Bao He Wan
Star保和丸 (Preserve Harmony Pill)
Source: Dan Xi Xin Fa (1481)
Last updated October 1, 2026
Description
Bao He Wan (Preserve Harmony Pill), from the Dan Xi Xin Fa, is used to promote digestion; regulate Qi movement in the Middle-Jiao.
Presentation: acute food stagnation with slight heat; fullness in the stomach, belching; nausea, vomiting with a foul smell; distending abdominal pain; constipation or diarrhea; tongue: normal or slightly red tongue with thick, white or slightly yellow coating; pulse: slippery, forceful and rapid.
Syndrome: Syndrome of food accumulation.
Composition strategy:
- Lian Qiao is included even without obvious heat, to prevent heat that food accumulation in the Stomach (a Yang organ) will generate
Source: Yang Y. Chinese Herbal Formulas: Treatment Principles and Composition Strategies. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2010, p. 229.
Composition
| Herb | Amount | % | Role | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shan Zha
as printed: Shan Zha (Crataegi fructus)
|
180g | 35.29% | Jun (Chief) | promote digestion |
|
Shen Qu
as printed: Shen Qu (Massa medicata fermentata)
|
60g | 11.76% | Jun (Chief) | promote digestion |
|
Lai Fu Zi
as printed: Lai Fu Zi (Raphani semen)
|
30g | 5.88% | Jun (Chief) | promote digestion, descend Qi, remove food and phlegm |
|
Chen Pi
as printed: Chen Pi (Citri reticulatae pericarpium)
|
30g | 5.88% | Chen (Deputy) | soothe Stomach-Qi, relieve Qi stagnation |
|
Ban Xia
as printed: Ban Xia (Pinelliae rhizoma)
|
90g | 17.65% | Chen (Deputy) | soothe Stomach-Qi, relieve Qi stagnation |
|
Fu Ling
as printed: Fu Ling (Poria)
|
90g | 17.65% | Zuo (Assistant) | tonify Spleen, remove dampness, stop diarrhea, calm mind |
|
Lian Qiao
as printed: Lian Qiao (Forsythiae fructus)
|
30g | 5.88% | Zuo (Assistant) | disperse and clear heat from food accumulation |
Dui Yao — Core Herb Pairs
The classical two-herb combinations at the heart of this formula, as recorded on the herbs' own pages — each pair has an action neither herb has alone.
Reduce food accumulation while descending qi to relieve distention.
Food stagnation with abdominal distention.
Energetics dose-weighted
The formula's overall nature, taste balance and channel reach, weighted by each herb's dose. Classical formulas often pair warm and cool herbs on purpose, so a net figure summarises the mix — it doesn't describe every herb in it.
Nature
Net slightly warm (+0.65)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: cool 6%, neutral 24%, warm 71%.
Taste
- pungent 29%
- sweet 35%
- sour 18%
- bitter 9%
- bland 9%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Spleen 94%
- Stomach 71%
- Lung 53%
- Liver 35%
- Heart 24%
- Kidney 18%
Share of the grams entering each channel, from 100% of the weighed grams.
Dose-weighted from each herb's recorded nature, taste and channels (missing values are left out, never counted as neutral). It describes the composition — it is not a recommendation.
Preparation
Powder and form into water pills; 6-9g twice daily with warm water or a Hordei Fructus germinatus (mai ya) decoction. May be decocted using the doses in parentheses.
Source: Scheid V, Bensky D, Ellis A, Barolet R. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. Eastland Press, 2009, p. 826.
Relationships
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Formula family
Each entry reads as the larger formula written out: “+” adds its other catalogue cores, then the herbs none of them hold. A catalogue formula counts as a core only when at least 80% of its herbs are present, no more than 1 is absent, and the absent herb is not its chief.
Formula Network
Formulas that share herbs with this one — the closer to the centre, the stronger the match. Click a node to explore.
Similar Formulas by composition
Match score combines dosage-weighted composition (cosine, 70%) with shared-herb overlap (Jaccard, 30%).
Traditional formula information is for educational purposes only. Herbal formulas should be prescribed by a qualified practitioner — dosages and combinations are individualized and can interact with medications.
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