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Source: Hé Jì Jú Fāng 和剂局方

Ingredients:

• Dāng guī (当归 Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Chinese angelica) 12g
• Shú dì huáng (熟地黄 Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata, cooked rehmannia [root]) 9g
• Sháo yào (芍药 Paeoniae Radix, peony [root]) 9g
• Chuān xiōng (川芎 Chuanxiong Rhizoma, chuanxiong [rhizome]) 3g

Action: Supplements and quickens the blood; regulates menstruation.

Indication: All types of vacuity and stagnation of provisioning-blood, menstrual irregularities, menstrual pain, and flooding and spotting.

Category: Supplementing formulas / Yīn-yáng dual supplementation formulas

Method: Decoct with water.

Warnings: Contraindicated in indigestion or spleen vacuity diarrhea; yīn vacuity; anemia due to spleen vacuity; vacuity desertion from major blood loss.

Rationale: Shú dì huáng is a powerful blood-supplementing and yīn-enriching agent. Dāng guī supplements the blood and harmonizes the liver, as well as quickening the blood and regulating menstruation. Shú dì huáng counteracts Dāng guī's acridity and dryness, while Dāng guī counteracts the stickiness of Shú dì huáng, which tends to clog the stomach. The two together nourish and quicken the blood and eliminate each other's disadvantages. Bái sháo harmonizes provisioning and nourishes the liver, so as to provide a constraining action that complements the dispersing action of Dāng guī; it also emolliates the liver to complement the liver-coursing action of Dāng guī. Chuān xiōng quickens the blood and moves stagnation, and like Dāng guī, complements the Shú dì huáng.

Variations:

• Delayed menstruation with pale flow: Add Fù zǐ (附子 Aconiti Radix Lateralis Praeparata, aconite [accessory root]) and Ròu guì (肉桂 Cinnamomi Cortex, cinnamon bark).
• Advanced menstruation with copious dark purple flow: Add Huáng lián (黄连 Coptidis Rhizoma, coptis [root]) and Huáng qín (黄芩 Scutellariae Radix, scutellaria [root]).
• Blood vacuity headache: Add Gǎo běn (藁本 Ligustici Rhizoma, Chinese lovage [root]), Gōu téng (钩藤 Uncariae Ramulus cum Uncis, uncaria [stem and thorn]), and Jú huā (菊花 Chrysanthemi Flos, chrysanthemum [flower]).
• Rib-side and abdominal pain due to blood vacuity and qì stagnation: Add Yù jīn (郁金 Curcumae Radix, curcuma [root]), Xiāng fù (香附 Cyperi Rhizoma, cyperus [rhizome]), and Yán hú suǒ (延胡索 Corydalis Rhizoma, corydalis [rhizome]).
• Fetal spotting: Add ē jiāo (阿胶 Asini Corii Colla, ass hide glue) and ài yè (艾叶 Artemisiae Argyi Folium, mugwort [leaf]).

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