GENTIANA LONGDANCAO DECOCTION
Long Dan Xie Gan Tang

 

‘Gentiana Decoction to Clear the Liver’
Source: analytic Collection of Medical Formulas (Yi Fang Ji Jie, 1682)

Keywords
inflammation of the groin, flanks, eyes and ears

Ingredients
Gentiana scabra (Long Dan Cao, gentiana)
Bupleurum chinense (Chai Hu, bupleurum)
Gardenia jasminoides (Shan Zhi Zi, gardenia)
Scutellaria baicalensis (Huang Qin, Baical skullcap root)
alisma orientalis (Ze Xie, alisma)
Plantago asiatica (Che Qian Zi, plantago)
akebia trifolata (Mu Tong, akebia)
angelica sinensis (Dang Gui)
Rehmannia glutinosa (Sheng Di, raw rehmannia)
Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Gan Cao, liquorice)

Major therapeutic action
Clears liver gallbladder damp heat, cools liver fire.

 Biomedical action
Bitter tonic, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, and anti-infective.

Indications
*  Inflammation and infection in the ears, eyes, flanks and urogenital system.
*  With the appropriate key symptoms, this formula can be used to treat biomedical conditions such as acute genital herpes, acute cystitis or urethritis, PID, vulvitis, Bartholin’s cyst, acute prostatitis, orchitis, genital eczema, leucorrhoea, hepatobiliary infections (acute cholecystitis and hepatitis), abscesses and other swellings associated with infection, shingles, acute otitis media and otitis external, conjunctivitis, acute glaucoma, migraine headache, ocular or aural herpes infection, hypertension.

Key symptoms for use
*  redness, swelling, pain and yellow mucopurulent discharges in a hot, strong or otherwise relatively robust patient
*  red complexion, plethoric, irritable, ‘hot’ tempered
*  red tongue, or red edges and tip, yellow tongue coat
*  rapid, strong pulse

Combinations
*  For acute hepatitis, combine with Kang Du San.
*  With kidney stones, add Jin Qian Cao/Ji Nei Jin/Hai Jin Sha.
*  For acute otitis media, combine with Wu Wei Xiao Du Yin.
*  For Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, add Hong Teng & Bai Jiang Cao.
*  For shingles, combine with Kang Du San.
*  For itchy rash, add Ku Shen & Bai Xian Pi.
*  For eye disorders, add Ju Hua & Gou Qi Zi. 		Dosage
In acute cases, the typical dose is three to five grams 3-4 times daily, before meals. In severe cases, increase the dose by 50-100%. The dose should be spread out evenly, in acute cases every two hours. Generally not recommended for use longer than a few weeks.

Cautions and contraindications
Can cause digestive upset and weakness when overused or used for too long. Signs of this are loss of appetite, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
Caution in the elderly and in frail individuals with Damp-Heat patterns.
None noted.

Differentiation
Wu Wei Xiao Du Yin: Base formula for superficial conditions (boils, abscesses and other pyogenic lesions).
Not specific to any organ system.
Ba Zheng San: Specific for patterns in the bladder causing painful urination. Huang Lian Jie Du Tang: Powerful formula for disturbances in the heart and/or gastrointestinal system.
Much used for diarrhoea or dysenteric disorder and mind disturbances.