Ding Xian Wan
Star定痫丸 (Arrest Seizures Pill)
Source: Yi Xue Xin Wu (1732)
Last updated October 1, 2026
Description
Ding Xian Wan (Arrest Seizures Pill), from the Yi Xue Xin Wu, is used to eliminate phlegm; extinguish wind and open the orifice.
Presentation: epilepsy due to wind-phlegm; vertigo and stifling chest followed by sudden falling; loss of consciousness, convulsions; spitting mucus with loud, raspy throat sound; tongue: white and sticky coating; pulse: wiry and slippery.
Syndrome: Syndrome of phlegm.
Composition strategy:
- Targets phlegm and wind with herbs that enter the collaterals
- Focus on the Heart (seat of Shen): herbs remove phlegm from the Heart, open its orifice, sedate, calm and regulate Heart Qi, blood and Yin
- Processing reduces toxicity: Ban Xia with ginger juice; Quan Xie, Jiang Can, Yuan Zhi with Gan Cao; Zhu Sha water-ground as pill coating
Cautions:
- Contains toxic Zhu Sha and Quan Xie; processing procedures are essential
Source: Yang Y. Chinese Herbal Formulas: Treatment Principles and Composition Strategies. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2010, p. 245.
Composition
| Herb | Amount | % | Role | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tian Ma
toxic mark ** in source; as printed: Tian Ma (Gastrodiae rhizoma)
|
30g | 5.67% | Jun (Chief) | eliminate wind-phlegm |
|
Dan Nan Xing
as printed: Dan Nan Xing (Pulvis arisaemae cum felle bovis)
|
15g | 2.84% | Jun (Chief) | eliminate wind-phlegm |
|
Zhu Li
dose printed as 1 cup (100 ml); as printed: Zhu Li (Bambusae succus)
|
ml | — | Jun (Chief) | remove phlegm in the collaterals, open Heart orifice |
|
Chuan Bei Mu
as printed: Chuan Bei Mu (Fritillariae cirrhosae bulbus)
|
30g | 5.67% | Chen (Deputy) | break up phlegm accumulation |
|
Ban Xia
as printed: Ban Xia (Pinelliae rhizoma)
|
30g | 5.67% | Chen (Deputy) | transform phlegm (processed with ginger juice) |
|
Chen Pi
as printed: Chen Pi (Citri reticulatae pericarpium)
|
20g | 3.78% | Chen (Deputy) | transform phlegm |
|
Sheng Jiang
fresh ginger juice; dose printed as 1 cup (50 ml); as printed: Sheng Jiang Zhi (Zingiberis rhizoma recens succus)
|
ml | — | Chen (Deputy) | transform phlegm |
|
Fu Ling
as printed: Fu Ling (Poria)
|
30g | 5.67% | Zuo (Assistant) | leach out dampness |
|
Fu Shen
as printed: Fu Shen (Poriae cocos pararadicis)
|
30g | 5.67% | Zuo (Assistant) | calm the mind |
|
Quan Xie
toxic mark * in source; as printed: Quan Xie (Scorpio)
|
15g | 2.84% | Zuo (Assistant) | open collaterals, extinguish wind, calm convulsions |
|
Jiang Can
as printed: Jiang Can (Bombyx batrycatus)
|
15g | 2.84% | Zuo (Assistant) | open collaterals, extinguish wind, calm convulsions |
|
Hu Po
as printed: Hu Po (Succinum)
|
15g | 2.84% | Zuo (Assistant) | sedate the Heart-shen |
|
Deng Xin Cao
as printed: Deng Xin Cao (Junci medulla)
|
15g | 2.84% | Zuo (Assistant) | leach out dampness |
|
Dan Shen
as printed: Dan Shen (Salviae miltiorrhizae radix)
|
60g | 11.34% | Zuo (Assistant) | regulate blood, remove congealed blood in Heart collaterals |
|
Mai Men Dong
as printed: Mai Men Dong (Ophiopogonis radix)
|
60g | 11.34% | Zuo (Assistant) | nourish Heart-Yin |
|
Zhu Sha
toxic mark * in source; as printed: Zhu Sha (Cinnabaris)
|
9g | 1.7% | Zuo (Assistant) | sedate the Heart-shen; pill coating |
|
Gan Cao
assistant and envoy; as printed: Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae radix)
|
120g | 22.68% | Zuo (Assistant) | calm the mind, reduce harshness; also envoy |
|
Yuan Zhi
as printed: Yuan Zhi (Polygalae radix)
|
20g | 3.78% | eliminate phlegm, connect Heart and Kidney, revive the Heart | |
|
Shi Chang Pu
as printed: Shi Chang Pu (Acori graminei rhizoma)
|
15g | 2.84% | eliminate phlegm, revive the Heart |
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 nature not shown: the chief herb (Zhu Li) has no dose in grams.
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: cold 11%, cool 24%, neutral 48%, warm 16%.
Taste
- pungent 14%
- sweet 47%
- bitter 28%
- salty 3%
- bland 9%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Heart 76%
- Lung 67%
- Spleen 58%
- Stomach 45%
- Liver 28%
- Pericardium 11%
Share of the grams entering each channel, from 100% of the weighed grams.
2 herbs without a dose in grams, so left out of every figure above: Zhu Li, Sheng Jiang.
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
All herbs ground to fine powder and cooked with 120 g Gan Cao plus 100 ml Zhu Li and 50 ml Sheng Jiang Zhi into a paste; small pills made and coated with Zhu Sha; take one pill (6 g) twice daily.
Relationships
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Formula family
Full herb lists
- This formula = Er Chen Tang without Wu Mei + Dan Nan Xing, Tian Ma, Zhu Li, Chuan Bei Mu, Dan Shen, Deng Xin Cao, Fu Shen, Hu Po, Jiang Can, Mai Men Dong, Quan Xie, Zhu Sha, Shi Chang Pu and Yuan Zhi
- This formula = Xiao Ban Xia Jia Fu Ling Tang + Er Chen Tang + Dan Nan Xing, Tian Ma, Zhu Li, Chuan Bei Mu, Dan Shen, Deng Xin Cao, Fu Shen, Hu Po, Jiang Can, Mai Men Dong, Quan Xie, Zhu Sha, Shi Chang Pu and Yuan Zhi
- This formula = Ju Pi Tang + Er Chen Tang + Dan Nan Xing, Tian Ma, Zhu Li, Chuan Bei Mu, Dan Shen, Deng Xin Cao, Fu Shen, Hu Po, Jiang Can, Mai Men Dong, Quan Xie, Zhu Sha, Shi Chang Pu and Yuan Zhi
- This formula = Xiao Ban Xia Tang + Er Chen Tang + Dan Nan Xing, Tian Ma, Zhu Li, Chuan Bei Mu, Dan Shen, Deng Xin Cao, Fu Shen, Hu Po, Jiang Can, Mai Men Dong, Quan Xie, Zhu Sha, Shi Chang Pu and Yuan Zhi
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.
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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