jinkuiyaolue

What is Rhubarb and Coptis Heart Draining Decoction made up of?

By Gory ⋅ June 19, 2008 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

The debate: In the book, this decoction is made up of two herbs, 大黄 and 黄连. However, many people argue that there should be a 黄芩 in there too, since all 泻心汤s have the herb pair 黄连-黄芩.

My take: I think not. It’s only two herbs. There’s a decoction called 泻心汤 in 《金匮要略 》, also written by Mr. Zhang Ji. It is made up of 大黄、黄连、黄芩. Mr. Zhang very purposefully named this 《伤寒论》decoction such with the the intention emphasize that although it could 泻心, no 黄芩 was neccesary to produce the 泻心 result.

Popularity: 9% [?]