Long Dan Xie Gan LongDanXieGan Gentiana Purge Liver Formula 龙胆泻肝丸 Gentiana to Drain the Liver long dan xie gan gentiana purge liver formula

Long Dan Xie Gan Wan - Gentiana Purge Liver Formula

龙胆泻肝丸

Also known as: Gentiana to Drain the Liver

Clinical Usage

  • Hypochondriac pain, bitter taste in the mouth, irritability, easily angered, headache, dizziness, red, and possibly sore, eyes resulting from liver fire rising.
  • Urinary symptoms such as painful, hot urination perhaps with swollen genitalia, dark and/or turbid urine from damp heat accumulation in the lower jiao.
  • Leukorrhea of yellow color with a strong odor.

Clinician Notes

This formula can treat manifestations of liver fire in all three jiaos or any combination of them.

Formula Combinations

Cautions & Precautions

  • Not for long term use.
  • Not for patients who present with yin, yang, and/or blood deficiency.
  • Use with caution with patients that present with spleen qi deficiency.
Relationships
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Formulas Related by Clinical Functions

Long Dan Xie Gan Wan is in the "Clear Heat From The Organs" group within the "Clear Heat" category.

Other Formulas in "Clear Heat From The Organs" (2)

Other Formulas in "Clear Heat" (20)

Common Formula Ingredients

Long Dan Xie Gan Wan is generally comprised of the following 10 ingredients:

Chai Hu
Chai Hu
Thorowax Root, Bupleurum
  • Clears shao yang disorders and reduces fever - alternating chills and fever, bitter taste in the mouth, irritability, vomiting, stifling sensation in the chest.
  • Relieves liver qi stagnation (often used with Bai Shao) - vertigo, menstrual disorders, chest and flank pain, the most common herb to treat stress, irritability, depression, etc.; also for liver and spleen disharmony - bloating, nausea, indigestion, flank pain.
  • Raises yang qi in spleen and stomach deficiency patterns (often used with Sheng Ma) - prolapsed organ, diarrhea, hemorrhoids.
Chai Hu is also included in 23 formulas
Che Qian Zi
Che Qian Zi
Plantago Seeds
  • Promotes urination, clears heat - edema, lin syndromes due to damp-heat, generally in the lower warmer.
  • Solidifies the stool - diarrhea with damp-heat or damp-summerheat.
  • Clears the eyes - liver and kidney deficiency (dry eyes or cataracts) or heat in the liver channel (red, painful, swollen eyes and sensitive to light).
  • Lung heat - expels phlegm, stops cough.
Che Qian Zi is also included in 4 formulas
Dang Gui
Dang Gui
Chinese Angelica Root
  • Tonifies the blood, regulates menses - pallid, ashen complexion, tinnitus, blurred vision, palpitations, irregular menses, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea.
  • Invigorates/harmonizes the blood, disperses cold - important herb to stop pain due to blood stasis - abdominal pain, trauma, carbuncles due to blood stasis, chronic bi.
  • Moistens dry intestines due to blood deficiency.
  • Reduces swellings, expels pus, generates flesh - sores.
Dang Gui is also included in 66 formulas
Gan Cao
Gan Cao
Licorice Root
  • Tonifies the spleen and augments qi - spleen deficiency w/shortness of breath, fatigue, loose stools (si jun zi tong).
  • Qi and/or blood deficiency w/irregular pluse or palpitations (Zhi Gan Cao Tang).
  • Moistens the lungs and stops cough - heat/cold in the lungs (Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang).
  • Clears heat and toxic fire (raw) - carbuncles, sores, sore throat due to fire toxin (internally or topically).
  • Alleviates pain and stops spasms - abdomen or legs (Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang).
  • Often used to harmonize and/or moderate characteristics of other herbs.
  • Antidote for toxic substances (internally and topically).
Gan Cao is also included in 62 formulas
Huang Qin
Huang Qin
Baical Skullcap Root, Scutellaria
  • Clears heat, drains fire, especially from the upper warmer - heat patterns with fever, irritability, thirst, cough, thick, yellow sputum, hot sores and swellings.
  • Clears heat, dries dampness - damp-heat in the stomach or intestines, diarrhea, dysentery; damp warm-febrile disease with fever, stifling sensation in the chest, thirst with no desire to drink; damp-heat in the lower jiao - lin syndrome; damp-heat jaundice.
  • Clears heat, stops bleeding - vomiting and/or coughing of blood, nosebleed, blood in the stool.
  • Clears heat, calms the fetus - restless fetus due to heat.
  • Sedates liver yang rising - headache, irritability, red eyes, bitter taste, flushed face.
Huang Qin is also included in 22 formulas
Long Dan Cao
Long Dan Cao
Chinese Gentian Root, Gentiana
  • Drains damp-heat from the liver and gallbladder channels - red, swollen, sore throat, eyes, and/or ears, sudden deafness, jaundice, pain, swelling or dampness in the genital region, or foul smelling vaginal discharge and itching.
  • Clears ascending liver fire - headache, red eyes; liver wind-heat with fever, spasms, convulsions, flank pain.
Long Dan Cao is also included in 2 formulas
Mu Tong
Mu Tong
Akebia Caulis
  • Promotes urination, drains heat from the heart through the small intestine - irritability with sores of the mouth or tongue, scanty urination, lin syndrome, edema.
  • Promotes lactation, unblocks the blood vessels - insufficient lactation, less commonly for amenorrhea and bi-syndrome.
Mu Tong is also included in 2 formulas
Sheng Di Huang
  • Clears Heat, Cools Blood. High fever, thirst, scarlet tongue, hemorrhage due to heat in the Blood.
  • Nourishes Yin, Generates Fluids. Yin Deficiency with heat signs with injury to body fluids. Dry mouth, low-grade fever, constipation, throat pain from yin deficiency.
  • Cools Ascending Heart Fire (HT, LV). Mouth and tongue sores, irritability, insomnia, malar flush.
  • Wasting thirst disorder.
Sheng Di Huang is also included in 18 formulas
Ze Xie
Ze Xie
Water Plantain Root
  • Promotes urination, drains damp-heat in the lower burner - urinary difficulty, edema, diarrhea.
  • Drains deficient kidney fire - heat signs, dizziness, tinnitus.
Ze Xie is also included in 14 formulas
Zhi Zi
Zhi Zi
Cape Jasmine Fruit, Gardenia
  • Clears heat (Heart and Liver), eliminates irritability - heat patterns with fever, restlessness, insomnia, delirium, stifling sensation in the chest.
  • Drains damp heat - lin (urinary dysfunction) syndrome due to damp-heat in the lower warmer, damp-heat and constrained liver and gallbladder causing jaundice, damp-heat in the gall bladder and triple heater channels of the face - eyes, nose, sores in the mouth and face.
  • Cools the blood, stops bleeding - nosebleed, blood in vomit, stool, urine; (needs to partially charred).
  • Topically for blood stasis due to trauma, reduces swelling.
Zhi Zi is also included in 16 formulas