五皮散

Name

Powder of Peel of Five Drugs

The Prescription of 五皮散

Source

The book Hua Shi Zhong Cang Jing

Ingredients

• Sheng Jiang Pi (Exocarpium Zingiberis Recens) 9 g,
• Sang Bai Pi (Cortex Mori) 9 g,
• Chen Ju Pi (Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae) 9 g,
• Da Fu Pi (Pericarpium Arecae) 9 g,
• Fu Ling Pi (Extra Poriae) 9 g.

Explanation

Fu Ling Pi: The principal drug, being sweet and tasteless in flavor and neutral in nature, removing dampness, promoting diuresis, reinforcing the spleen to assist it in transporting and transforming food material.

Sheng Jiang Pi: Being pungent in flavor to disperse retained water.

Sang Bai Pi: Descending the lung-Qi to dredge water passages.

Da Fu Pi: Removing retained water to relieve distention and fullness.

Chen Ju Pi: Regulating the stomach-Qi and removing dampness.

The Effect of 五皮散

Effect

Removing dampness to relieve swelling, regulating the flow of Qi to strengthening the spleen.

Indications

Syndrome of abundant dampness in the superficies of the body due to deficiency of the spleen, marked by edema, heavy sensation of the body, fullness in the chest and abdomen, shortness of breath, dysuria, whitish greasy tongue coating, and deep slow pulse; including such diseases with the above symptoms as renal edema, cardiac edema, pregnant edema and angioneurotic edema.

Administrations

All the drugs are ground into coarse powder. 9 g of the powder is decocted in water for the decoction to be taken warm each time, twice daily. The drugs may also be directly decocted in water for oral use.