苓甘五味姜辛湯

Name

Decoction of Poria, Licorice, Schisandra, Dried Ginger and Asarum

Source

The book Jin Gui Yao Lue

Ingredients

• Fu Ling (Poria) 12 g,
• Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae) 6 g,
• Gan Jiang (Rhizoma Zingiberis) 9 g,
• Xi Xin (Herba Asari) 6 g,
• Wu Wei Zi (Fructus Schisandrae) 6 g.

Explanation

Gan Jiang: Being pungent in flavor and hot in nature, not only warming the lung and dispelling cold so as to eliminate retained phlegm but also warming up the spleen-Yang so as to remove dampness.

Xi Xin: Warming the lung to dispel cold, assisting Gan Jiang in eliminating retained phlegm.

Fu Ling: Strengthening the spleen and inducing diuresis so as to eliminate phlegm.

Wu Wei Zi: Astringing the Lung to relieve cough.

Gan Cao: Regulating the stomach, tempering the actions of all the other ingredients.

Effect

Warming and eliminating phlegm.

Indications

Syndrome due to retention of cold-phlegm in the interior, marked by cough with profuse watery sputum, fullness in the chest, shortness of breath, whitish slippery tongue coating, and taut slippery pulse; including such diseases with the above symptoms as chronic bronchitis, pulmonary emphysema, bronchial asthma and bronchiectasis.