Niuxi Wan (Achyranthes Pill): Strengthening Tendons and Bones, Relieving Pain, Countering Aging
Taiping Shenghui Fang (Taiping Holy Prescriptions for Universal Relief) contains a formula called "Niuxi Wan." Its composition is: Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae (niuxi) 2 liang (60 g, sprouts removed); Radix Paeoniae Alba (baishao) 1 liang (30 g); Radix Polygalae (yuanzhi) 1 liang (30 g, heart removed); Radix Astragali (huangqi) 1 liang (30 g); Herba Cistanches (roucongrong) 2 liang (60 g, soaked in wine overnight, wrinkled skin scraped off, roasted until dry); Cortex Eucommiae (duzhong) 2 liang (60 g, coarse bark removed, roasted until slightly yellow, filed); Radix Dipsaci (xuduan) 1 liang (30 g); Fructus Cnidii (shechuangzi) 1 liang (30 g); Rhizoma Dioscoreae (shanyao) 1 liang (30 g); Semen Cuscutae (tusizi) 2 liang (soaked in wine overnight, sun-dried, separately pounded into powder); Poria (bailing) 2 liang (60 g); Radix Ginseng (renshen) 2 liang (rootlet removed); Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum (lurong) 2 liang (60 g, hair removed, coated with butter, roasted until slightly yellow); Radix Morindae Officinalis (bajitian) 1 liang (30 g); Semen Platycladi (baiziren) 1 liang (30 g); Cortex Cinnamomi (rouguixin) 1 liang (30 g); Fructus Schisandrae (wuweizi) 1 liang (30 g); and Herba Dendrobii (shihu) 2 liang (60 g, roots removed, filed).
All the above are ground together into powder. Thirty pills are taken with warm wine on an empty stomach and before the evening meal, once or twice daily. The formula supports yang and supplements essence, strengthens tendons and bones, lightens the body, and improves memory. It treats insufficiency of kidney yang, depletion of essence and blood, emaciation, frequent urination, impotence, itchy skin, pain in the lower back and spine, inability to stand for long, forgetfulness, and insomnia.
Nearly every herb in this formula is a TCM tonic, and modern pharmacology has shown that most of them have anti-aging, immune-enhancing, memory-improving, and analgesic effects. Thus the formula may be used for emaciation due to old age and debility, cancer, stroke sequelae, immune-mediated rheumatic diseases, and other chronic wasting diseases; when the symptoms above are present, it can also treat lower-back and leg pain caused by conditions such as lumbar disc herniation.
Ginseng and deer antler in this formula are strongly tonifying; in young, robust people they may cause "ginseng-deer antler abuse syndrome," with adverse effects such as a flushed face, constipation, excitation and mania, and tachycardia. Therefore young people should not take such strongly tonifying formulas unless their debility is severe.
No Chinese patent medicine based on this formula is sold on the market; if you wish to use it, prepare it yourself according to the prescription. It may also be made into a herbal paste (gao fang).
Method of making the paste: decoct ginseng separately. Use an equal amount of deer-horn glue (lujiao jiao) in place of deer antler, ground into powder. Decoct the other herbs together twice, two hours each time; combine the two decoctions, add the ginseng decoction and deer-horn glue powder, and simmer slowly over low heat in a clay pot until a thick paste forms. Add an appropriate amount of honey, stir well, and the paste is ready. Store the finished paste in a sealed bottle in the refrigerator. Each time, take 15–30 ml, dissolved in warm boiled water, twice daily.