小柴胡汤 and 半夏泻心汤
By mchern • Mar 20th, 2008 • Category: Herbs & SubstancesThink of both of them as having 姜夏枣人甘草从.
But:
- 小柴胡汤 has 柴胡
- the 姜 in 小柴胡汤 is 生姜；the 姜 in 半夏泻心汤 is 干姜
- 小柴胡汤 has 黄芩；半夏泻心汤 has 黄芩、黄连
To summarize, both have seven herbs. the former has 柴胡 as an extra herb category. For the digestive system, there’s 半夏、姜、黄芩（连）to 辛开苦降. And then there’s 枣、人、甘草 to tonify. So it makes sense that both are useful for the digstive system.