Mai Wei Di Huang Wan  麦味地黄丸
Ophiopogon, Schisandra and Rehmannia Pills


Tradition:


TCM

Source / Author:


Achieving Longevity by Guarding the Source (1615)

Herb Name

Shu Di Huang (Rehmannia)
Shan Zhu Yu
(Cornus fruit)
Shan Yao
(Chinese yam)
Fu Ling (Poria)
Mu Dan Pi (Tree peony root)
Ze Xie (Water Plantain root)
Wu Wei Zi (Schisandra)
Main Men Dong (Ophiopogon)

Latin


Rehmannia glutinosa
Cornus o
fficinalis
Dioscorea opposita
Poria cocos

Paeonia suffruticosa
Alisma plantago-aquatica

Schisandra chinensis
Ophiopogon japonicus

Amount


24 grams

12 grams ea.



9 grams ea.
6 grams
9 grams


Preparation:


Powder and form small pills with Honey.

Function:


Nourish the Yin of the Liver and Kidneys, Strengthens Lungs

Use:


Dry, reddish and /or cracked Tongue, Cough or wheezing, night sweats, weakness of the lower back,  with little coating; pulse is rapid and thin, with signs of dryness.
1. Cough
2. Asthma
3. Shortness of Breath
4. Pulmonary Tuberulosis
5.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
6. Dizziness, Vertigo, Tinnitus
7. Deafness
8. Blurred Vision
9. Seminal Emission
10. Impotence
11. Functional Uterine Bleeding
12. Menopause
13. Diabetes Mellitus
14. Addison’s Disease


Dose:


9 grams of the pills, three times daily

Cautions:


None noted

Modifications:


1. If there is signs of Heat (Yin-deficient Fire), use Rehmannia Sheng Di (raw root) instead of Rehmannia Shu Di (prepared root).
2. Qi deficiency, add Astragalus Huang Qi
3. Severe Qi deficiency, add Ginseng
4. If there is Heat, add Anemarrhena Zhi Mu, Phellodendron Huang Bai
5. Asthma with hard-to-clear Phlegm, add Fritillaria Bei Mu, Apriccot kernel (Xing Ren)
6. Wheezing, add Walnuts, Eucommia Du Zhong

This is the foundation formula for Yin deficiency of the Liver and Kidneys in TCM. Whole texts have been written about this formula and the elegant way it is constructed.

In brief, the last three herbs are used to correct the first three medicines which are the primary Yin tonics. They prevent the Damp which can build up during Yin tonification; they keep the blood active which is liable to stagnate with rich, cloying, yin tonics; and they support the Spleen and Liver to enable them to support formation of Kidney Yin.
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