{ "slug": "sha-shen-mai-dong-tang", "names": { "pinyin": "Sha Shen Mai Dong Tang", "chinese": "沙参麦冬汤", "english": "Glehnia and Ophiopogon Decoction", "alternate": [ "Sha Shen Mai Men Dong Tang", "Glehnia and Ophiopogon Combination" ] }, "category": "treat-dryness", "source": { "text": "Wen Bing Tiao Bian (Systematic Differentiation of Warm Pathogen Diseases)", "author": "Wu Ju-tong", "dynasty": "Qing", "year": "1798" }, "summary": "A light, moistening formula for dryness in the Lung and Stomach: a dry tickly cough with little phlegm, a dry throat, thirst, and a dry mouth, usually after a fever or in a dry autumn. Gentle enough for a child and short enough to take for a week or two.", "picture": "This is a glass of water for the Lung and Stomach after a hot day. Nothing heavy, nothing that builds. It just puts the moisture back.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "lung-yin-deficiency", "role": "light", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/lung-yin-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/lung-yin-deficiency" } }, { "slug": "stomach-yin-deficiency", "role": "with dry throat", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/stomach-yin-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/stomach-yin-deficiency" } } ], "indications": [ "Dry cough with little phlegm after a fever or cold", "Dry throat and mouth, thirst", "Hoarse voice", "Dry cough in dry heated rooms or in autumn", "Poor appetite with a dry mouth after an illness", "Low fever that lingers after a warm illness" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Red and dry with little coat.", "pulse": "Thin and slightly rapid." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Bei Sha Shen", "grams": "9", "role": "chief", "job": "Glehnia moistens the Lung and Stomach and clears mild heat.", "herb_slug": "glehnia-root", "english": "Glehnia Root", "chinese": "北沙参", "latin": "Radix Glehniae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/glehnia-root", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/glehnia-root" } }, { "pinyin": "Mai Dong", "grams": "9", "role": "chief", "job": "Ophiopogon moistens the Lung, Stomach, and throat.", "herb_slug": "root-of-dwarf-lilyturf-3", "english": "Mai Dong Ophiopogon Root Tuber", "chinese": "麦冬", "latin": "Radix Ophiopogonis", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-dwarf-lilyturf-3", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-dwarf-lilyturf-3" } }, { "pinyin": "Yu Zhu", "grams": "6", "role": "deputy", "job": "Solomon's seal moistens without clogging.", "herb_slug": "fragrant-solomonseal-rhizome", "english": "Fragrant Solomonseal Rhizome", "chinese": "玉竹", "latin": "Rhizoma Polygonati Odorati", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/fragrant-solomonseal-rhizome", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/fragrant-solomonseal-rhizome" } }, { "pinyin": "Sang Ye", "grams": "5", "role": "deputy", "job": "Mulberry leaf clears the last of the heat from the Lung.", "herb_slug": "mulberry-leaf", "english": "Mulberry Leaf", "chinese": "桑叶", "latin": "Folium Mori", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/mulberry-leaf", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/mulberry-leaf" } }, { "pinyin": "Tian Hua Fen", "grams": "5", "role": "assistant", "job": "Trichosanthes root generates fluids and eases thirst.", "herb_slug": "root-of-pedateleaf-snakegourd", "english": "Root of Pedateleaf Snakegourd", "chinese": "天花粉", "latin": "Radix Trichosanthis", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-pedateleaf-snakegourd", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-pedateleaf-snakegourd" } }, { "pinyin": "Bai Bian Dou", "grams": "5", "role": "assistant", "job": "Hyacinth bean supports the Spleen so the moist herbs digest.", "herb_slug": "white-hyacinth-bean", "english": "White Hyacinth Bean", "chinese": "白扁豆", "latin": "Semen Lablab Album", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/white-hyacinth-bean", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/white-hyacinth-bean" } }, { "pinyin": "Gan Cao", "grams": "3", "role": "envoy", "job": "Licorice soothes the throat and harmonizes.", "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": [ "Clears and nourishes the Lung and Stomach", "Generates fluids and moistens dryness" ], "how_it_works": "Four moistening herbs refill the Lung and Stomach fluids. Mulberry leaf clears the lingering heat that caused the dryness. Hyacinth bean and licorice keep the Spleen happy so the moist herbs do not sit heavily. It is a formula for the aftermath of heat, not for a deep deficiency.", "modifications": [ { "for": "A cough that lingers", "add": [ "Chuan Bei Mu", "Xing Ren" ], "note": "Fritillary and apricot kernel to settle the cough." }, { "for": "Strong thirst", "add": [ "Shi Hu" ], "note": "Dendrobium for Stomach fluids." } ], "cautions": [ "Not for a wet cough with thick phlegm, or a cough with chills from wind-cold.", "Not for a damp Spleen with loose stools and a greasy coat.", "If the cough does not change in two weeks, the pattern is deeper than dryness and the formula should change." ], "forms": [ "granules", "decoction" ], "typical_dose": { "decoction": "One bag a day in two doses, with the amounts above", "granules": "As the label directs, usually twice a day", "course": "One to two weeks." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "bai-he-gu-jin-tang", "difference": "Deeper and richer, for a long dry cough with blood-streaked phlegm and Kidney signs." }, { "slug": "yi-wei-tang", "difference": "The Stomach-only sibling: dry mouth and no appetite after a fever, without the cough." }, { "slug": "mai-wei-di-huang-wan", "difference": "A Kidney tonic with Lung herbs, for the chronic dry cough of an older dry person." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "sha-shen-mai-dong-tang", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/sha-shen-mai-dong-tang", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Sha Shen Mai Dong Tang with the characters 沙参麦冬汤. Seven ingredients beginning with Glehnia and Ophiopogon. Usually sold as granules." }, "conditions": [ "dry-cough", "cough", "pharyngitis", "sore-throat", "fever" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Composition, actions, indications, and cautions." }, { "title": "Wu Ju-tong, Wen Bing Tiao Bian, 1798", "note": "Source text." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/sha-shen-mai-dong-tang", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/sha-shen-mai-dong-tang", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }