DANG GUI FOUR
Si Wu Tang

 

 ‘Four Ingredients Decoction’
Source: Imperial Grace Formulary of the Tai Ping Era (Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang, 1080)

Keywords
menstrual problems, infertility, dry, lustreless skin and hair, anaemia, postpartum weakness

Ingredients
Angelica sinensis (Dang Gui)
Rehmannia glutinosa (Shu Di, processed rehmannia)
Paeonia alba (Bai Shao, white peony)
Ligusticum walichii (Chuan Xiong, ligusticum)

Major therapeutic action
Aids Blood, regulates menstruation

 Biomedical action
Haematinic, tones the uterus and muscles, galactagogue.

Indications
|*  This is the base formula for haematopoiesis and regulating menstruation, and the fundamental unit from which all blood tonic formulas are built. Especially good for menstrual disorders.
*  With the appropriate key symptoms, this formula can be used to treat other biomedical conditions such as irregular menstruation, scanty periods, amenorrhoea, postpartum convalescence, weakness during pregnancy, postpartum weakness and dizziness, postural dizziness, mild dysmenorrhoea, infertility and insufficient lactation. In addition, it is widely used for conditions such as anaemia, visual weakness, dryness of the eyes, chronic skin diseases (such as eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis), and chronic sores or ulcers that are slow to heal (such as bedsores and tropical ulcers).

Key symptoms for use
*  generalised pallor (face, nails, conjunctiva)
*  dry skin and hair
*  postural dizziness
*  blurred vision, ‘floaters’ before the eyes, dry eyes
*  brittle, pitted or ridged nails
*  pale tongue
*  weak pulse

Combinations
*  With Si Jun Zi Tang to create the most famous energy and  blood tonic. Ba Zhen Tang for generalised weakness and fatigue, insufficient lactation and postpartum weakness.
*  For chronic, itchy, dry skin diseases, combine with  Huang Lian Jie Du Tang  (Wen Qing Yin)
*  For dysmenorrhoea with clotting, add tai ren & Hong Hua  (Tao Hong Si Wu Tang)
*  With severe pain, add Jin Ling Zi San
*  For emotional tension, add Chai Hu & Bai Shao
*  For fibroids or cysts, add San Leng & e Zhu
*  With nervousness, timidity, add Ye Jiao Teng & He Huan Pi
*  With Heat, add Shan Zhi Zi & Mu Dan Pi 		Dosage
The typical dose is three grams twice daily, before meals. In severe  cases or the early stages of treatment (the first two weeks), a 50-100% increase in dose may be used, then reduced as the treatment takes effect.

Cautions and contraindications
None noted.
Contraindicated during the early phase of acute illness 

Differentiation
Gui Pi Tang:  Both boosts qi and aids the blood, however Gui Pi Tang also aids digestion, has a specific
sedative effect and stops bleeding.
Dang Gui Shao Yao Tang: For similar patterns with fluid metabolism problems—oedema, fluid retention,
scanty urination. Good for oedema during pregnancy and associated with menstruation.