Dang Gui Bu Xue Tang

Dang Gui Bu Xue Tang (Tangkuei Decoction to Tonify the Blood), from the Nei Wai Shang Bian Huo Lun (Clarifying Doubts about Injury from Internal and External Causes) by Li Gao.

Actions: Tonifies qi and generates blood production.

Presentation: Qi and blood deficiencies due to overexertion: warm sensations at the skin and muscle layers, a red face, irritability, thirst with a desire to drink warm water, slow healing of wounds, a pale tongue, and a surging, big and deficient pulse. In women during menstruation or after labor: hypermenorrhea, excessive postpartum blood loss, feverish sensation, and headache.

Cautions:

• Contraindicated with excess heat or yin-deficient heat with tidal fever

Herb–drug interactions:

• Chemotherapy- and radiation-induced leucopenia: plus Gou Qi Zi and Gu Sui Bu, 102 patients, 90.2% effective; mean WBC rose from 2.939 to 4.600 x10^9/L

Pharmacological effects reported:

• Hematopoietic: raised red blood cell count in mice, more than either herb alone at the same dose (synergy); 90-minute decoction more effective for RBC than 45 minutes
• Antiplatelet: blocked platelet aggregation and clot formation
• Hepatoprotective: against carbon tetrachloride in mice, attributed to improved circulation and liver cell regeneration
• Immunostimulant: increased macrophage phagocytosis in mice for up to 24 hours

Source: Chen JK, Chen TT. Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications: Pharmacological Effects & Clinical Research. Art of Medicine Press, 2009, p. 580.

Source: coarsely ground, decocted, taken warm before meals on an empty stomach. Today: herbs cooked three times, decoction in three equal doses morning, noon and evening.