{ "slug": "da-bu-yin-wan", "names": { "pinyin": "Da Bu Yin Wan", "chinese": "大补阴丸", "english": "Great Tonify the Yin Pill", "alternate": [ "Da Bu Yin Jian", "Great Yin Tonifying Pill" ] }, "category": "tonify-yin", "source": { "text": "Dan Xi Xin Fa (Teachings of Zhu Dan-xi)", "author": "Zhu Zhen-heng", "dynasty": "Yuan", "year": "1481" }, "summary": "Four herbs for yin deficiency with strong empty heat: a deep steaming heat in the bones, night sweats that soak the sheets, hot flashes, coughing blood, nocturnal emissions, and sore knees. Heavier than Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan on both sides: more yin, more cooling.", "picture": "Zhu Dan-xi taught that yang is always in excess and yin always in short supply. This is his answer: fill the yin with tortoise shell and rehmannia, and drain the fire with the two bitter cold barks, in equal measure.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "kidney-yin-deficiency-with-empty-heat", "role": "primary", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/kidney-yin-deficiency-with-empty-heat", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/kidney-yin-deficiency-with-empty-heat" } }, { "slug": "lung-yin-deficiency", "role": "with blood in the sputum", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/lung-yin-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/lung-yin-deficiency" } } ], "indications": [ "Steaming-bone sensation, a heat that feels deep inside", "Night sweats that soak", "Hot flashes and afternoon fever", "Coughing blood or blood-streaked sputum in a dry, thin person", "Nocturnal emissions", "Irritability, restless sleep", "Sore, weak knees and legs", "Dry mouth, thirst" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Red with little coat.", "pulse": "Thin, rapid, and a little forceful." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Shu Di Huang", "grams": "18", "role": "chief", "job": "Prepared rehmannia enriches Kidney yin.", "herb_slug": "prepared-rehmannia-root", "english": "Prepared Rehmannia Root", "chinese": "熟地黄", "latin": "Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/prepared-rehmannia-root", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/prepared-rehmannia-root" } }, { "pinyin": "Gui Ban", "grams": "18", "role": "chief", "job": "Tortoise plastron fills deep yin and anchors rising heat.", "herb_slug": "tortoise-plastron", "english": "Tortoise Plastron", "chinese": "龟板", "latin": "Plastrum Testudinis", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/tortoise-plastron", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/tortoise-plastron" } }, { "pinyin": "Huang Bai", "grams": "12", "role": "deputy", "job": "Phellodendron drains empty fire from the Kidney.", "herb_slug": "phellodendron-bark", "english": "Phellodendron Bark", "chinese": "黄柏", "latin": "Cortex Phellodendri", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/phellodendron-bark", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/phellodendron-bark" } }, { "pinyin": "Zhi Mu", "grams": "12", "role": "deputy", "job": "Anemarrhena clears heat and moistens.", "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena", "english": "Rhizome of Common Anamarrhena", "chinese": "知母", "latin": "Rhizoma Anemarrhenae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena" } } ], "actions": [ "Enriches yin and drains fire", "Anchors heat that is rising from an empty Kidney" ], "how_it_works": "Two tonics and two drainers in roughly equal weight. The tortoise shell and rehmannia refill the yin; the two barks pull the heat down and out. The original was made with pig spinal marrow and honey to add still more yin. It is a sharper tool than the rehmannia pills and meant for the heavier heat picture.", "modifications": [ { "for": "Coughing blood", "add": [ "Bai Ji", "Xian He Cao" ], "note": "Herbs that stop bleeding from the Lung." }, { "for": "Night sweats that will not stop", "add": [ "Fu Xiao Mai", "Mu Li" ], "note": "Light wheat and oyster shell hold the sweat in." }, { "for": "Loose teeth with the heat", "add": [ "Gu Sui Bu" ], "note": "The bone mender." } ], "cautions": [ "Cold and heavy. Not for a weak Spleen with loose stools or poor appetite.", "Not for a cold picture of any kind.", "Use for the heat, then step down to a gentler yin tonic such as Liu Wei Di Huang Wan.", "Contains tortoise plastron, an animal product.", "Pregnancy: use only under a qualified practitioner." ], "forms": [ "teapills", "granules", "decoction" ], "typical_dose": { "teapills": "8 pills, three times a day, the usual label dose", "decoction": "One bag a day in two doses, with the amounts above. Tortoise shell is decocted first.", "course": "One to two months, then reassess." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "zhi-bai-di-huang-wan", "difference": "The gentler everyday version: the Liu Wei base with the same cooling pair in small amounts. Start there unless the heat is heavy." }, { "slug": "zuo-gui-wan", "difference": "Pure filling with no cooling. For deep yin deficiency without heat signs." }, { "slug": "liu-wei-di-huang-wan", "difference": "The long-term base to continue after the heat has cleared." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "da-bu-yin-wan", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/da-bu-yin-wan", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Da Bu Yin Wan with the characters 大补阴丸. Four ingredients: prepared Rehmannia, Tortoise plastron, Phellodendron, and Anemarrhena." }, "conditions": [ "night-sweats", "hemoptysis", "tuberculosis", "menopausal-syndrome", "insomnia", "yin-deficiency" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Composition, actions, indications, and cautions." }, { "title": "Zhu Zhen-heng, Dan Xi Xin Fa", "note": "Source text." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/da-bu-yin-wan", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/da-bu-yin-wan", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }