Gui Zhi Jia Ge Gen Tang comes from Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Febrile Diseases) and is a pearl among traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. The main ingredients of this prescription include Guizhi, Baishao, Gancao, Shengjiang, Jujube and Gegen, which have the effects of dispersing wind-heat, relieving muscles and reducing fever, and harmonizing Yin and Yang. This prescription has the effects of sweating, relieving muscles, reducing fever, relieving cough, resolving phlegm, relieving asthma, and stopping diarrhea. It is suitable for treating colds, fever, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, runny nose, cough, asthma, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms.
Ingredients of Gui Zhi Jia Ge Gen Tang
Main drug: Cinnamon twig : Mainly used to induce sweating, dispel wind and dampness, warm the meridians and activate blood circulation. Treat colds, edema, dysmenorrhea, blood stasis and other symptoms.
Assistant drug (assisting the main drug) Pueraria root : assists cinnamon twig in sweating and relieving the exterior symptoms, and has the effects of promoting body fluid and quenching thirst, clearing away heat and detoxifying. Treat colds, fever, cough, asthma, vomiting blood, epistaxis, metrorrhagia, traumatic bleeding, thirst due to fever, thirst due to yin deficiency, drunkenness, ethanol poisoning, measles, hot diarrhea, diarrhea due to spleen deficiency, colds, fever, sore throat, oral ulcers and other heat-toxic diseases.
Auxiliary drugs (assisting the main and secondary drugs)
White Peony Root: Assists cinnamon twig and kudzu root in dispelling the exterior syndrome, and at the same time has the effects of calming the liver and calming wind, replenishing blood and nourishing the liver. Treats headaches, dizziness, convulsions and other symptoms caused by liver yin deficiency, liver qi disharmony or liver yang hyperactivity.
Licorice: It has the functions of clearing away heat and detoxifying, replenishing qi, and purging fire. It can relieve symptoms such as sore throat and cough. At the same time, it can harmonize various medicines and reduce the toxicity and side effects of drugs.
Guide drug
Ginger: It has the function of dispelling wind and cold, inducing sweat and relieving the symptoms. It can guide the medicine to the affected area. It also has the function of stopping vomiting and strengthening the spleen and stomach. It can treat gastrointestinal discomfort.
Jujube: It has the effects of calming the mind and promoting sleep, regulating qi and promoting blood circulation, and can harmonize various medicines. It also has the effects of stopping diarrhea, regulating menstruation, relieving cough and reducing phlegm. It can relieve symptoms such as intestinal discomfort and insufficient qi and blood.
Composition and identification of Gui Zhi Jia Ge Gen Tang prescription
The timing for using Gui Zhi Jia Ge Gen Tangg mainly comes from a passage in Shanghan Lun: "For patients with sun disease, stiffness and pain in the neck and back, sweating, and fear of wind, Guizhi Jia Gegen Tang is the main treatment." This passage means that when a person suffers from sun disease and has stiff and painful neck and back, accompanied by sweating and fear of wind , Guizhi Jia Gegen Tang should be used for treatment.
Taiyang disease refers to diseases caused by exogenous wind and cold, and common symptoms include headache, fever, slow pulse, etc. When these symptoms are accompanied by stiffness and pain in the neck and back, it is called "stiffness in the neck and back", which is a manifestation of wind and cold invading the Taiyang meridian.
The timing of Zhang Zhongjing's use of Guizhi Jia Gegen Tang in Shanghan Lun is worth discussing. Although this prescription is mainly used to treat Taiyang disease, it may also cause three yin symptoms . In Shanghan Lun Guilin Ancient Edition, it is mentioned: "Cold disease, bone pain, yin numbness, abdominal distension, waist pain, constipation, pain in the shoulders, back, neck, and back, and deep and slow pulse, this is the cold evil drying up the kidney, Guizhi Jia Gegen Tang is the main treatment."
This passage means that when external cold evil invades the body, it will affect the bladder meridian and kidney meridian, leading to symptoms such as joint pain, back pain and constipation . These symptoms are similar to what modern medicine calls " ankylosing spondylitis ".
Pathogenesis of Gui Zhi Jia Ge Gen Tang Syndrome
In modern Chinese medicine, Gui Zhi Jia Ge Gen Tang is widely used in clinical practice. It is not limited to traditional cold and fever symptoms, but also extends to the treatment of various systemic diseases. The following are the specific applications of this prescription in different fields:
Gui Zhi Jia Ge Gen Tang syndrome is a concomitant syndrome of "Guizhi Tang syndrome", which means it has the symptoms of Guizhi Tang syndrome, such as Taiyang superficial deficiency (sweating, fear of wind, headache, fever, floating and slow pulse), and also has symptoms of blocked meridians such as stiffness and pain in the head and neck. Key symptoms include "tight neck and back pain", "sweating" and "fear of wind".
Therefore, this prescription is also called "Taiyang exterior deficiency and blocked meridians" or "Taiyang stroke combined with blocked Taiyang meridians", which means the pain caused by the blockage of the Taiyang meridian (bladder meridian).
Normally, stiffness and pain in the neck and back are the characteristics of the "Ge Gen Tang syndrome" of the exterior without sweating . But here, "sweating" occurred , so the word "anti" was used to emphasize this unusual phenomenon. In "Shang Han Lun", the word "anti" is used to indicate symptoms that should not occur or are rare.
Sweating and fear of wind are the main symptoms of Taiyang superficial deficiency and stroke syndrome, so "Guizhi Decoction" is used for treatment . Because the Taiyang meridian qi and blood are blocked, "Kuang root" is added to promote the flow of qi in the bladder meridian . Another school of thought believes that this is an invasion of the Yangming meridian by external evil, and adding Kudzu root is to eliminate the Yangming evil, or to induce Yangming sweat, or to prevent external evil from entering the Yangming disease.
Modern research and application
Modern medicine has conducted in-depth research on Guizhi Jia Gegen Tang and found that it has significant effects in the treatment of many diseases. Studies have shown that this prescription has a strong anti-inflammatory effect, which can reduce the release of inflammatory factors, thereby reducing inflammatory reactions and helping to relieve various discomforts caused by inflammation.
In addition, Gui Zhi Jia Ge Gen Tang can regulate the immune system and has certain antiviral ability. It can inhibit the replication of many viruses, especially respiratory viruses. It has a significant inhibitory effect, which is very helpful for preventing and treating respiratory infections such as colds.
Guizhi Jia Gegen Tang is widely used in internal medicine, mainly for the treatment of common cold and its associated symptoms such as fever, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, runny nose, etc. In addition, this prescription also has a significant relieving effect on symptoms such as headache, dizziness, facial swelling, facial nerve paralysis, myasthenia gravis, stiff-man syndrome, chronic polymyositis, essential tremor, stomachache, early onset of dysentery and acute enteritis caused by cold.
In terms of surgical diseases, Guizhi Jia Gegen Tang is used to treat symptoms such as stiff neck, cervical spondylosis and itching caused by urticaria, especially stiff neck and cervical spondylosis caused by wind and cold. The prescription has shown good results in the treatment of these diseases.
In pediatric diseases, Guizhi Jia Gegen Tang is mainly used to treat measles, especially measles caused by wind and cold. This prescription has a significant effect in relieving the symptoms of measles.
In terms of other diseases, Guizhi Jia Gegen Tang is used to treat frozen shoulder, frozen shoulder, back pain, hemiplegia, strabismus, diplopia, facial nerve palsy and cervical spondylosis, etc. This prescription has shown many applications and effects in the treatment of these diseases.
Notes
When taking Gui Zhi Jia Ge Gen Tang, there are some dietary taboos that need to be noted: Do not eat raw and cold food, sticky and indigestible food, meat and noodles, alcohol, cheese, and food related to bad smell. Do not eat the five pungent foods (garlic, scallion, shallot, shallot, leek, leeks, and Xingqu), mainly to avoid damaging the stomach qi.
Conclusion
As a pearl in traditional Chinese medicine, Guizhi Jia Gegen Tang has a long history and wide application. Its main ingredients include Guizhi, Baishao, Gancao, Shengjiang, Jujube and Gegen, which have the effects of dispersing wind and heat, relieving muscles and reducing fever, and harmonizing Yin and Yang. This prescription has a significant effect in treating symptoms such as colds, fever, headaches, sore throats, nasal congestion, runny nose, coughs, asthma, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
In modern Chinese medicine, Guizhi Jia Gegen Tang is widely used in clinical practice. It is not limited to traditional colds and fevers, but also extends to the treatment of various systemic diseases, including internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, etc. Modern medical research has also conducted in-depth research on Guizhi Jia Gegen Tang and found that it has significant effects in anti-inflammatory, immune regulation, antiviral, antipyretic and analgesic, and improving circulatory and nervous system diseases.
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