Officinal Magnolia Bark Seven Agents Decoction

Source: Jīn Guì Yào Lüè 金匮要略

Ingredients:

Action: Resolves the flesh and effuses the exterior, drains interior repletion.

Indication: Abdominal fullness with heat effusion that has lasted for ten days, and a rapid floating pulse.

Category: Dual exterior-interior resolution formulas / Exterior-resolving interior-attacking formulas

Method: Decoct with water.

Rationale: This formula addresses patterns of interior repletion (abdominal fullness) with exterior signs (heat effusion, floating pulse). It is essentially a combination of Hòu pò sān wù tāng (厚朴三物汤 Officinal Magnolia Bark Three Agents Decoction), and guizhitang, with the emphasis on the former. Note that Hòu pò Three Agents Decoction has the same ingredients as Xiǎo chéng qì tāng (小承气汤 Minor Qì-Coordinating Decoction), but different weights make Hòu pò, not Dà huáng, the sovereign agent, shifting the emphasis from drain heat to moving stagnation.

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