{ "slug": "long-dan-xie-gan-tang", "names": { "pinyin": "Long Dan Xie Gan Tang", "chinese": "龙胆泻肝汤", "english": "Gentian Decoction to Drain the Liver", "alternate": [ "Long Dan Xie Gan Wan", "Gentiana Combination", "Snake and Dragon Formula" ] }, "category": "clear-heat", "source": { "text": "Yi Fang Ji Jie (Medical Formulas Collected and Analyzed)", "author": "Wang Ang", "dynasty": "Qing", "year": "1682" }, "summary": "The formula for Liver fire and damp heat in the lower body. Fire going up: a splitting headache, red eyes, a bitter mouth, rage, ringing ears. Damp heat going down: burning urination, genital itch or swelling, yellow discharge, a rash in the groin. Bitter, cold, and fast, for a short course only.", "picture": "The Liver channel runs from the groin to the eyes. When it fills with fire and damp, both ends burn. Gentian is the bitterest herb in the pharmacy and it drains the whole channel at once.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "liver-fire", "role": "primary", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/liver-fire", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/liver-fire" } }, { "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" } }, { "slug": "liver-gallbladder-damp-heat", "role": "primary", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/liver-gallbladder-damp-heat", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/liver-gallbladder-damp-heat" } } ], "indications": [ "Splitting headache, red sore eyes", "Bitter taste, dry mouth, irritability tipping into rage", "Pain under the ribs", "Sudden ringing ears or hearing loss, ear infection", "Burning, urgent urination", "Genital itch, swelling, herpes outbreaks, or a hot groin rash", "Yellow, smelly vaginal discharge", "Jaundice with heat", "Shingles along the ribs" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Red with a yellow greasy coat.", "pulse": "Wiry, rapid, and forceful." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Long Dan Cao", "grams": "6", "role": "chief", "job": "Gentian drains Liver fire and lower-body damp heat.", "herb_slug": "root-of-przewalsk-gentian", "english": "Root of Przewalsk Gentian", "chinese": "龙胆草", "latin": "Radix Gentianae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-przewalsk-gentian", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-przewalsk-gentian" } }, { "pinyin": "Huang Qin", "grams": "9", "role": "deputy", "job": "Scutellaria clears heat from the upper body.", "herb_slug": "baicalin", "english": "Baical Skullcap Root", "chinese": "黄芩", "latin": "Radix Scutellariae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/baicalin", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/baicalin" } }, { "pinyin": "Zhi Zi", "grams": "9", "role": "deputy", "job": "Gardenia clears heat and drains it through the urine.", "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": "Ze Xie", "grams": "12", "role": "assistant", "job": "Water plantain drains damp heat downward.", "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-oriental-waterplantain", "english": "Rhizome of Oriental Waterplantain", "chinese": "", "latin": "Rhizoma Alismatis", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-oriental-waterplantain", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-oriental-waterplantain" } }, { "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": "Che Qian Zi", "grams": "9", "role": "assistant", "job": "Plantain seed drains damp 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": "Sheng Di Huang", "grams": "9", "role": "assistant", "job": "Raw rehmannia protects the yin from the bitter cold herbs.", "herb_slug": "fresh-rehmannia-root", "english": "Fresh Rehmannia Root", "chinese": "生地黄", "latin": "Radix Rehmanniae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/fresh-rehmannia-root", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/fresh-rehmannia-root" } }, { "pinyin": "Dang Gui", "grams": "3", "role": "assistant", "job": "Angelica protects the blood.", "herb_slug": "root-of-chinese-angelica", "english": "Root of Chinese Angelica", "chinese": "当归", "latin": "Radix Angelicae Sinensis", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-chinese-angelica", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-chinese-angelica" } }, { "pinyin": "Chai Hu", "grams": "6", "role": "envoy", "job": "Bupleurum carries the formula into the Liver channel.", "herb_slug": "root-of-chinese-thorowax", "english": "Chinese Thorowax Root", "chinese": "柴胡", "latin": "Radix Bupleuri", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-chinese-thorowax", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-chinese-thorowax" } }, { "pinyin": "Gan Cao", "grams": "6", "role": "envoy", "job": "Licorice harmonizes and softens the bitterness.", "herb_slug": "root-of-ural-licorice", "english": "Raw Licorice Root", "chinese": "甘草", "latin": "Radix Glycyrrhizae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-ural-licorice", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-ural-licorice" } } ], "actions": [ "Drains Liver and Gallbladder fire", "Clears damp heat from the lower burner" ], "how_it_works": "Gentian, scutellaria, and gardenia put out the fire. Three drainers send the damp heat out through the urine. Rehmannia and angelica are there so the bitter cold herbs do not strip the blood and yin on the way through. Bupleurum aims the whole thing at the Liver channel.", "modifications": [ { "for": "Constipation with the fire", "add": [ "Da Huang" ], "note": "Rhubarb drains the heat through the bowel." }, { "for": "Genital herpes outbreaks", "add": [ "Ban Lan Gen", "Tu Fu Ling" ], "note": "Antiviral and damp-clearing herbs." } ], "cautions": [ "Very bitter and cold. Days to two weeks, then stop. Long use damages the Spleen and dries the yin.", "Mu tong: insist on a brand that uses Chuan Mu Tong (clematis) or Tong Cao. The old substitute Guan Mu Tong is aristolochia, which damages the kidneys and is banned. Reputable brands state which they use.", "Not for a weak Spleen, loose stools, or a cold picture.", "Not for empty heat with a peeled tongue.", "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 ten days." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "jia-wei-xiao-yao-san", "difference": "For Liver heat with stress, not full fire. Gentler and longer." }, { "slug": "huang-lian-jie-du-tang", "difference": "Fire in every organ rather than the Liver channel in particular." }, { "slug": "ba-zheng-san", "difference": "Damp heat in the bladder alone: burning urination without the Liver fire above." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "long-dan-xie-gan-tang", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/long-dan-xie-gan-tang", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Long Dan Xie Gan Wan or Tang with the characters 龙胆泻肝. Ten ingredients led by Gentian. The label must state Chuan Mu Tong or Tong Cao, never Guan Mu Tong (aristolochia).", "note": "Brand choice matters here more than for most formulas because of the mu tong substitution." }, "conditions": [ "headache", "conjunctivitis", "hypochondriac-pain", "urinary-tract-infection", "leukorrhea", "jaundice", "tinnitus", "hypertension", "cholecystitis" ], "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/long-dan-xie-gan-tang", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/long-dan-xie-gan-tang", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }