Butiandao Dazhen Wan: A Fine Tonifying Formula

Butiandao Dazhen Wan comes from Yixue Xinwu (Medical Mind Awakened). In that book it is a dedicated formula for consumptive deficiency. Its composition is: Renshen (Ginseng) 60 g; Zhi Huangqi (honey-fried Astragali Radix) and Chao Baizhu (fried Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma), each 90 g; Jiu Danggui (wine-treated Angelicae Sinensis Radix), Chao Zaoren (fried Ziziphi Spinosae Semen), Chao Yuanzhi (fried Polygalae Radix), Jiu Baishao (wine-treated Paeoniae Radix Alba), Huaishanyao (prepared Dioscoreae Rhizoma) and Fuling, each 45 g; Gouqizi (Lycii Fructus) and Shudihuang (wine-steamed Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata), each 120 g; Ziheche (Placenta Hominis) 1 piece; Lujiaojiao (Cervi Cornus Colla) 500 g; Guijiaojiao (Testudinis Carapacis Plastri Colla) 240 g. The above are jointly prepared into pills; take 12 g each time, twice a day. Many patent-medicine pills based on this formula are on the market; patients may choose whichever they prefer.

In Yixue Xinwu, Cheng Guopeng describes the action of Butiandao Dazhen Wan as treating "consumptive deficiency with shortness of breath and fatigue, poor appetite and lassitude of spirit, palpitations and insomnia, soreness and weakness of the lower back and knees, dizziness and vertigo." From the traditional TCM viewpoint, this formula warms and nourishes essence and qi, cultivates and supplements both yin and yang, and governs deficiency damage of the five zang, manifesting as cough and counterflow wheezing, steaming heat and night sweats, facial and limb edema, palpitations, cold limbs and chilly body, early graying of hair and beard, hair loss, loose teeth, dizziness and tinnitus, lower back pain and backache, spermatorrhea and premature ejaculation in men, amenorrhea or scanty menstruation in women, a pale, glossy tongue with yellow and peeling coating, and a pulse that is fine, faint and rapid, or deficient, large and weak.

This formula belongs to the category of strongly supplementing original qi. The deficiency-damage diseases it treats are commonly seen in those with congenital insufficiency, chronic weakness and frequent illness, or old age with decline of qi and blood. Today it is often used for pulmonary tuberculosis, chronic bronchial asthma, cor pulmonale, aplastic anemia, infertility, impotence, spermatorrhea, alopecia, stroke sequelae, terminal-stage cancer, and post-chemoradiation states, where the pattern is deficiency of both yin and yang and of both qi and blood.

Unlike formulas such as Liuwei Dihuang Wan and Jinkui Shenqi Wan, which contain draining herbs within the supplementation, Butiandao Dazhen Wan is a purely supplementing formula. Renshen, Huangqi, Lurong (Cervi Cornu), Ziheche and Lujiaojiao in this formula are all strongly tonifying substances, tending to supplement yang and among the more expensive Chinese medicinal materials; the formula also uses Chao Baizhu, Huaishanyao and Fuling to fortify the spleen, Danggui, Baishao and Shudihuang to enrich blood, Shudihuang, Gouqizi and Guijiaojiao to nourish yin; and it includes Chao Zaoren and Chao Yuanzhi to calm the spirit and aid sleep, improving the patient's sleep so that strength recovers more easily.

Cheng Guopeng was a famous Qing-Dynasty physician with rich clinical experience; the formulas he selected mostly have marked effects. Naming this formula "Butiandao" (repairing heaven), it implies supplementing both congenital kidney deficiency and acquired spleen deficiency, making it an ideal formula for physical weakness. Those with chronic disease prolonged into weakness, or who have suffered major loss of original qi after side-effect-heavy treatment for a serious illness, will derive some improvement from its use.