Poyu Dan (Stagnation-Breaking Pellet) for Persistent Belching
"Poyu Dan" (Stagnation-Breaking Pellet) comes from Ming-dynasty Gong Tingxian's Wanbing Huichun (Recurrence of Health for Myriad Diseases). It is composed of: Cyperus Rhizome (Xiangfu Mi), four liang (120g); Cape Jasmine Fruit (Zhizi Ren, stir-fried), four liang (120g); Coptis (Huanglian, stir-fried in ginger juice), two liang (60g); Betel Nut (Binglang), one liang (30g); Zedoary (Ezhu), one liang (30g); Tangerine Peel (Qingpi, pith removed), one liang (30g); Trichosanthes Seed (Gualou Ren), one liang (30g); and Perilla Seed (Suzi), one liang (30g). Grind the above into powder, form with water into pills the size of a parasol-tree seed. Take one liang (30g) each time, twice daily, washed down with warm water after meals.
If it is not possible to make pills, the formula may be converted to a decoction with the following doses: Cyperus 12g, stir-fried Cape Jasmine 12g, Coptis 6g, Betel Nut 3g, Zedoary 3g, Green Tangerine Peel 3g, Trichosanthes Seed 3g, Perilla Seed 3g. Decoct in water; take once in the morning and once in the evening.
This formula moves qi and clears fire, resolves phlegm, and dissipates stasis. It treats women's qi stagnation that has transformed into fire, with phlegm and stasis obstructing the interior: belching with a tight chest, the belching continuing for more than ten sounds without relief; after belching the chest feels slightly open, but if no belch comes it feels tight again.
Belching, commonly called burping or eructation, is a physiological phenomenon in which gas from the stomach rises to the throat and is expelled with a sound. Long-standing or frequent belching generally suggests possible pathology in the digestive tract. Possibilities include Helicobacter pylori infection, chronic gastritis, or gastric ulcer; in severe cases it may even be gastric cancer.
For a long time, traditional Chinese medicine has considered this class of diseases related to emotion; even traditional Western medicine held that stomach illness is related to emotion, because patients with chronic stomach problems often have emotional issues. That is why this formula is also called "Poyu Dan" (Stagnation-Breaking Pellet). Judging from its composition, besides belching the patient may also have acid reflux and heartburn, dark yellow urine, and a burning sensation at the anus during bowel movements.
In the formula, Coptis and Cape Jasmine clear heat and drain fire. Modern pharmacological research shows that berberine, contained in Coptis, has a good effect on gastroenteritis; Cape Jasmine clears heat and promotes diuresis. Cyperus, Betel Nut, Green Tangerine Peel, and Perilla Seed all belong to the qi-moving, counterflow-downbearing group. Zedoary invigorates and breaks blood stasis; Trichosanthes Seed drains phlegm and descends fire. So the combined effect of the formula is to move qi, clear fire, resolve phlegm, and dissipate stasis.
Because TCM is primarily symptomatic, this formula provides some relief for belching-related symptoms caused by various digestive tract diseases. But if the patient has H. pylori infection, relying on this formula alone may relieve symptoms for a while but is unlikely to eradicate H. pylori; Western quadruple therapy is still needed to eradicate it. Thereafter, when dining, the patient should eat separately from others to avoid reinfection. If this formula is used for belching caused by gastric cancer, it must be combined with other anticancer drugs; used alone it may temporarily relieve belching but cannot address the root cause.