Gui Zhi Er Ma Huang Yi Tang
Star桂枝二麻黄一汤 (Two Parts Cinnamon Twig One Part Ephedra Decoction)
Source: Shang Han Lun — Zhang Zhong-Jing (Eastern Han, c. 220)
Last updated October 20, 2026
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Description
Gui Zhi Er Ma Huang Yi Tang (Two Parts Cinnamon Twig One Part Ephedra Decoction) is the formula given in Line 25 of the Shang Han Lun for a greater yáng disease that, after Cinnamon Twig Decoction, resembles malaria with episodes occurring twice a day (mild exterior depression).
Source: Mitchell C, Feng Y, Wiseman N. Shang Han Lun: On Cold Damage, Translation & Commentaries. Paradigm Publications, 1999, pp. 125–126.
Composition
Liquorice — estimated at the Chinese Pharmacopoeia's minimum content: about 169 mg of glycyrrhizic acid a day (zhi Gan Cao 16.93 g × 1.0 %). The EU Scientific Committee on Food considers 100 mg/day an upper limit for regular intake that protects most people. The estimate assumes all of it passes into what is taken, uses the pharmacopoeia's dry-weight minimum, and takes the amounts as one day's dose.
Sources
Sources: Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, 甘草 and 炙甘草, assay (glycyrrhizic acid not less than 1.8 % in the dispensed slices and 1.0 % in honey-fried liquorice, by dry weight). EU Scientific Committee on Food, Opinion on glycyrrhizinic acid and its ammonium salt, SCF/CS/ADD/EDUL/225 Final, 2003. The Committee notes this limit may not protect people with high blood pressure, electrolyte or fluid-balance disorders, slow gut transit, or reduced 11β-HSD2 activity.
- 《中华人民共和国药典》2020年版一部 — 甘草, 饮片 甘草片【含量测定】甘草酸 不得少于1.8%（按干燥品计算） (opens in a new tab)
- 《中华人民共和国药典》2020年版一部 — 炙甘草【含量测定】甘草酸 不得少于1.0%（按干燥品计算） (opens in a new tab)
- EU Scientific Committee on Food, Opinion on glycyrrhizinic acid and its ammonium salt, SCF/CS/ADD/EDUL/225 Final (10 April 2003) (opens in a new tab)
- EMA/HMPC/108399/2024 — European Union herbal monograph on Glycyrrhiza glabra L.; Glycyrrhiza inflata Bat.; Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., radix, §4.9 Overdose (opens in a new tab)
| Herb | Amount | % | Role | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Gui Zhi
as printed: 桂枝一两十七铢（去皮） (1 liang 17 zhu, remove bark); 26.693 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g and 1 zhu = 1/24 liang (p. 64)
|
26.69g | 28.67% | — | |
|
Bai Shao
as printed: 芍药一两六铢 (1 liang 6 zhu); 19.531 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g and 1 zhu = 1/24 liang (p. 64); printed as 芍药 shao yao (peony, white or red not specified), linked to Bai Shao as in the catalogue's other Shang Han Lun rows
|
19.53g | 20.98% | — | |
|
Ma Huang
as printed: 麻黄十六铢（去节） (16 zhu, remove nodes); 10.417 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g and 1 zhu = 1/24 liang (p. 64)
|
10.42g | 11.19% | — | |
|
Sheng Jiang
as printed: 生姜一两六铢（切） (1 liang 6 zhu, cut); 19.531 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g and 1 zhu = 1/24 liang (p. 64)
|
19.53g | 20.98% | — | |
|
Xing Ren
as printed: 杏仁十六个（去皮尖） (16 pieces, remove skin and tips)
|
16pieces | 76.19% | — | |
|
Gan Cao
as printed: 甘草一两二铢（炙） (1 liang 2 zhu, mix-fried); 16.927 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g and 1 zhu = 1/24 liang (p. 64)
|
16.93g | 18.18% | — | |
|
Da Zao
as printed: 大枣五枚（擘） (5 pieces, broken)
|
5pieces | 23.81% | — |
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 (+0.40)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: cool 21%, neutral 18%, warm 61%.
Taste
- pungent 41%
- sweet 33%
- sour 11%
- bitter 16%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Lung 79%
- Spleen 60%
- Heart 47%
- Stomach 39%
- Liver 21%
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: Xing Ren, Da Zao.
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
(1) [For] the above seven ingredients use five shēng of water. First boil ephedra (má huáng) once or twice and remove the foam [collecting] on top. Add all [the other] ingredients and boil to get two shēng. Remove the dregs and take one shēng warm, then take again [the same] day. (2) This is two parts Cinnamon Twig Decoction (guì zhī tāng) and one part Ephedra Decoction (má huáng tāng) combined [to make] two shēng. Separate [into two parts], [take one] then take again. (3) Nowadays, [these two formula] are combined into one formula, and [one should] rest, as in the previous method [for Cinnamon Twig Decoction (guì zhī tāng)]. (Mitchell, Feng & Wiseman 1999, pp. 125–126, Line 25)
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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
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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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