Da Xingfeng Tang for Stroke

Da Xingfeng Tang (Major Wind-Stirring Decoction) comes from "Taiping Huimin Heji Jufang" (Taiping Peaceful Beneficent Pharmacy Formulary). Its composition: Sheng Tiannanxing (raw Arisaema) 8 liang (240 g), Sheng Fangfeng (raw Saposhnikovia) 4 liang (120 g), Sheng Duhuo (raw Angelica pubescens), Sheng Fuzi (raw Aconitum, peeled of skin and navel), Quanxie (scorpion, lightly stir-fried), Sheng Gancao (raw licorice), each 2 liang (60 g). Preparation: coarsely grind the above. Take 4 qian (12 g) each time, add 20 slices of fresh ginger and one large bowl of water (about 600 ml), decoct to eight-tenths of a bowl (about 480 ml), strain, and take warm, twice daily, regardless of meals.

Da Xingfeng Tang expels wind and resolves phlegm. It is indicated for wind-stroke phlegm syncope, drooling with dizziness and fainting, convulsions of the hands and feet, hemiplegia, joint-wide gout, and spasmodic tension of the sinews and vessels. This condition corresponds to stroke (cerebral hemorrhage or cerebral infarction) in modern medicine, a neurological disease.

TCM has a long history of treating neurological diseases, and much of that experience can be drawn on by modern people to treat intractable neurological disorders.

Both Tiannanxing and raw Fuzi used in this formula are toxic with low lethal doses, but the dosage here is small and the herbs are decocted in water, so the side effects are controllable. Nonetheless, these herbs are still fairly toxic, so once the patient's condition relieves, the dosage should be promptly reduced or the medication stopped.

This formula may also be used for stroke sequelae or other neurological diseases presenting with the above symptoms. But if the patient has a chronic course, such as an encephalopathy like Alzheimer's disease, herbs with fewer side effects such as Tianma (Gastrodia), Gouteng (Uncaria), and Yuanzhi (Polygala) should be considered, to prevent chronic cumulative poisoning.