BLACK PEARL BP013 JIA WEI XIAO YAO WAN BUPLEURUM & PEONY

JIA WEI XIAO YAO SAN
加味逍遙散
Bupleurum & Peony Formula
Product Code: BP013

TCM Actions
Soothes the Liver, nourishes the Liver Blood, tonifies the Spleen Qi, clears stagnant Heat.

Indications
Stress-related disorders, depressed mood, menstrual disorders (e.g. premenstrual syndrome, irregular menstruation), mastitis, mammary dysplasia (fibrocystic breast disease), bruxism, Crohn’s disease.

Dosage & Course Of Treatment
8 pills, 3 times daily, half to one hour away from food.

Course of treatment: 1 – 3 months. May be used for longer periods in patients with a stressful lifestyle.

Safe for long term use

Signs and Syndromes
Liver Qi constraint with stagnant Heat (or Fire) Spleen Qi deficiency

Irritability, emotional strain, stress

Sense of tightness or oppressive sensation in the chest, the need to make an effort to take a deep breath, sighing

One or more of: headache, sleep disturbance, red eyes, sensation of heat

Tightness of the shoulders and lower thoracic paraspinal muscles

Fatigue

Poor appetite

Menstrual irregularities

Premenstrual tension

Tongue may be red or have red tip and/or edges

Pulse is wiry and may also be rapid

Cautions & Contraindications
Caution for those on anti-coagulant medications (i.e. heparin, warfarin or aspirin).

Caution for those on any type of sedative drug.

Contraindicated for patients taking interferon.

If taking antibiotics, allow at least 90 minutes before t aking this formula.

Comments
This popular variant of Xiao Yao San (Bupleurum and Dang-gui Formula BP031) was first recorded in the ‘Summary of Internal Medicine’ (nei ke zhai yao), edited by Wen Sheng, mid 19th century. The base formula, however is from the ‘Formulary of the Tai Ping Welfare Dispensary Bureau’ (tai ping hui min he ji ju fang), which was compiled some eight centuries previously. The latter formula addresses Liver Qi constraint that occurs against a background of Qi and Blood deficiency. While there are several conditions that may be associated with Liver Qi constraint, there are three common ones: 1) Liver Blood deficiency (the Liver Qi and Liver Blood form a complementary Yin- Yang pair: the Liver Blood supports the Liver Qi. When the Liver Qi fails in its normal functions, i.e. becomes deficient, the Liver Blood may also become depleted). 2) Spleen Qi deficiency (due to failure of the Liver Qi to regulate and promote Spleen function) 3) Heat or Fire (which develops as a result of the transformation of stagnant Qi). While Xiao Yao San (Bupleurum and Dang-gui Formula BP031) addresses the first two; Jia Wei Xiao Yao San (Bupleurum and Peony Formula BP013) – with the addition of two extra herbs – addresses all three. It should be noted that in cases with Qi and Blood deficiency, the Heat that is generated by the stagnant Liver Qi is less intense in comparison to the Heat of a pure excess Heat syndrome, such as Liver Fire. Thus, the Heat clearing action of the two additional herbs has been moderated by specific pre-processing, which also lessens their impact on an already weakened middle Jiao. It should also be noted that this formula has a tranquilising effect, which is accomplished indirectly (i.e. none of the herbs have specific tranquilising actions) by addressing the Blood deficiency and also the Heat/Fire, both of which are important factors in adding to the mental and emotional disturbances that are associated with Liver Qi constraint.

Ingredients
PAEONIA LACTIFLORA, ROOT (bai shao) – 白芍 – 62.5mg
WOLFIPORIA COCOS, FRUIT, BODY (fu ling) – 茯苓 – 62.5mg
BUPLEURUM FALCATUM, ROOT (chai hu) – 柴胡 – 46.9mg
PAEONIA SUFFRUTICOSA, STEM BARK (mu dan pi) – 牡丹皮 – 46.9mg
GARDENIA JASMINOIDES, FRUIT (zhi zi) – 梔子 – 46.9mg
ANGELICA POLYMORPHA, ROOT (dang-gui) – 當歸 – 31.2mg
ATRACTYLODES MACROCEPHALA, RHIZOME (bai zhu) – 白術 – 31.2mg
MENTHA HAPLOCALYX, HERB (bo he) – 薄荷 – 15.6mg
ZINGIBER OFFICINALE, RHIZOME (pao jiang) – 炮薑 – 15.6mg
GLYCYRRHIZA URALENSIS, ROOT (gan cao) – 甘草 – 15.6mg