BLACK PEARL BP034 XUE FU ZHU YU TANG PERSICA & CNIDINUM

XUE FU ZHU YU TANG | 血府逐瘀湯 Red Peony & Safflower Formula |
Product Code: BP034

TCM Actions
Activates the Blood and dispels stasis, alleviates pain

Indications
Coronary artery disease, angina pectoris, migraine or chronic headaches, rheumatic heart disease, intercostal neuralgia, costochondritis, post concussion syndrome, trigeminal neuralgia, depressed mood, psychosis, geriatric disorders, chronic non-healing ulcers, thromboangiitis obliterans, hepatic cirrhosis, severe post viral syndrome (e.g. due to COVID-19 or variants).

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

Course of treatment: 2 – 4 months, or longer in elderly patients

Generally for short term use.

Signs and Syndromes
Blood stasis

Pain that is fixed in location and boring or stabbing in character

Fixed abdominal mass (or masses)

Uterine bleeding with dark blood that contains clots

Dark complexion

Palpitations

Insomnia

Mood swings

Tidal fever

Dark or purple tongue that may have dark or purple spots

Choppy or wiry pulse

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

Contraindicated during pregnancy.

Contraindicated in cases with excessive bleeding (e.g. metrorrhagia, active hemorrhagic disorders)

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

Comments
This formula was devised by Wang Qing-ren (a.k.a. Wang Xun-chen) and recorded in his ‘Correction of Errors among Physicians’ (yi lin gai cuo), published in 1830. Wang was a 19th Century physician who amongst other ‘innovations’ insisted on updating the traditional concepts of the Zang-fu in line with the observable anatomical features of the physical organs. To add a twist of irony to the title of his book, this formula was originally developed due to an error made by Wang, who in the course of his anatomical investigations consistently found coagulated blood above the diaphragm. Due to the prohibition against human dissection, he was restricted to the observation of disinterred corpses and public executions where the sentence included disembowelment. Unfortunately, he didn’t realise that this observation was due to an artefact caused by the methods that he was forced to adopt in order to observe human viscera. However, his misguided notions in this area have proved to be fortuitous for subsequent TCM practitioners because he described a theoretical syndrome of ‘Blood stasis in the chest’ (xue fu)’ and developed Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang (Formula to drive out [Blood] stasis in the Chest) to treat it. The formula is a variant of Tao Hong Si Wu Tang (Persica, Carthamus and Dang-gui combination BP061) which activates the Blood and dispels stasis as well as nourishes the Blood. This is complemented with ingredients that soothe the Liver and regulate the Qi as well as several herbs that act as ‘envoys’ to direct the formula’s actions to each component of the Triple Jiao. This formula is used clinically for a broad range of conditions due to Blood stasis in any part of the body. In addition, it is a useful foundation treatment for elderly patients because Blood stasis is one of the pathodynamics of ageing. Due to the formula’s wide range of clinical applications, there is no single key clinical sign for its appropriate use. Therefore, this formula may be indicated when any one of the key signs of Blood stasis (in bold typeface, above) is present. However, there are other suitable clinical scenarios where none of these key signs are present and the diagnosis of Blood stasis is inferred from the overall clinical features, e.g. in elderly patients with intractable insomnia, severe mood disorders, chronic or recurrent skin conditions. The synergistic actions of the herbs are as follows:

Ingredients
REHMANNIA GLUTINOSA, ROOT (di huang) – 地黃 – 60.8 mg
PAEONIA OBOVATA, ROOT (chi shao) – 赤芍 – 50.7 mg
ACHYRANTHES BIDENTATA, ROOT (niu xi) – 牛膝 – 50.7 mg
ANGELICA POLYMORPHA, ROOT (dang-gui) – 當歸 – 30.4 mg
LIGUSTICUM STRIATUM, ROOT (chuan xiong) – 川芎 – 30.4 mg
PRUNUS PERSICA, SEED (tao ren) – 桃仁 – 30.4 mg
BUPLEURUM FALCATUM, ROOT (chai hu) – 柴胡 – 30.4 mg
CITRUS AURANTIUM, FRUIT (zhi ke) – 枳殼 – 30.4 mg
CARTHAMUS TINCTORIUS, FLOWER (hong hua) – 紅花 – 20.3mg
PLATYCODON GRANDIFLORUS, ROOT (jie geng) – 桔梗 – 20.3 mg
GLYCYRRHIZA URALENSIS, ROOT (gan cao) – 甘草 – 20.3 mg