Zhao Bingnan’s Empirical Formula “Huoxue Zhuyu Decoction” for Mass-Type Diseases
Zhao Bingnan’s Clinical Experience Collection includes Zhao Bingnan’s empirical formula “Huoxue Zhuyu Decoction” (Blood-Activating and Stasis-Expelling Decoction) for treating mass-type diseases. Its composition is: Danshen (Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma) 15–30 g, Wuyao (Linderae Radix) 6–12 g, Jiangcan (Bombyx Batryticatus) 6–12 g, Sanleng (Sparganii Rhizoma) 9–15 g, Ezhu (Curcumae Rhizoma) 9–15 g, Baijiezi (Sinapis Semen) 9–15 g, Houpo (Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex) 6–12 g, Juhong (Citri Exocarpium Rubrum) 9–15 g, Tubeimu (Bolbostemmatis Rhizoma) 9–15 g, Chenxiang (Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum) 1.5–3 g.
The actions of Huoxue Zhuyu Decoction are to activate blood and expel stasis, soften hardness and dissipate masses internally. It is indicated for abdominal masses, breast fibroadenoma (ru pi, breast lump), small superficial tumors, joint swelling (he xi feng, crane’s-knee wind), localized scleroderma, keloids, or nodular diseases. This formula is suitable for treating tangible masses due to qi stagnation and blood stasis, and is a moderate-strength blood-activating formula.
In Huoxue Zhuyu Decoction, Sanleng, Ezhu, and Tubeimu activate blood and resolve stasis; Baijiezi and Wuyao warm and dissipate congelation; Houpo, Juhong, and Chenxiang regulate qi, resolve phlegm, and dissipate nodules. For patterns of yin-cold, paojiang (processed Zingiberis Rhizoma) and Fuzi (Aconiti Radix Lateralis Praeparata) may be added; if the mass feels cold to the touch, Xiaohuixiang (Foeniculi Fructus) and Wuzhuyu (Evodiae Fructus) may be added. Zhao Bingnan was a great modern master of TCM external medicine in China, with rich clinical experience and expertise in treating various surgical diseases; his empirical formulas consistently show remarkable efficacy.
This is a frequently used formula of Master Zhao. Unlike ancient classical formulas, Master Zhao’s formulas mostly use modern disease names for indications, making them convenient for contemporary TCM practitioners to learn and apply. The indications of this formula in modern medicine mostly correspond to proliferative lesions caused by chronic inflammation; such proliferative lesions differ from neoplastic proliferation.
For example, a keloid is fibrotic tissue produced during the repair process after skin injury. Such tissue results from proliferation of fibroblasts accompanied by collagen secretion, and capillaries also develop around it to supply blood to the scar tissue. In the early stage, this is mostly granulation tissue.
Such lesions generally do not become cancerous, but those present in the body for a long time and repeatedly subjected to friction and irritation also carry a possibility of malignant transformation. Modern medicine has no specific therapy for these proliferative conditions. Zhao Bingnan’s approach uses blood-activating and stasis-resolving herbs to disrupt the capillary network of the lesion, then uses hardness-softening and mass-dissipating herbs to digest the already-formed proliferative tissue. His formula therefore conforms not only to TCM principles but also to modern medical principles; effectiveness is naturally to be expected.
The formula verse reads: “Huoxue Zhuyu uses Leng-E-Dan; Juhong, Baijie, Tubeimu, Jiangcan; Chenxiang, Wuyao, and Houpo together; move qi, soften hardness, and internally dissipate phlegm.”