Quzhu Pills: Strengthening the Spleen and Resolving Dampness

Quzhu Wan originates from Song Dynasty Taiping Huimin Heji Jufang (Taping Royal Pharmacy Formulas). Its composition is Chaojushen (Fried Medicated Leaven) and Cangzhu (Atractylodes), each in equal amounts; grind together into powder, make into pills with flour paste the size of a phoenix-tree seed. Take 30 pills each time, washed down with rice soup, at any time, twice daily. This formula strengthens the spleen and opens the stomach, harmonizes the middle and resolves dampness; it is indicated for injury from diet, fullness and oppression in the chest and diaphragm, epigastric distending pain, indigestion, and stool containing undigested food.

The logic of this formula is simple. Jushen (medicated leaven, Shenqu) is a fermented Chinese medicinal product: a qu-ferment made by adding Polygonum flaccidum, Artemisia annua, apricot kernel paste, red adzuki beans, and fresh Xanthium grass to wheat flour or bran and fermenting it; it is a special kind of enzyme. It has a good action of strengthening the spleen and harmonizing the stomach, and digesting food and resolving stagnation, and is a commonly used TCM medicine for indigestion. Shenqu is often used together with fried malt and charged hawthorn; the three are jointly called Jiao San Xian (the Three charred Immortals), a classic medicinal pair for indigestion.

This formula combines Shenqu with Cangzhu because Cangzhu has the action of resolving dampness and strengthening the spleen. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that Cangzhu can eliminate internal dampness and improve indigestion; modern medical research finds that Cangzhu promotes gastrointestinal motility and has a strong antimicrobial action. Generally speaking, what TCM calls spleen deficiency with exuberant dampness is mostly caused by chronic digestive-tract infection. Combining Shenqu and Cangzhu treats both branch and root, effectively improving the patient's dyspeptic symptoms.