BLACK PEARL BP050 WEN DAN TANG BAMBOO & HOELEN

WEN DAN TANG
溫膽湯
Bamboo & Hoelen Formula
Product Code: BP050

TCM Actions
Clears Phlegm-Heat, regulates the Qi and harmonises the Stomach, clears the Gallbladder.

Indications
Chronic gastritis, duodenitis, peptic ulcer disease, gastro-oesoph­ ageal reflux, chronic bronchitis, neurosis, depressed mood, mania, hypomania, Meniere’s disease, chronic cholecystitis, hyperthy­ roidism, insomnia.

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

Course of treatment: 1 – 6 months.

Safe for long term use.

Signs and Syndromes
Phlegm-Heat retention Gallbladder Qi invasion of the Stomach

Nausea, vomiting or reflux

Irritability or emotional volatility

Insomnia or sleep disturbance

Bitter taste in mouth

Dizziness

Excessive hunger

Sense of fullness and discomfort in the chest

Productive cough with yellow sputum

Thirst

Red tongue with a greasy yellow coat

Rapid and slippery or rapid and wiry pulse

Cautions & Contraindications
None noted.

Comments
This formula appears in the ‘Golden Mirror of Medicine’ (yi zong jin jian), 1742, a 90 volume treatise on general medicine, written by a staff of 80 persons headed by Wu Qian, under the commission of the Qing imperial government. It is a variant of a formula by the same name from the renowned ‘Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces for Emergencies’ (bei ji qian jin yao fang) by Sun Si-miao, 652. The original by Sun was a warming formula, designed to treat Cold in the Gallbladder. It contained a mixture of cooling and warming herbal ingredients. Over the centuries the formula was modified by several eminent Chinese physicians, Wu Qian’s group providing us with the version that is popular today. It still contains a mixture of cooling and warming ingredients. However, it is stacked in favor of the cooling ones. Therefore, the retention of the original formula name is somewhat paradoxical: Warm the Gallbladder Formula (wen dan tang). Nevertheless, the internal logic of the formula is faultless: the warming ingredients act to resolve Phlegm at its source in the Spleen; while the cooling ones clear away the pathogenic complex of Phlegm-Heat. Clinically, this formula may be used for conditions in which Phlegm-Heat affects the Stomach, Heart and/or Lung, with or without Gallbladder involvement. Because Phlegm – and specifically Phlegm-Heat in this case – can affect a variety of bodily systems, this formula has a wide range of clinical applications, as described above. The synergistic actions of the herbs are as follows:

• Phyllostachys nigra wood (zhu ru), Citrus fruit (zhi shi): clear Phlegm-Heat from the Stomach and Gallbladder

• Pinellia tuber (ban xia), Wolfiporia cocos (fu ling), Citrus peel (chen pi), Citrus fruit (zhi shi): resolve Phlegm, regulate the Qi and harmonise the middle Jiao to prevent further Phlegm being produced

• Phyllostachys nigra wood (zhu ru), Pinellia tuber (ban xia): redirect the Stomach Qi downward to alleviate vomiting

• Glycyrrhiza root (gan cao), Wolfiporia cocos (fu ling), Ziziphus fruit (Da zao): tonify the Spleen and harmonise the Stomach

Ingredients
PHYLLOSTACHYS NIGRA, STEM WOOD (zhu ru) – 竹茹 – 69.2mg
PINELLIA TERNATA, TUBER (ban xia) – 半夏 – 69.2mg
WOLFIPORIA COCOS, FRUIT. BODY (fu ling) – 茯苓 – 51.9mg
CITRUS AURANTIUM, FRUIT (zhi shi) – 枳實 – 51.9mg
CITRUS RETICULATA, FRUIT PEEL (chen pi) – 陳皮 – 51.9mg
ZIZIPHUS JUJUBA, FRUIT (da zao) – 大棗 – 51.9mg
GLYCYRRHIZA URALENSIS, ROOT (gan cao) – 甘草 – 28.8mg