{ "slug": "ba-zheng-san", "names": { "pinyin": "Ba Zheng San", "chinese": "八正散", "english": "Eight-Herb Powder for Rectification", "alternate": [ "Ba Zheng Wan", "Dianthus Formula" ] }, "category": "dispel-dampness", "source": { "text": "Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang (Imperial Grace Formulary of the Tai Ping Era)", "author": "Imperial Medical Bureau", "dynasty": "Song", "year": "1078" }, "summary": "The bladder formula. For burning, urgent, painful, frequent urination with dark cloudy urine, a dry mouth, and a full lower belly: damp heat in the bladder. Eight herbs that cool the heat and flush it out through the urine. Short, sharp, and for the acute picture.", "picture": "A hot, blocked drain. The formula cools the pipe and runs water through it until it is clear.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "damp-heat-lower-burner", "role": "primary", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/damp-heat-lower-burner", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/damp-heat-lower-burner" } } ], "indications": [ "Burning, painful urination", "Urgency and frequency with little urine each time", "Dark, cloudy, or bloody urine", "Full, tender lower belly", "Dry mouth and throat with the above", "Stones with burning urine, when prescribed" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Red with a yellow greasy coat.", "pulse": "Slippery and rapid." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Che Qian Zi", "grams": "9", "role": "chief", "job": "Plantain seed clears heat and drains it through the urine.", "herb_slug": "seed-of-asiatic-pantain", "english": "Asiatic Plantain Seed", "chinese": "车前子", "latin": "Semen Plantaginis", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/seed-of-asiatic-pantain", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/seed-of-asiatic-pantain" } }, { "pinyin": "Qu Mai", "grams": "9", "role": "chief", "job": "Dianthus clears damp heat from the bladder and eases painful urination.", "unlinked": true, "herb_slug": "all-grass-of-lilac-pink", "english": "Lilac Pink Herb", "chinese": "瞿麦", "latin": "Herba Dianthi", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/all-grass-of-lilac-pink", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/all-grass-of-lilac-pink" } }, { "pinyin": "Bian Xu", "grams": "9", "role": "chief", "job": "Knotweed clears damp heat and promotes urination.", "unlinked": true, "herb_slug": "all-grass-of-common-knotgrass", "english": "All-Grass Of Common Knotgrass", "chinese": "萹蓄", "latin": "Herba Polygoni Avicularis", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/all-grass-of-common-knotgrass", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/all-grass-of-common-knotgrass" } }, { "pinyin": "Hua Shi", "grams": "12", "role": "deputy", "job": "Talc clears heat and smooths the way out.", "herb_slug": "talc", "english": "Talc", "chinese": "滑石", "latin": "Talcum", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/talc", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/talc" } }, { "pinyin": "Zhi Zi", "grams": "9", "role": "deputy", "job": "Gardenia clears heat from all three burners.", "herb_slug": "fruit-of-cape-jasmine-2", "english": "Gardenia Fruit", "chinese": "栀子", "latin": "Fructus Gardeniae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/fruit-of-cape-jasmine-2", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/fruit-of-cape-jasmine-2" } }, { "pinyin": "Mu Tong", "grams": "6", "role": "assistant", "job": "Clematis stem opens the water passages. See the caution on which mu tong.", "herb_slug": "akebia-clematis-stem", "english": "Akebia, Clematis Stem", "chinese": "木通", "latin": "Caulis Akebiae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/akebia-clematis-stem", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/akebia-clematis-stem" } }, { "pinyin": "Da Huang", "grams": "6", "role": "assistant", "job": "Rhubarb drains heat through the bowel.", "herb_slug": "root-and-rhizome-of-sorrel-rhubarb", "english": "Raw Rhubarb Root", "chinese": "大黄", "latin": "Radix et Rhizoma Rhei", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-and-rhizome-of-sorrel-rhubarb", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-and-rhizome-of-sorrel-rhubarb" } }, { "pinyin": "Zhi Gan Cao", "grams": "6", "role": "envoy", "job": "Licorice eases pain and harmonizes.", "herb_slug": "prepared-liauorice-root", "english": "Honey-Fried Licorice Root", "chinese": "炙甘草", "latin": "Radix Glycyrrhizae Praeparata", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/prepared-liauorice-root", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/prepared-liauorice-root" } } ], "actions": [ "Clears heat and drains fire", "Promotes urination and unblocks painful urinary dribbling" ], "how_it_works": "Five herbs aim at the bladder, each cooling and draining in a slightly different way. Gardenia and rhubarb take the heat out through the urine and the bowel. Licorice keeps the harsh crew from hurting. It is a flush, not a tonic, and it should stop as soon as the burning does.", "modifications": [ { "for": "Blood in the urine", "add": [ "Xiao Ji", "Bai Mao Gen" ], "note": "Cooling herbs that stop bleeding." }, { "for": "Stones", "add": [ "Jin Qian Cao", "Hai Jin Sha" ], "note": "Stone-dissolving herbs." } ], "cautions": [ "Cold and draining. Days, not weeks. Long use harms the Spleen and the fluids.", "Mu tong: insist on a brand that uses Chuan Mu Tong (clematis) or Tong Cao, never Guan Mu Tong (aristolochia), which damages the kidneys and is banned.", "Not for a weak, cold person or chronic urinary frequency without heat; that is a deficiency picture.", "A bladder infection with fever, back pain, or blood needs urgent attention alongside anything else.", "Not for use in pregnancy." ], "forms": [ "teapills", "granules", "decoction" ], "typical_dose": { "teapills": "8 pills, three times a day, the usual label dose", "course": "Three to seven days." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "long-dan-xie-gan-tang", "difference": "Damp heat in the Liver channel: adds genital itch, a bitter mouth, and irritability above the bladder." }, { "slug": "dao-chi-san", "difference": "Heart heat passed to the bladder: mouth ulcers and burning urine together, gentler." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "ba-zheng-san", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/ba-zheng-san", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Ba Zheng San or Wan with the characters 八正. Eight ingredients including Dianthus, Knotweed, Talc, and Plantain seed. The label must state Chuan Mu Tong or Tong Cao, never Guan Mu Tong.", "note": "Brand choice matters because of the mu tong substitution." }, "conditions": [ "urinary-tract-infection", "hematuria", "urolithiasis", "nephrolithiasis", "frequent-urination" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Composition, actions, indications, cautions, and the mu tong note." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/ba-zheng-san", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/ba-zheng-san", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }