Formulas · Release the Exterior 解表 · Uihak Immun (醫學入門)

Pueraria Resolve the Flesh Decoction (Epidemic chapter)

Galgeunhaegi-tang

한글 갈근해기탕 · Pinyin Ge Gen Jie Ji Tang

葛根解肌湯

The Bogam carries more than one formula under the name 葛根解肌湯; the other, from the Cold Damage chapter, treats yangming channel disease with aching eyes and a dry nose and is registered as galgeunhaegi-tang.

Composition 構成

Galgeun Ge Gen
葛根 갈근 · Kudzu Root

12 g
Chief 君
Mahwang Ma Huang
麻黃 마황 · Ephedra

8 g
Deputy 臣
Hwanggeum Huang Qin
黃芩 황금 · Scutellaria

8 g
Deputy 臣
Baekjagyak Bai Shao
白芍藥 백작약 · White Peony

6 g
Assistant 佐

芍藥
Gyeji Gui Zhi
桂枝 계지 · Cinnamon Twig

4 g
Assistant 佐
Gamcho Gan Cao
甘草 감초 · Licorice

3.2 g
Envoy 使
Saenggang Sheng Jiang
生薑 생강 · Fresh Ginger

—
Envoy 使

three slices
Daejo Da Zao
大棗 대조 · Jujube

—
Envoy 使

two fruits

Total 41.2 g per packet (첩) · representative dosage — verify against source texts. Excludes 2 ingredients measured by count or used as a vehicle, shown as —.

Received this formula from your practitioner? Amounts shown here are classical reference values — granule and prepared products differ. Always follow your prescribed dosage and directions.

Actions 效能

Treats spring epidemic (春疫) breaking out with fever and thirst
Opens the exterior while cooling the heat already formed

Indications 主治

Pattern-based

Spring epidemic (春疫) with fever and thirst
Exterior still shut while heat has turned inward

Biomedical correlates

Seasonal febrile illness of spring
Influenza-like illness with fever and thirst

Source text 原文

Donguibogam 東醫寶鑑

治春疫發熱而渴. 葛根三錢, 麻黃ㆍ黃芩各二錢, 芍藥一錢半, 桂枝一錢, 甘草八分. 右剉, 作一貼, 入薑三, 棗二, 水煎服. 《入門》

Translation

Treats spring epidemic breaking out with fever and thirst. Pueraria, 3 don; ephedra and scutellaria, 2 don each; peony, 1 don 5 fun; cinnamon twig, 1 don; licorice, 8 fun. Cut up, make one packet, add three slices of ginger and two jujubes, and decoct in water. — Immun 入門 (Donguibogam · On)

Clinical commentary 臨床

Six drugs on the Galgeun-tang frame — pueraria at three don leading, ephedra and scutellaria at two, then peony, cinnamon twig and licorice beneath. The chapter arranges several formulas by season, and this is the spring one. What makes it the spring prescription is ephedra and cinnamon twig set against scutellaria. The surface is still shut, so it is opened; the thirst says heat has already formed, so it is cooled at the same time. 解肌, resolving the flesh, is the tradition's word for exactly that half-measure — a release gentler than a frank sweat. A short and plausible prescription for the early days of a febrile illness in a patient sweating poorly and already thirsty. The seasonal frame is a classificatory device rather than an epidemiological claim; the fever described could belong to any number of infections. — Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.