Pingfei Tang: Moistening the Lung, Resolving Phlegm, Stopping Cough and Calming Wheezing

Pingfei Tang (Lung-Calming Decoction) comes from the Yangshi Jiazang Fang (Mr. Yang's Family- Preserved Formulas). It is composed of: zhimu (anemarrhena rhizome), banxia (pinellia rhizome, washed seven times in hot water), xingren (apricot kernel, peeled with tip removed, stir-fried), mahuang (ephedra, nodes removed), ejiao (ass hide gelatin, fried with clam powder) and beimu (fritillaria bulb), each 1 liang (30 g); plus sangye (morus leaf), kuandonghua (coltsfoot flower) and zhigancao (honey-fried licorice), each 5 qian (15 g).

Preparation: chop the herbs or grind them into a coarse powder. Each time take 3 qian (9 g), add one bowl of water (about 200 ml) and three slices of ginger, and decoct together until two-thirds of a bowl remains; strain out the dregs. Take warm after meals, twice daily.

According to traditional TCM, this formula has the actions of moistening the lung and resolving phlegm, and of stopping cough and calming wheezing. It is indicated for insufficient lung yin with internal accumulation of phlegm-heat, presenting with cough and panting. In this formula, zhimu and sangye have the action of nourishing yin and clearing heat, and of moistening dryness to stop cough; they can relieve the cough and panting caused by insufficient lung yin. Banxia and beimu resolve phlegm and stop cough; xingren downbears qi to stop cough; mahuang stops cough and calms wheezing; zhigancao added also has a cough-stopping effect, while harmonizing the other herbs and protecting the spleen and stomach. Thus, when all the herbs are used together, they have a relatively good effect on resolving phlegm, stopping cough and calming wheezing, and provide good symptomatic relief for dry mouth and throat, cough and rapid panting caused by lung heat with abundant phlegm.