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Source: Shāng Hán Lùn 伤寒论

Ingredients:

• Huáng lián (黄连 Coptidis Rhizoma, coptis [root]) 1.5–3g
• Jiāng bàn xià (姜半夏 Pinelliae Rhizoma cum Zingibere Praeparatum, ginger[-processed] pinellia [rhizome]) 9–12g
• Quán guā lóu (全瓜蒌 Trichosanthis Fructus Integer, whole trichosanthes [fruit]) 9–15g

Action: Clears heat and flushes phlegm; loosens the chest and disperses binds.

Indication: Binding of phlegm and heat, causing glomus, distension and pain in the chest, sometimes with coughing up of thick phlegm, and bitter taste in the mouth. Tongue fur: Yellow and slimy.

Category: Phlegm-dispelling formulas / Heat-clearing phlegm-transforming formula

Method: Decoct with water.

Rationale: Chest bind arises when phlegm heat enters the interior or and binds with the phlegm in the chest and stomach duct. Heat effusion and thirst are signs of exuberant interior heat. Thirst unallayed by intake of fluid and vomiting of ingested fluids are signs of phlegm-heat causing internal obstruction and preventing the upward distribution of fluids and upsetting the normal downbearing of stomach qì. Glomus and fullness that is painful under pressure, the chief feature of chest bind patterns is due to heat binding phlegm in the region of the chest and stomach duct. Constipation, if present, is the result of the impaired downbearing of bowel qì. A slimy yellow tongue fur and a slippery floating pulse are direct manifestations of the internal phlegm-heat obstruction. Guā lóu fruit clears not only heat and transforms phlegm but also loosens the chest and disperses binds. Hence, it is the sovereign agent in this formula. Bàn xià disperses phlegm and disperses binds. Huáng lián clears heat and downbears find. These two agents combined free the phlegm bind and downbear qì counterflow and heat in the region of the chest and diaphragm.

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