Five-Peel Powder
Chinese Prescription: Wu Pi San
English Translation: Five-Peel Powder
Formula Type: Promote Urination and Leach Out Dampness
Actions: Resolves dampness, reduces edema, regulates the qi, & strengthens the Spleen.
Indications: Generalized edema with a sensation of heaviness, distention, & fullness in the epigastrium & abdomen, labored & heavy breathing, urinary difficulty, a white, greasy tongue coating, & a submerged & moderate pulse. This is skin edema.
Contraindications: Although this is a relatively mild formula, Spleen-tonifying herbs should be added for cases with severe Spleen deficiency.
|
Sang Bai Pi / Mulberry Root Bark |
|
Taste: Sweet • Temperature: Cold • Category: Tranform Phlegm & Stop Coughing • Sub Category: Relieve Coughing & Wheezing |
Dosage6-15g, honey-fried when used to stop coughing & wheezing |
Actions1. Stops coughing & wheezing & drains heat from the Lungs: for coughing & wheezing due to Lung heat.
2. Promotes urination & reduces edema: used in disorders where Lung heat obstructs the downward movement of Lung qi, preventing water from moving & cutting off perspiration. This manifests as floating edema, facial edema, swelling of the extremities, fever & thirst, difficulty in urination, & a floating pulse.
3. Also recently used for hypertension. |
MeridiansLung, Spleen |
CautionsContraindicated in cases of excessive urination, & for cough due to wind-cold. |
|
Sheng Jiang Pi / Ginger (fresh) Rhizome Bark |
|
Taste: • Temperature: • Category: Warm Interior & Expel Cold • Sub Category: Diuretic |
Dosage |
Actions |
Meridians |
Cautions |
|
Fu Ling Pi / Poria Skin |
|
Taste: Sweet, Bland • Temperature: Neutral • Category: Drain Damp • Sub Category: |
Dosage9-15g |
ActionsSee fu ling. The poria skin is a stronger diuretic & is more suitable for promoting urination than for tonifying. |
MeridiansHeart, Spleen, Lung |
CautionsContraindicated in cases of frequent copious urine due to deficiency cold. |
|
Chen Pi / Citrus (Tangerine) Peel - Aged, Matured |
|
Taste: Acrid, Bitter • Temperature: Warm • Category: Regulate Qi • Sub Category: |
Dosage3-9g |
Actions1. Regulates the qi, improves the transportive funaction of the Spleen, adjusts the middle, & relieves the diaphragm: for Spleen or Stomach, stagnant qi patterns with such symptoms as epigastic or abdominal distention, fullness, bloating, belching, & nausea & vomiting. This herb promotes the movement of qi in general while specifically directing it downward. Its is therefore commonly used in treating many different types of nausea & vomiting.
2. Dries dampness & transforms phlegm: an important herb for phlegm-damp coughs with a stifling sensation in the chest & /or diaphragm, & copious, viscous sputum. Also used for damp turbidity obstructing the middle with a stifling sensation in the chest, abdominal distention, loss of appetite, fatigue, loose stool, & a thick, greasy tongue coating. An important qi-level herb of both the Spleen & Lung channels, it is especially appropriate for disorders involving both channels.
3. Helps prevent stagnation: used with tonifying herbs to prevent their cloying nature from causing stagnation. |
MeridiansLung, Spleen, Stomach |
CautionsContraindicated in cases of dry cough due to yin or qi deficiency. Use with caution when the tongue is red, & in cases with hot phlegm or dry heat coughs, or spittting of blood. |
|
Da Fu Pi / Areca Peel, Betel Husk |
|
Taste: Acrid • Temperature: Slightly Warm • Category: Regulate Qi • Sub Category: |
Dosage6-9g |
Actions1. Promotes the downward movement of qi & reduces stagnation: for patterns of food stagnation & qi obstruction with such sugns as epigastric & abdominal distention, regurgitation of food, & belching with acid regurgitation. Espeically useful when these disorders are accompanied by constipation.
2. Expels dampness: for damp stagnation in the Stomach & Intestines.
3. Promotes urination & reduces edema: for abdominal distention accompanies by edema, especially superficial edema, or the symptoms of food stagantion. Also used for damp leg qi. |
MeridiansLarge Intestins, Small Intestine, Spleen, Stomach |
CautionsUse with caution in cases of qi deficiency. |