"Liu Shen Quan Xie Wan" (Six-God Scorpion Pill): Fortifying the Spleen, Resolving Phlegm, Resolving Toxin and Dissipating Nodules
"Liu Shen Quan Xie Wan" comes from Dong Tian Ao Zhi (Secret Origins of the Cave-Sky). It is composed of: Quan Xie (scorpion, roasted dry, remove legs and tail hooks) 3 liang (90 g), Bai Zhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, stir-fried) 3 liang (90 g), Ban Xia (Pinelliae Rhizoma) 1 liang (30 g), Bai Shao (Paeoniae Radix Alba) 4 liang (120 g), Fu Ling (Poria) 4 liang (120 g), Zhi Gan Cao (honey-fried Glycyrrhizae Radix) 5 qian (15 g).
Preparation: Grind the above into a fine powder, mash walnuts into a paste, and form into pills the size of mung beans. Take 1.5 qian each morning and evening. This formula fortifies the spleen and resolves phlegm, resolves toxin and dissipates nodules. It is indicated for scrofula of many years that has failed to respond to every treatment. Scrofula is a lymph-node enlargement disease mostly occurring in the neck; it may be lymphoma, lymphatic tuberculosis, or simply lymph-node enlargement.
The Quan Xie (scorpion) used here is the whole Buthus martensii (Asian scorpion). TCM holds that Quan Xie extinguishes wind and stops spasms, resolves toxin and dissipates nodules, and unblocks the collaterals to stop pain. It is indicated for acute and childhood convulsions, epilepsy and twitching, tetanus, stroke facial paralysis, hemiplegia, sores and swellings, scrofula and nodules, unilateral headache, and rheumatic bi pain.
Modern pharmacological research shows Quan Xie has anticonvulsant, antiepileptic, analgesic, antithrombotic, and anti-tumor effects. Quan Xie inhibits mouse sarcoma S180, Ehrlich ascites carcinoma, human colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, and lung adenocarcinoma, and its inhibitory effect is strong. Cuban blue scorpion venom (alfatoxine) is also an anti-cancer drug extracted from scorpion. Although Quan Xie has some toxicity, patients rarely suffer poisoning when taken internally.
Bai Zhu (White Atractylodes) is the rhizome of Atractylodes macrocephala. TCM holds that Bai Zhu fortifies the spleen and boosts qi, dries dampness and promotes water metabolism, stops sweating, and prevents miscarriage. It is indicated for lassitude, poor appetite and abdominal distension, diarrhea, and constipation caused by spleen-qi weakness, as well as difficult urination, edema, phlegm-rheum dizziness, cold-damp bi pain, body pain, spontaneous sweating due to qi deficiency, and restless fetus caused by retained fluid.
Modern pharmacology shows Bai Zhu promotes gastrointestinal motility, repairs gastric ulcers, treats chronic stomach disease, protects the liver and promotes bile flow, and also boosts immunity, dilates blood vessels, has antioxidant and anti-aging effects, and lowers blood sugar. Bai Zhu also has anti-tumor effects, inhibiting mouse sarcoma S180, Ehrlich ascites carcinoma, and the ascites type of lymphosarcoma; its mechanisms include lowering the proliferation rate of tumor cells and the invasiveness of tumor tissue, and raising the body's anti-tumor response and the cytotoxic effect on tumor cells. Bai Zhu also has diuretic and anti-ascites effects.
Ban Xia (Pinellia) is the tuber of Pinellia ternata. Raw Ban Xia is highly toxic and should be used cautiously; since the Ban Xia in this formula is not marked as processed, it is generally raw Ban Xia. But I personally advise patients using this formula to prefer processed Ban Xia, because if a fatal toxic reaction occurs with raw Ban Xia, it is hard to rescue.
TCM holds that Ban Xia dries dampness and resolves phlegm, descens counterflow and stops vomiting, and disperses fullness and nodules. It is indicated for cough and asthma with much sputum, vomiting and regurgitation, epigastric fullness, headache and dizziness, restless sleep, goiter and phlegm nodules, and boils and swellings.
From ancient times to today, Ban Xia has been one of the commonly used anti-tumor herbs; modern pharmacological experiments also show that Ban Xia has a clear inhibitory effect on experimental mouse liver cancer HCA, mouse sarcoma S180, cervical cancer HeLa cells, and myeloid leukemia. Ban Xia also has anti-emetic, emetic, antitussive, expectorant, anti-fertility and anti-early-pregnancy, anti-arrhythmic, and anti-experimental-gastric-ulcer effects, and can lower blood lipids.
Bai Shao (White Peony) is the root of Paeonia lactiflora and its variety trichocarpa. TCM holds that Bai Shao nourishes blood and harmonizes the construction, moderates urgency and stops pain, and retains yin and pacifies the liver. It is indicated for cold/heat due to blood deficiency, epigastric/abdominal pain, hypochondriac pain, spasmodic limb pain, dysmenorrhea, irregular menstruation, flooding and spotting, spontaneous sweating, night sweating, dysentery and diarrhea, and headache and dizziness.
Modern pharmacology shows Bai Shao has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, immunity-boosting, antimicrobial, central-nervous-system-inhibiting, hypoxia-tolerant, liver-protecting, detoxifying, and stress-ulcer-preventing effects. Bai Shao also has antimutagenic and anti-tumor effects: Paeonia extract enhances the anti-tumor action of MMC (mitomycin C), inhibits the leukopenia caused by MMC, and total glucosides of paeony (TGP) can enhance the enzyme activity of lymphocytes in peritumoral lymph nodes.
Fu Ling (Poria) is the dried sclerotium of Poria cocos. TCM holds that Fu Ling promotes urination and percolates dampness, fortifies the spleen, and calms the spirit. It is indicated for difficult urination, edema, phlegm-rheum, loose stools or diarrhea due to spleen deficiency, palpitations, and insomnia.
Modern pharmacology shows Fu Ling has diuretic, immune-enhancing, antibacterial, sedative, blood-sugar-lowering, liver-protecting, and anti-gastric-ulcer effects. Fu Ling also has anti-tumor effects, with some inhibitory action on gastric cancer, lymphoma, Ehrlich ascites carcinoma, and other cancers.
Gan Cao (Licorice) is the dried root and rhizome of Glycyrrhiza uralensis and related species. It supplements the center and boosts qi, expels phlegm and stops cough, resolves toxin, moderates urgency and stops pain, and harmonies the properties of other herbs. It is indicated for palpitations and irregular pulse due to heart-qi deficiency, lassitude/poor appetite/loose stools due to spleen deficiency, cough and asthma, boils and swellings, food or drug poisoning, and spasmodic pain of the abdomen or limbs. Moreover, Licorice is known as the "National Elder"; it harmonizes the other herbs and reduces their toxic side effects.
Modern pharmacology shows Licorice has adrenocortical-hormone-like and sex-hormone-like effects, and is anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, immunoregulatory, antioxidant, anti-stress, anti-hypoxic, immunity-boosting, leukocyte-raising, sexual-maturation-promoting, endocrine-regulating, blood-sugar-lowering, protein- and nucleic-acid-synthesis-promoting, anti-myocardial-ischemic, vasodilating, anti-platelet-aggregating, antithrombotic, anti-radiation, expectorant and antitussive, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, detoxifying, antibacterial, and antiviral.
So, whether from the traditional TCM perspective or from modern pharmacological research, this formula has some anti-tumor effect, and its action is not limited to lymphoma; it can treat a variety of tumors caused by spleen deficiency and phlegm-dampness. But both Quan Xie and Ban Xia in this formula are toxic; use them carefully. If adverse reactions occur during use, take measures promptly.