is referring to the Fire element being able to descend into the Earth, Metal and finally Water realm according to the generating cycle. This is in comparison to a horizontal pattern where Wood is not supporting Earth in the controlling cycle.
In this pattern Fire cannot make its descent into Earth and Metal due to damp and or phlegm accumulation in the stomach domain. This formula has two actions. One is to drain the accumulations and heat and this is being done with ban xia, huang qin, and huang lian. The second is to tonify the deficiency and prevent excessive drying and cooling and this is being done with ren shen, da zao, gan jiang, and zhi gan cao.
Spleen qi deficiency and cold cause dampness to accumulate and this combines with shao yang ministerial fire heat. The key symptom is a glomus or full feeling in the stomach that feels hard to the touch in hara diagnosis.
There are two other versions of this formula: gan cao xie xin tang and sheng jiang xie xin tang.
Ban xia, Pinelliae rhizoma is pungent dispersing of the liver blood and the ministerial fire in the san jiao. It is pungent dispersing of the cold and dampness in the stomach domain, spleen and lung. It transforms tai yin damp phlegm generated from excessive and stagnant cold dampness and counteracts nausea and adverse flow.
Combined with gan jiang it dries and transforms excessive internal dampness.
Huang qin, Scutellaria radix is bitter draining and cooling of heat in the san jiao, stomach domain, lungs, liver, gall bladder, and bladder.
It is a shao yang and yang ming herb. It clears internal gall bladder heat that flares up to the upper burner. It also clears san jiao damp heat through its bitter drying taste and cold cooling nature.
Huang lian, Coptidis rhizome is bitter draining of heat in the ministerial and imperial fire. It is bitter draining of heat in the heart and san jiao. It is bitter draining of heat and dampness in the stomach domain.
It is bitter and cold and it clears yang ming heat and descends counter flow by cooling the stomach and large intestine. It is also intensely drying.
Ren shen, Ginseng radix is sweet tonifying and nourishing of the spleen, lungs, heart, and kidney. It nourishes yin fluids and therefore is the foremost qi and yin tonic.
Ren shen tonifies qi in tai yin which corrects the imbalance that caused the accumulation of damp which forms heat.
Gan jiang, Zingiberis rhizoma, dried is warm (or hot) pungent and astringent. Gan jiang is the main herb to warm the tai yin level and treat excessive dampness by introducing yang ming dryness in tai yin dampness.
Gan jiang warms tai yin spleen cold and balances the cold herbs like huang lian.
Da zao, Jujubae fructus is sweet tonifying and moderating. It tonifies and nourishes the stomach domain, spleen, lungs, and heart. It directly nourishes the shao yin heart.
Da zao adds dampness to tai yin and normally this supports the heart blood and then also the ministerial fire which warms the Wood to control Earth. If there is a soft stool remove da zao.
Zhi gan cao, Glycyrrhizae radix prep tonifies Earth and prevents excessive drying from the huang qin and huang lian.
Zhi gan cao is sweet tonifying and nourishing of all organs but especially the heart.
Zhi gan cao is sweet and mildly warm tonifying and nourishing of yin fluids. It balances the pungent ban xia with its sweet moderation and nourishing. It nourishes yin fluids in the tai yin and shao yin. It calms wind in the jue yin.