Author: Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University Chen Chuxiong
Huoxiang Zhengqi Pills, like Liuwei Dihuang Pills and Xiaoyao Pills, are well-known "first-line stars" in Chinese patent medicines. As a good medicine for dispelling cold and dampness, they have a wide range of uses and good curative effects. Therefore, there are many companies producing Huoxiang Zhengqi preparations. There are also many dosage forms of Huoxiang Zhengqi series. In addition to dropping pills, tablets, liquids, soft capsules, hard capsules, granules, pills, and mixtures, there are also flavored Huoxiang Zhengqi pills, , and . So is there any difference between Huoxiang Zhengqi pills and flavored Huoxiang Zhengqi pills? Let’s take a look at next.
Huoxiang Zhengqi prescription was originally from the Song Dynasty's " Taiping Huimin He Ji Bureau Prescription " , which was composed of Huoxiang , Angelica dahurica , Perilla , Pinellia , tangerine peel, Atractylodes , Platycodon, Poria , Magnolia officinalis , Big belly bark , Licorice 11 medicinal composition.
Patchouli is used as the king medicine in the prescription, which can dispel wind and cold, relieve heat and dampness, harmonize the stomach and relieve vomiting. Perilla and Angelica dahurica are used as ministerial drugs to help Patchouli dispel wind and cold, and may also dispel heat and dampness. Pinellia ternata removes dampness and harmonizes the stomach, lowers Qi and relieves vomiting; Magnolia officinalis, dried tangerine peel, and Dabupi promote qi and transform dampness, smoothing the internal organs and eliminating fullness; Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos remove dampness and strengthen the spleen, harmonize the internal organs and relieve diarrhea; Platycodon radix promotes the lungs and diaphragm, relieves the surface and resolves dampness. These 7 herbs are all adjuvant medicines. Licorice strengthens the spleen and harmonizes the central nervous system, and is used as a herbal medicine to harmonize various medicines. These 11 herbs, combined with , play the role of relieving the surface and reducing dampness, regulating qi and harmonizing the body.
Huoxiang Zhengqi prescription can be said to be the treatment of summer-wet cold . Summer-wet cold is commonly known as heat cold . If a person feels the evil of wind and cold , the heat and dampness in the body will be affected by the wind and cold. If the evil is blocked and cannot be discharged, it will lead to colds. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is called summer-dampness cold. Symptoms include aversion to cold, runny nose and fever, or sore throat, body aches, white or thick tongue coating, and often accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, loss of appetite, abdominal distension and abdominal pain, etc. At this time, taking Huoxiang Zhengqi can give full play to its advantages of dispersing cold evil externally to treat colds, and can also fully demonstrate its specialty of internalizing cold dampness to treat gastroenteritis .
Modern pharmacology has confirmed that Huoxiang Zhengqi Pills have the functions of antispasmodic , analgesic, antibacterial, antiviral and regulating gastrointestinal tract. The patchouli and perilla leaf contained in
have anti-viral effects. Other components such as Atractylodes, tangerine peel, Magnolia officinalis, Angelica dahurica and Poria also have certain inhibitory effects on viruses. A study has screened out 5 small molecule components from Huoxiang Zhengqi Pills that have stronger binding ability to the new coronavirus 3CLpro than remdesivir . Network pharmacology has initially predicted that the antiviral pathway may affect virus replication through the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway . Some studies have also analyzed the underlying molecular mechanism, and the results show that Huoxiang Zhengqi Pills act on SARS-Co V-2 and ACE2 through multiple compounds, multiple targets, and multiple pathways to inhibit the virus. Of course, this needs more clinical research to confirm.
In fact, different dosage forms of Huoxiang Zhengqi prescription have different compositions.
Huoxiang Zhengqi Dropping Pills , tablets, liquids (containing ethanol ), and soft capsules are composed of 10 herbs including Agastache rugosa, Angelica dahuricae, perilla, pinellia, tangerine peel, Atractylodes, Poria, Magnolia officinalis, Big belly bark, and licorice. The formula is based on the original prescription minus platycodon, subtracting Atractylodes and adding Atractylodes to increase the strength of removing dampness and dispelling cold.
Huoxiang Zhengqi Oral Liquid is composed of 11 herbs. The formula adds dry ginger to the above 10 herbs to enhance the effect of warming and stopping vomiting.
Huoxiang Zhengqi hard capsules, granules, pills, mixtures, and flavored Huoxiang Zhengqi pills are composed of 13 herbs. The formula is continued to be optimized on the basis of the original prescription, and ginger and jujube are added to strengthen the spleen and stomach, warm the stomach and stop vomiting.
No matter which of the above dosage forms and formulas can play the role of relieving surface dampness, regulating qi and harmonizing the body, the effects are slightly different due to different formulas and different production processes. For example, the Atractylodes formula is more suitable for people with spleen deficiency and dampness, while the Atractylodes formula is more suitable for people with severe water vapor, dampness and coldness.
Huoxiang Zhengqi Prescription has many wonderful uses in addition to summer colds, such as:
1, auxiliary treatment of tinea pedis, eczema , boils, and mosquito bites: external use 3-5 times a day.
2, auxiliary treatment of chilblains, vulvar itching, prickly heat in children, chronic urticaria.
3. To treat abdominal pain in children , anorexia, and vomiting: Use Evodia rutaecarpa powder and Huoxiang Zhengqi water to make a paste and apply it on the navel.
4. Treat diarrhea in children : Mix an appropriate amount of cloves, cinnamon with Huoxiang Zhengqi water to make a paste, and apply it on the navel.
5. To treat colds and colds in children: add 1-2 bottles of Huoxiang Zhengqi water to warm water and soak the feet.
6. Treat digestive tract discomfort due to acclimatization; relieve motion sickness and seasickness.
Although Huoxiang Zhengqi prescription is good, you should pay attention to the following 6 things when taking it:
1, Those with Yin deficiency and fire excess should not take it. Avoid cold, greasy food.
2. As surface antidote , it is not advisable to take nourishing Chinese medicine at the same time during the medication.
3, , for wind-heat and cold are not applicable.
4. It contains raw pinellia and should not be taken excessively or for a long time.
5, Huoxiang Zhengqi Water contains ethanol, it is prohibited for those with a history of peptic ulcer .
6. There may be allergic reactions such as convulsions, rash , anaphylactic shock, difficulty breathing, etc.
