Chuan Xiong Cha Tiao San
Star川芎茶调散 (Ligusticum Chuanxiong Powder to be Taken with Green Tea)
Source: Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang — Imperial Medical Department (1107)
Last updated October 1, 2026
Description
Chuan Xiong Cha Tiao San (Ligusticum Chuanxiong Powder to be Taken with Green Tea), from the Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang (Imperial Grace Formulary of the Tai Ping Era) by Imperial Medical Department.
Actions: Clears wind and stops pain.
Presentation: Headache caused by exterior wind attack: headache (frontal, temporal, occipital or vertex), aversion to cold, fever, vertigo, stuffy nose, a thin, white tongue coating, and a superficial pulse. Also clear/white nasal obstruction or discharge, sneezing, body aches.
Composition: Source text has two variants: one with 30g Xi Xin (as listed), the other with 240g dry-fried Xiang Fu (Rhizoma Cyperi) instead. Taken with Cha Ye (Folium Camelliae), which clears the orifices and offsets the warm, drying herbs.
Cautions:
- Mostly warm herbs: add cold herbs if the headache is from wind-heat.
- Acrid, warm, drying and dispersing: contraindicated for headache from qi, blood, Kidney yin or Liver yin deficiency, Liver yang excess, or Liver wind rising.
Toxicology: Acute: 50 g/kg by gastric tube twice daily for 3 days reduced spontaneous activity in mice. Chronic: 17 g/kg daily for 8 days accelerated growth and increased spleen weight; no other abnormalities. Concluded to have little toxicity.
Pharmacological effects reported:
- Analgesic: marked analgesia in mice, onset ~15 min after oral dose, lasting ~3 hours
- Anti-inflammatory: in mice and rats; effect abolished after adrenalectomy, suggesting an adrenal-cortex mechanism
- Antipyretic: reduced fever in rats, onset ~30 min, lasting ~2 hours
Source: Chen JK, Chen TT. Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications: Pharmacological Effects & Clinical Research. Art of Medicine Press, 2009, p. 973.
Composition
| Herb | Amount | % | Role | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Chuan Xiong
as printed: Chuan Xiong (Rhizoma Chuanxiong) 120g [12g]
|
12g | 19.51% | Jun (Chief) | disperses wind and relieves headache, esp. shaoyang (temporal) and jueyin (vertex) |
|
Bai Zhi
as printed: Bai Zhi (Radix Angelicae Dahuricae) 60g [6g]
|
6g | 9.76% | Jun (Chief) | disperses wind; yangming (frontal) headache |
|
Qiang Huo
as printed: Qiang Huo (Rhizoma et Radix Notopterygii) 60g [6g]
|
6g | 9.76% | Jun (Chief) | disperses wind; taiyang (occipital) headache |
|
Xi Xin
as printed: Xi Xin (Radix et Rhizoma Asari) 30g [3g]
|
3g | 4.88% | Chen (Deputy) | dispels cold, relieves shaoyin headache, opens nasal orifices |
|
Bo He
do not expose to heat; as printed: Bo He (Herba Menthae) 240g [12g]
|
12g | 19.51% | Chen (Deputy) | dispels wind, opens orifices, relieves headache |
|
Jing Jie
as printed: Jing Jie (Herba Schizonepetae) 120g [12g]
|
12g | 19.51% | Chen (Deputy) | disperses wind from upper body |
|
Fang Feng
as printed: Fang Feng (Radix Saposhnikoviae) 45g [4.5g]
|
4.5g | 7.32% | Chen (Deputy) | disperses wind from upper body |
|
Gan Cao
as printed: Gan Cao (Radix et Rhizoma Glycyrrhizae) 60g [6g]
|
6g | 9.76% | Shi (Envoy) | harmonizes the herbs |
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.
The combination dispels wind and moves blood upward to the head, relieving headache more effectively than either herb alone.
Wind headache, especially frontal and temporal; both are warm and dispersing, so unsuited to headache from yin deficiency or Liver yang rising.
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 (+0.51)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: cool 20%, neutral 10%, warm 71%.
Taste
- pungent 82%
- sweet 13%
- bitter 5%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Liver 66%
- Lung 63%
- Stomach 20%
- Pericardium 20%
- Gallbladder 20%
- Spleen 17%
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
Grind to fine powder; take 6g per dose with green tea after meals. Today as powder (6g with Cha Ye tea twice daily) or as decoction at the bracketed doses.
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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