A Simple Phlegm-Resolving and Cough-Stopping Formula: Ju Gan San (Tangerine-Licorice Powder)
The Yixue Rumen (Introduction to Medicine) records a very simple formula for cough with copious phlegm called Ju Gan San (Tangerine-Licorice Powder). It consists of: Jupi (Tangerine Peel, white pith removed; commercial Chenpi may be used) 4 liang (120 g), Zhi Gancao (honey-fried Licorice) 1 liang (30 g). The two herbs are ground together into a fine powder. Each dose is 2 qian (6 g), mixed with plain warm water and taken twice daily. For chronic conditions, the powder may be made into pills: add an appropriate amount of refined honey as a binder and form pills the size of a wutong (parasol) seed; take 6 g of pills each time. Alternatively, Jupi and Gancao may be brewed as tea in a 4:1 ratio.
This formula resolves phlegm and stops cough; it is indicated for cough with copious sputum.
Jupi in this formula is the dried ripe peel of Citrus reticulata Blanco and its cultivars (family Rutaceae), commonly known as Chenpi, Guangchenpi, or Xinhuipi. Traditional Chinese medicine considers it acrid and bitter in flavor and warm in nature, entering the Spleen and Lung channels. It moves qi, regulates the middle, dries dampness, and resolves phlegm. It is used for epigastric fullness or pain and indigestion due to spleen-stomach qi stagnation, as well as for cough and wheezing due to phlegm-damp obstructing the lung. Modern pharmacological studies confirm that Chenpi has expectorant, antitussive, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anti-allergic effects, and it does provide symptomatic supportive treatment for cough and wheezing.
Gancao in this formula has a strong expectorant and antitussive effect; the patent licorice tablets made from it are a common expectorant and cough medicine. Besides resolving phlegm and stopping cough, Gancao also supplements the middle and boosts qi, detoxifies, relieves pain and spasm, and moderates the properties of other herbs. Modern pharmacology shows it has adrenocortical-hormone-like and sex-hormone-like actions, and is expectorant, antitussive, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiarrhythmic.
When Jupi and Gancao are combined, their expectorant and antitussive effect is enhanced. Because this formula uses a large dose of Jupi, its phlegm-resolving power is especially prominent. Although it contains only two herbs, the combination is well matched and mutually enhancing, with good therapeutic effect.