Harmonization formulas

Medicinal formulas that adjust functions within the human body and that are used when other methods cannot treat midstage penetration of an external evil or disharmony between qì and blood or between bowels and viscera. Harmonization formulas correspond to harmonization among the eight methods.

Harmonization formulas were originally designed for evil entering the lesser yáng (shào yáng) in cold damage disease. The lesser yang belongs to the gallbladder its location is considered half exterior half interior. For this reason, lesser yáng disease is not suited to treatment by sweating, the method used for exterior patterns, or by ejection or precipitation, which are methods used to eliminate evils from the interior. However, the gallbladder is an appendage of the liver and stands in exterior-interior relationship with the liver. Disease of the gallbladder channel can affect the liver, and disease of the liver channel can affect the gallbladder. Furthermore, liver and gallbladder disease can affect the stomach and spleen, giving rise to liver-spleen disharmony. Gastrointestinal disharmony easily develops into cold-heat and vacuity-repletion complexes. For this reason, harmonizing formulas of the kind originally tailored for lesser yáng disease patterns have also developed to harmonize the liver and spleen in the treatment of liver depression and spleen vacuity and to harmonize the stomach and intestines in the treatment of gastrointestinal cold and heat complexes. The central idea of harmonization formulas is that they can treat both heat and cold, restore normal upbearing and downbearing, and address both right and evil.

Subcategories

• Lesser yáng harmonization formulas
• Liver-spleen harmonization formulas
• Stomach and intestines harmonization formulas

Lesser Yáng Harmonization Formulas

Formulas that harmonize lesser yáng treat cold damage lesser yáng (shào yáng) disease patterns manifesting in alternating heat effusion and aversion to cold, fullness in the chest and rib-side, taciturnity and no desire to heat, heart vexation, retching, bitter taste in the mouth, dry throat, dizzy vision, and a pulse that is stringlike.

Main agents: Bupleurum (Bupleuri Radix, 柴胡 chái hú) or sweet wormwood (Artemisiae Annuae Herba, 青蒿 qīng hāo) combined with scutellaria (Scutellariae Radix, 黄芩 huáng qín) as the main agents.

If qì vacuity is also present, these are assisted by agents that boost qì and support right to prevent the disease evil from falling inward. If dampness evil is also present, agents that free damp turbidity can be included to conduct the evil downward.

Representative formulas

• Minor Bupleurum Decoction (小柴胡汤 xiǎo chái hú tāng)
• Minor Bupleurum Decoction (小柴胡汤 xiǎo chái hú tāng)

Liver-Spleen Harmonization Formulas

Formulas that harmonize the liver and spleen treat liver-spleen disharmony, which arises either when liver qì is depressed and crosses to invade the spleen or when spleen vacuity affects free coursing, causing liver-wood overwhelm the spleen. In either case, the signs include distension and pain in the stomach duct, abdomen, chest, and rib-side, lassitude of spirit, reduced eating, menstrual irregularities, abdominal pain and diarrhea, and lack of warmth in the extremities. Commonly used are agents that course the liver and rectify qì such as bupleurum (Bupleuri Radix, 柴胡 chái hú), bitter orange (Aurantii Fructus, 枳壳 zhǐ ké), and bitter orange (Aurantii Fructus, 枳壳 zhǐ ké) combined with spleen-fortifying medicinals such as poria (Poria, 茯苓 fú líng), and licorice (Glycyrrhizae Radix, 甘草 gān cǎo).

Stomach and Intestines Harmonization Formulas

Formulas that harmonize the stomach and intestines treat gastrointestinal cold-heat complexes with vacuity and repletion signs and with abnormal upbearing and downbearing, manifesting in glomus and fullness below the heart, distension and fullness in the stomach duct and abdomen, retching and vomiting and diarrhea. These formulas have acrid opening and bitter downbearing agents such as pinellia (Pinelliae Rhizoma, 半夏 bàn xià), dried ginger (Zingiberis Rhizoma, 干姜 gān jiāng), coptis (Coptidis Rhizoma, 黄连 huáng lián),scutellaria (Scutellariae Radix, 黄芩 huáng qín) as their main agents, combined with qì-boosting center-harmonizing medicinals such as ginseng (Ginseng Radix, 人参 rén shēn), jujube (Jujubae Fructus, 大枣 dà zǎo), and licorice (Glycyrrhizae Radix, 甘草 gān cǎo).

Representative formulas

• Pinellia Heart-Draining Decoction (半夏泻心汤 bàn xià xiè xīn tāng)
• Coptis Decoction[1] (黃連湯[1] huáng lián tāng)

See harmonization.