Banxia San: Treating Ye-Ge (Dysphagia) from Cold Congelation and Qi Stagnation
The Boji Fang contains a “Banxia San” specifically for Ye-Ge (dysphagia) caused by cold congelation and qi stagnation in the spleen and stomach. It is composed of: Banxia (Pinellia) five qian (15 g, soaked one night in ginger juice, dried), Houpo (Magnolia bark) five qian (15 g, stir-fried with ginger juice), Pipaye (Loquat leaf) five qian (15 g, fried and hairs removed), Roudoukou (Nutmeg) one piece (shell removed), Mudingxiang (mother clove) 25 pieces, and Qingmuxiang (Aristolochia/Birthwort wood) one piece the size of a jujube.
Preparation: powder the above. Each dose: take one qian (3 g), boil with one zhan (about 160 ml) of water down to about two-thirds of a zhan (120 ml), and take warm, dregs included, twice daily. This formula treats spleen-stomach deficiency-cold with qi stagnation causing Ye-Ge, unsmooth heart and chest, thick sticky nasal discharge and sputum, and an appetite that alternates between good and poor.
This Banxia San is somewhat similar to Banxia Houpo Tang in Zhang Zhongjing’s Jingui Yaolüe. That formula consists of Banxia one sheng, Houpo three liang, Fuling four liang, Shengjiang five liang and Suye (Perilla leaf) two liang, and treats “something like roasted meat stuck in the throat” — i.e., a foreign-body sensation in the throat that cannot be swallowed or coughed up, with chest-diaphragm fullness and oppression. This condition resembles modern hysteria, gastric neurosis, chronic pharyngitis, chronic bronchitis and esophageal spasm.
Banxia and Houpo in Banxia San are the two chief herbs of Banxia Houpo Tang; Banxia San drops the Fuling, Shengjiang and Suye of Banxia Houpo Tang and adds Pipaye, Roudoukou, Dingxiang (clove) and Muxiang. Banxia’s action is to dry dampness and transform phlegm; Houpo’s is to dissipate phlegm and eliminate distension; Pipaye downbears counterflow and stops vomiting; and Roudoukou, Dingxiang and Muxiang all promote gastrointestinal peristalsis and improve gastrointestinal function. The main action of Banxia San is therefore to dry dampness and transform phlegm, downbear counterflow and stop vomiting, and fortify the spleen and benefit the stomach; it can thus treat the “Ye-Ge” caused by spleen-stomach deficiency-cold and qi stagnation.