What Shi Quan Da Bu Tang is for
This is the formula for skin that has thinned, dried and shrunk because Qi, Blood and Yang are low together. The tissue has lost both substance and warmth, so it looks papery and feels cold, bruises easily and closes very slowly. It is the most complete of the tonics, and it is used where the depletion is deep enough to show in the surface itself.
The skin looks older than the person: thin, dry and shrunken, with poor tone and a cold feel, and it wrinkles where the tissue has lost its substance. It tears and bruises from small knocks, and a wound that should close in days stays open for weeks. The colour is pale rather than flushed, and the surface does not hold warmth. This is not simple ageing; it is tissue that has neither the material nor the warmth to maintain itself.
Shu Di Huang leads by nourishing Blood and Yin, giving the skin substance again; Ren Shen and Huang Qi rebuild the Qi that drives repair; Dang Gui restores colour and circulation; Bai Shao nourishes Blood; Bai Zhu and Fu Ling support the Spleen so food becomes Qi and Blood; Chuan Xiong keeps the nourishment moving so it reaches the tissue; Rou Gui as envoy supplies the Yang warmth the surface is missing; Gan Cao harmonises. Ten herbs are needed because three deficiencies are corrected at once.
It is rich and warming, and that is also its limit. Where Heat, Dampness with a greasy coat or an active infection is present, the heavy tonics can make matters worse, and the formula is paused during an acute infection. It belongs with the depleted convalescent whose tissue has lost warmth and substance, not with the acutely ill, and unexplained weight loss or profound fatigue needs medical assessment first.
Actions
- Tonifies Qi strongly
- Nourishes Blood
- Warms Yang
- Strengthens the Spleen and supports healing
Properties
- Taste and temperature: Predominantly sweet with a warm, slightly pungent note. Sweet tonifies Qi and Blood, warm supports the Yang.
- Organs: Heart, Spleen, Lungs, Kidney
- Channels: Heart, Spleen, Lung, Kidney
The pattern behind it
The pattern is combined Qi, Blood and Yang deficiency. Yang warms, Qi drives and Blood nourishes, and when all three are low the body cannot maintain its tissue: the skin thins, cools and wrinkles, and healing stalls. The formula rebuilds all three at once, which is why it is used for the deepest depletion rather than for a single deficiency.
Composition
The herbs in Shi Quan Da Bu Tang, with their role and dose.
| Role | Herb | Dose | Properties | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ren Shen | 6 to 10 g | Slightly warm, Sweet | The strongest Qi tonic, restoring energy and the force behind repair. | |
| King | Shu Di Huang | 9 to 12 g | Slightly warm, Sweet | Nourishes Blood and Yin deeply, giving the skin substance again. |
| Bai Zhu | 9 to 10 g | Warm, Bitter, sweet | Strengthens the Spleen so food is converted into Qi and Blood. | |
| Dang Gui | 9 to 10 g | Warm, Sweet, pungent | Nourishes and moves Blood, restoring colour and circulation. | |
| Huang Qi | 9 to 12 g | Slightly warm, Sweet | Tonifies Qi and supports the surface and healing, the first addition over Ba Zhen Tang. | |
| Bai Shao | 9 to 10 g | Slightly cold, Bitter, sour | Nourishes Blood and softens tension. | |
| Fu Ling | 9 to 10 g | Neutral, Sweet, bland | Supports the Spleen and prevents the rich tonics from causing Dampness. | |
| Chuan Xiong | 5 to 6 g | Warm, Pungent | Moves the Blood so the tonics reach the tissue rather than stagnating. | |
| Envoy | Rou Gui | 2 to 3 g | Hot, Pungent, sweet | Warms the Yang and guides the tonics, the second addition over Ba Zhen Tang. |
| Gan Cao | 3 to 5 g | Neutral, Sweet | Harmonises the formula and supports the middle. |
Patterns it treats
Qi and Blood Deficiency
Thin, dry, cold and shrunken skin with poor tone, easy bruising and wounds that close very slowly. The tissue has lost both substance and warmth and looks older than the person.
How the formula is built
The formula is Ba Zhen Tang plus an extra Qi tonic and a warm Yang herb. That makes it the most complete of the tonics: it addresses Qi, Blood and Yang together, which is why it is used when the depletion is deep enough to affect the warmth and substance of the tissue.
Skin conditions it is used for
Where this formula appears in the skin conditions of the library.
Preparation and use
Decocted in water with ginger and dates and taken warm, in two divided doses.
Modifications
- If Cold is marked, the warming herb is increased.
- If the appetite is very poor, aromatic herbs are added so the rich tonics do not congest.
- If Heat signs appear, the warming is reduced and cooling added.
- During an acute infection, the formula is paused.
Timing
Taken warm in two divided doses, often between meals.
Duration
Two to eight weeks as a course, then reassessed, and longer for chronic deficiency with periodic review.
Diet while taking it
Warm cooked nourishing food; avoid cold, raw and greasy food that burdens the Spleen.
Safety
Contraindications
Avoid in excess Heat or Toxic Heat patterns. Avoid in Dampness with a greasy coat, and in Yin deficiency with heat signs, because the rich warming tonics can worsen both.
Interactions
Gan Cao can cause potassium loss, raise blood pressure and interact with diuretics, digoxin and corticosteroids. Ren Shen and Huang Qi may affect blood sugar and anticoagulant therapy.
Pregnancy
Generally considered safe with appropriate supervision, though the warming and moving herbs mean professional guidance is needed.
Breastfeeding
Considered acceptable under professional guidance.
Children
Used in children with reduced dose for deep deficiency and slow recovery.
Before you use it
Recorded from the classical record and rewritten in this project's own words. Educational only: not a prescription, and unexplained weight loss or profound fatigue needs medical assessment.
General safety references
General references for herbal hepatotoxicity and herb-drug interactions; they are not specific to this formula.
- Review article: Herbal hepatotoxicity - an update on traditional Chinese medicine preparations. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2014. PMID: 24844799.
- Interactions between herbal medicines and prescribed drugs: an updated systematic review. Drugs, 2009. PMID: 19719333.
- Warfarin and food, herbal or dietary supplement interactions: a systematic review. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2021. PMID: 32478963.
Selected PubMed records
Real PubMed records for the modern, non-TCM discussion of this formula. They are references, not a claim that the formula is proven for any skin condition.
- The positive role of traditional Chinese medicine as an adjunctive therapy for cancer.. Bioscience trends, 2021. PMID: 34421064.
- Shi-quan-da-bu-tang (ten significant tonic decoction), SQT. A potent Chinese biological response modifier in cancer immunotherapy, potentiation and detoxification of anticancer drugs.. Methods and findings in experimental and clinical pharmacology, 1992. PMID: 1294861.
Origin and history
Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang (太平惠民和剂局方, Formulas from the Imperial Pharmacy), Song dynasty, 12th century, as a development of Ba Zhen Tang.
The formula developed in the Song imperial formulary by adding Huang Qi and Rou Gui to the eight-herb Ba Zhen Tang. That addition of Qi and Yang made it the most complete tonic in the tradition, used in convalescence, in old age and in the deepest depletion, where the skin itself has lost its warmth and substance.
Classical record
The Song imperial formulary records the formula as the ten-herb great tonic, combining Qi, Blood and Yang tonics for profound depletion with cold limbs, pallor and slow healing.
Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang (太平惠民和剂局方, Formulas from the Imperial Pharmacy), Song dynasty.
Evidence note
No controlled trial of this treatment in skin conditions was identified for this entry. What is described here rests on the classical and later materia medica record and on traditional clinical use, not on controlled trial evidence, and it is not a prediction of benefit. Where skin-specific research does exist it is linked above.
Common questions
How is it different from Ba Zhen Tang?
It adds Huang Qi and Rou Gui, so it also tonifies the Yang. It is used when the depletion is deeper and there is coldness.
Can it be taken during an infection?
No. Rich tonics are paused during active infection and resumed afterwards once the acute phase has settled.
Can it help thin wrinkled skin?
Where the thinning comes from deep depletion with coldness and pallor, yes, over weeks. Ageing alone is not a deficiency pattern.
Who should be cautious?
People with Yin deficiency and heat signs, Dampness with a greasy coat, or excess Heat, because the rich warming tonics can worsen those patterns.