Liu Wei Tang - 六味湯 - Six Ingredient Decoction

English:	Six Ingredients Decoction
Also Known As:

Herbs And Actions

Pharmaceutical Latin	Pin Yin	Dosage	Actions
Rx. Platycodi	Jie Geng	3-12g	Opens the Lungs, spreads Lung Qi, expels Phlegm, benefits the throat, expels pus and opens and raises Lung Qi, directing the effects of other herbs to the upper body. With Sheng Gan Cao, disseminates Lung Qi, expels Phlegm, resolves toxicity, and expels pus for productive cough with hoarseness, pain and swelling of the throat due to Wind-Heat.
Rx. Glycyrrhizae	Gan Cao	1.5-14g	Clears Heat, relieves Fire toxicity, moistens the Lungs, resolves Phlegm and stops cough. With Jie Geng, for pain and swelling of the throat.
Rx. Saposhnikoviae	Fang Feng	3-10g	Releases the exterior and expels External Wind and Cold. With Jing Jie, for Wind-Cold or Exterior patterns in any season. With Jing Jie and Chan Tui, for dermatological disorders with rash, irritability and itching.
Flos Schizonepeta	Jing Jie	3-10g	Expels Wind, Releases the exterior, Relieves itching, Vents rashes. With Bo He, releases the exterior to induce sweating, disperses Wind in the head, vents rashes and alleviates itching. With Jie Geng and Sheng Gan Cao, for acute cough associated with External disorders. With Fang Feng, for pruritic itching.
Bombyx Batryticatus	Jiang Can	3-10g	Dispels Wind, disperses Wind-Heat and stops itching and pain. With Jie Geng, Bo He and Fang Feng, for hoarseness and painful, red throat due to Wind-Heat. With Chan Tui, for eczema or rash due to Wind.
Hb. Menthae	Bo He	3-6g	Disperses Wind-Heat and cools and clears the head and eyes, vents rashes and benefits the throat. With Jing Jie, for Wind-Heat. With Jie Geng and Jiang Can, for painful, swollen throat.
Periostracum Cicadae	Chan Tui	3-10g	Disperses Wind, clears Heat, vents rashes and relieves itching. With Bo He, for incomplete expression of measles and Wind, rash, or itchy, red eyes and pterygium.

Formula Actions

• Opens the Lungs
• Warms Cold
• Spreads Lung Qi
• Expels Phlegm
• Benefits the throat
• Expels Wind
• Disperses Wind-Heat
• Stops itching and pain

Syndromes

• Wind-Heat

Clinical Manifestations

Dry cough Sore, red, swollen throat Slight thirst, with desire to drink cold liquids Runny or blocked nose Fever with little perspiration Slight chills

Aversion to Wind May be dyspnea with flared nostrils Headache T: Red tip C: Thin and yellow or white P: Superficial and rapid

Treats

Acute laryngitis due to Wind-Cold Sore throat due to Wind-Cold Common cold Hoarseness Headache

Rashes Acute pharyngitis due to Wind-Cold Influenza Loss of voice

Contraindications And Herb/Drug Interactions

Notes

Modifications

For acute laryngitis due to Wind-Cold Attacking the Lungs:		For acute pharyngitis due to Wind-Cold Attacking the Lungs:
+ Fol. Perillae	Zi Su Ye	+ Fr. Arctii	Niu Bang Zi
+ Sm. Armeniacae	Xing Ren	+ Fol. Perillae	Zi Su Ye
Or		For acute laryngitis, hoarseness or loss of voice due to Wind-Cold Attacking the Lungs with a productive cough:
+ Fol. Perillae	Zi Su Ye
+ Sm. Armeniacae	Xing Ren
+ Rx. Peucedani	Qian Hu	+ Fol. Perillae	Zi Su Ye
+ Rz. Zingiberis Recens	Sheng Jiang	+ Sm. Armeniacae	Xing Ren
+ Rx. Peucedani	Qian Hu
+ Rz. Zingiberis Recens	Sheng Jiang
+ Rz. Pinelliae Preparatum	Zhi Ban Xia
Rz. Cynanchi Stauntonii	Bai Qian