San Ren Tang, also known as "Three Kernels Decoction", is a traditional Chinese medicine prescription from "Treatise on Warm Diseases" and is a dehumidifying agent. Its main function is to promote the flow of qi and clear away dampness and heat. It is especially suitable for the initial stage of damp-heat and summer heat with dampness and heat syndrome. This article will introduce the composition, function, main indications, pathogenesis, use and modern application of San Ren Tang in detail, and explore its diet therapy combined with auxiliary treatment methods.
Formula composition
The composition of San Ren Tang is as follows:
Almond 5g (15g)
Talc 6 qian (18g)
White Tongcao 2g (6g)
White cardamom seeds 2 yuan (6g)
Bamboo Leaf 2 Coins (6g)
Magnolia officinalis L. (6g)
Raw coix seeds 6g (18g)
Pinellia tuber (15g)
usage
Decoction in water, three times a day.

Explanation of the formula composition of San Ren Tang
San Ren Tang is a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, mainly used to treat the initial stage of damp-heat and summer heat with dampness and dampness in which dampness is more important than heat. It is composed of apricot kernel, talcum powder, tongcao, bamboo leaf, magnolia bark, coix seed and pinellia. These herbs play different roles in the prescription, and they work together according to the principle of "monarch, minister, assistant and envoy".
King of medicine: almond
Almond is the main drug in Sanren Decoction. Its main function is to promote the upper lung qi, clear away heat and moisten dryness, and relieve cough and resolve phlegm. Almond is bitter and sweet in nature, enters the lung meridian, can clear lung heat, moisten lung dryness, and resolve phlegm and relieve cough. In Sanren Decoction, the main task of almond is to evacuate wind-heat, promote lung qi, promote the descent of lung qi, and thus help eliminate dampness and heat in the body.
Assistant medicine: talc, coix seed
Talc and coix seed are the ministerial drugs in Sanren Decoction, that is, the drugs that assist the monarch drug in exerting its main effect.
Talc : Talc is cold and slippery, and can clear away heat and dampness, and is particularly suitable for symptoms such as damp-heat in the body and difficulty urinating. It also has the function of relieving stranguria and stones, which can help expel stones in the body and further relieve damp-heat symptoms.
Coix seed : Coix seed is cool in nature and sweet in taste. It can promote water absorption, clear away heat and expel pus. It mainly acts on the middle and lower jiao, helping to eliminate dampness and heat in the body, especially for the symptoms of urinary difficulty and dampness and heat accumulation.
Adjuvant: Cardamom seeds, Magnolia officinalis
White cardamom seed and Magnolia bark are adjuvant drugs in Sanren Decoction, that is, drugs that assist the main and auxiliary drugs to exert their functions and harmonize the medicinal properties.
White cardamom seeds : White cardamom seeds are pungent and warm in nature, and have the effects of aromatic dehumidification, promoting qi and relieving pain. It mainly acts on the middle jiao, helps to transport water and moisture, promotes spleen and stomach function, and thus enhances the diuretic and swelling-reducing effect of Sanren Decoction.
Magnolia officinalis : Magnolia officinalis is pungent and bitter in taste, warm in nature, and enters the lung, spleen, and stomach meridians. It has the effects of drying dampness and resolving phlegm, promoting qi and relieving pain, and can help dry dampness and resolve phlegm, making the medicinal effect more comprehensive. At the same time, Magnolia officinalis can also strengthen the spleen and stomach, improve spleen and stomach function, promote water and moisture transportation, and alleviate the stimulation of other medicinal materials on the spleen and stomach.
Adjuvant: Tongcao, light bamboo leaves
Tongcao and Danzhuye are the guiding drugs in San Ren Tang, that is, the drugs that guide the drugs to the diseased area and assist other drugs to exert their effects.
Tongcao : Tongcao is sweet and mild in nature, and has the effect of promoting diuresis and relieving stranguria. It mainly acts on the lower part of the body, helping to expel dampness and heat from the body, and improving symptoms such as difficulty urinating and continuous urination.
Light Bamboo Leaf : Light Bamboo Leaf is cold in nature and sweet in taste. It enters the heart and lung meridians and has the effects of clearing away heat and relieving restlessness, as well as promoting diuresis and quenching thirst. It mainly acts on the upper and middle jiao, helping to clear away heat and promote diuresis, and has a good relieving effect on symptoms such as thirst, restlessness, and difficulty urinating caused by internal dampness and heat.
Pinellia: It plays an auxiliary role in Sanren Decoction, mainly used to dry dampness and resolve phlegm, and to reduce adverse reactions and stop vomiting. Pinellia is pungent and warm in nature, and has the effect of drying dampness and resolving phlegm. It can work synergistically with drugs such as almonds and coix seeds to dissipate dampness and heat and resolve phlegm. At the same time, Pinellia can also reduce stomach qi and stop vomiting. It has a good therapeutic effect on vomiting caused by dampness, heat, phlegm and stagnation of stomach qi.
三仁湯
Pathogenesis
San Ren Tang is mainly used to treat the early stage of damp-heat syndrome, when the pathogenic factors are still in the Qi level and the dampness is heavier than the heat. This disease is usually caused by external dampness and heat pathogens and internal dampness and retention of internal fluids.
When the external evil invades again, the internal and external evil qi combine to form dampness and heat. The dampness will block the Wei Yang, causing headaches and chills; the dampness is heavy and turbid, so the body feels heavy and painful, and the limbs are tired; the dampness and heat accumulate in the spleen and stomach, affecting the digestive function, causing chest tightness and loss of appetite; dampness is yin, and is most vigorous at the time of Shenyou (3pm to 7pm), when the evil and the righteous fight each other, so fever will occur in the afternoon.
There are many symptoms of Sanren Tang, which are easy to be misdiagnosed. For example, fear of cold is caused by dampness blocking Wei Yang, which is different from fear of cold caused by cold; afternoon fever is caused by dampness blocking heat, which is different from hot flashes caused by Yin deficiency.

Wu Jian proposed the "Three Taboos" in "Treatise on Febrile Diseases":
First, you should not sweat just because you have a headache and are afraid of the cold, as this will damage your heart yang and cause you to become dizzy, deaf, or even unable to close your eyes or not want to talk;
Second, do not assume that the chest tightness and loss of appetite are due to stagnation and diarrhea. This will damage the spleen and stomach, and dampness will take advantage of the situation and cause severe diarrhea.
Third, you cannot assume that you have Yin deficiency and use Yin-nourishing drugs just because you have a fever in the afternoon. Dampness is a stagnant Yin evil. Taking Yin-nourishing drugs will make it more difficult to remove the dampness.
Therefore, the treatment method should be to promote the flow of Qi, clear away heat and remove dampness.
effect
San Ren Tang is like a team with clear division of labor, and each member has his or her own tasks:
Almond is the captain, responsible for commanding the overall situation. Its main task is to evacuate wind-heat, invigorate the lungs and promote qi, and help eliminate dampness and heat in the body.
Talc and Coix are deputy captains, assisting the captain in completing the main tasks. Talc is responsible for clearing away heat and promoting dampness, while Coix is responsible for promoting water and moisture, especially for symptoms of difficult urination and accumulation of dampness and heat.
White cardamom and Magnolia officinalis are team members, responsible for assisting the deputy captain. White cardamom helps to transport water and moisture, promote the function of the spleen and stomach, while Magnolia officinalis is responsible for drying dampness and resolving phlegm, strengthening the spleen and stomach.
Tongcao and Danzhuye are messengers, responsible for guiding the medicine to the affected area. Tongcao helps to expel dampness and heat from the body, while Danzhuye is responsible for clearing away heat and promoting diuresis, relieving symptoms such as thirst and irritability.
Pinellia is the logistical support, responsible for drying up dampness and resolving phlegm, relieving nausea and vomiting, and helping to relieve gastrointestinal discomfort.
Through such division of labor and cooperation, Sanren Decoction can effectively promote the flow of Qi, clear away dampness and heat, and treat the initial stage of damp-heat and summer heat with dampness being more severe than heat.

The main effect of San Ren Tang is to promote the flow of Qi and clear away dampness and heat. It is suitable for the initial stage of damp-heat and summer heat with dampness and dampness, with dampness being heavier than heat. The main symptoms include headache, chills, heaviness and pain in the body, limb fatigue, pale complexion, chest tightness and lack of hunger, body heat in the afternoon, white tongue coating without thirst, and stringy and moist pulse.
Application
Diagnostic Points
When using Sanren Decoction, you need to pay attention to the following diagnosis points:
Headache and fear of cold : This is due to dampness blocking the Wei Yang, causing discomfort in the head and fear of cold. This fear of cold is different from the fear of cold caused by cold, which is usually accompanied by fever, while the fear of cold caused by dampness and heat is accompanied by heaviness and fatigue of the body.
Heaviness and pain in the body : Heavy dampness can make the body feel heavy and cause pain in the limbs. This is because dampness blocks the flow of Qi.
Chest tightness and loss of appetite : Dampness and heat accumulate in the spleen and stomach, affecting the digestive function, leading to chest tightness and loss of appetite.
Afternoon fever : Humidity is yin and is most active between 3pm and 7pm. At this time, the evil and the righteous are fighting each other, which will cause afternoon fever. This kind of fever is different from the hot flashes caused by yin deficiency. Hot flashes usually occur at night, while the fever caused by dampness and heat occurs in the afternoon.
Modern Applications
In modern medicine, San Ren Tang is still widely used to treat various damp-heat symptoms. For example:
Gastroenteritis : Dampness and heat accumulate in the spleen and stomach, leading to symptoms such as indigestion, bloating, and diarrhea. Sanren Decoction can help relieve these symptoms by clearing away heat and promoting the flow of dampness.
Eczema : Dampness and heat accumulate in the skin, causing symptoms such as eczema and itching. Sanren Decoction can help eliminate dampness and heat in the body and relieve skin problems by promoting the flow of Qi.
Cold : In summer, due to the hot and humid environment, colds are easily accompanied by hot and humid symptoms. Sanren Decoction can help relieve symptoms such as headache, fear of cold, and heaviness of the body.
Precautions for use
When using San Ren Tang, you need to pay attention to the following points:
Syndrome differentiation and treatment : San Ren Tang is mainly used for symptoms where dampness is more serious than heat. If heat is more serious than dampness, Sanren Decoction is not suitable.
Avoid misdiagnosis : The symptoms of Sanren Tang can easily be misdiagnosed as other illnesses, such as a cold or yin deficiency. Misuse of other treatments may aggravate the condition.
Combined with diet therapy : When using San Ren Tang, you can combine it with some diet therapy methods, such as coix seed porridge, almond tea, etc., to help enhance the therapeutic effect.
Diet therapy
When using San Ren Tang, you can combine it with some dietary therapy to enhance the efficacy. In the summer when there is more rain, more people will suffer from dizziness and diarrhea caused by dampness than at other times. At this time, you should drink less mung bean soup, which is commonly used in summer, otherwise it will easily make the spleen and stomach too damp and hinder the operation of the body's qi hub. Recommend a porridge - "Sanren Congee".
"Sanren Congee" is a variation of "San Ren Tang" by Wu Jutong, a famous doctor in the Qing Dynasty. The original recipe consists of apricot kernel, white cardamom kernel, coix seed, plus pinellia tuber, bamboo leaf, magnolia bark, tongcao, and talcum powder.

Wu Jutong divided the human body into three parts: upper, middle and lower jiao. The three jiao is the channel of qi, blood and semen in the human body. The absorption of nutrients and the discharge of waste products in the human body are all carried out in the three jiao. If damp heat invades the human body, it will often spread through the three jiao. At this time, the damp heat is not simply in the upper jiao, middle jiao or lower jiao, but between the internal organs.
"San Ren Tang" has a significant effect on removing the dampness of the three burners and regulating the spleen and stomach functions. However, this is a prescription after all, and it needs to be modified by a doctor. For daily health care, "Sanren Soup" can be replaced with "Sanren Congee", which is very helpful for health, especially in the hot and humid weather in summer.
📌How to make "Sanren Congee"
Ingredients: 30 grams of coix seed, 50 grams of rice, 6 grams of white cardamom seed, and 5 grams of fried almonds.
Method: Peel and chop the fried almonds and chop the white cardamom seeds for later use. Cook the coix seeds and rice porridge together. Add the fried almonds and white cardamom seeds five minutes before serving.
▪️Usage: 1-2 times a day, for 3-5 consecutive days.
Note: Almonds are divided into bitter almonds and sweet almonds, both of which have the effect of moistening the lungs and relieving stagnation. Sweet almonds are less toxic and are mostly used for general consumption. The seed coat and germ of bitter almonds contain highly toxic hydrocyanic acid, so the skin and tip must be removed when eating. Although they are more toxic, they have better medicinal effects and are mostly used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Conclusion
In short, San Ren Tang is a prescription specifically used to treat the early stages of damp-heat syndrome, and is particularly suitable for patients whose dampness is heavier than heat. By promoting the flow of qi, clearing away heat and promoting the flow of dampness, Sanren Decoction can effectively relieve symptoms such as headache, fear of cold, heaviness of the body, chest tightness, and afternoon fever.
However, since these symptoms are easily misdiagnosed, special care should be taken when using Sanren Decoction to avoid misusing other treatments. Correct use of Sanren Decoction can not only help patients recover their health, but also avoid more problems caused by mistreatment. Therefore, when using Sanren Decoction, it is important to follow the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment in traditional Chinese medicine to ensure that the right medicine is used to achieve the best therapeutic effect.