Classic formula · Reduce food stagnation
Bao He Wan
保和丸 Preserve Harmony Pill
The formula for a stuffed stomach. For food that sits after overeating: fullness and bloating, sour belching, acid, nausea, no wish to eat, and loose stools or constipation, with a thick greasy coat. Seven herbs that digest the backlog and move it along. The day-after-the-feast formula.
A kitchen sink with last night's dinner still in it. Hawthorn and leaven break it up, radish seed and tangerine peel pull the plug, and forsythia keeps it from fermenting into heat on the way out.
Also sold as: Bao He Tang · Citrus and Crataegus Formula · Preserve Harmony Teapills
Who Bao He Wan is for
This formula is chosen for 2 patterns. Match your own picture before you match the name.
Signs it is classically given for
- Fullness and bloating after overeating
- Sour belching, acid, a rotten taste
- Nausea, vomiting undigested food
- No appetite, aversion to food
- Loose foul stools or constipation after a heavy meal
- Indigestion in a child who ate too much
- Bad breath with a thick coat
- Tongue
- Thick greasy coat, white or yellow.
- Pulse
- Slippery.
What is in Bao He Wan
Amounts are the classic decoction range in grams. Patent pills use the same herbs in the same proportion, so read the box for these names.
| Herb | Amount | Role | Job in the formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shan Zha Hawthorn Fruit Use caution | 18 g | Chief | Hawthorn digests meat and greasy food. |
| Shen Qu Medicated Leaven | 6 g | Deputy | Medicated leaven digests grains and alcohol. |
| Lai Fu Zi Radish Seed | 3 g | Deputy | Radish seed digests starches and moves the stuck food down. |
| Ban Xia Raw Pinellia Tuber High caution | 9 g | Assistant | Processed pinellia settles nausea and clears damp. |
| Chen Pi Dried Tangerine Peel | 3 g | Assistant | Tangerine peel moves qi and dries damp. |
| Fu Ling Poria | 9 g | Assistant | Poria drains damp and firms the stool. |
| Lian Qiao Weeping Forsythia Capsule | 3 g | Assistant | Forsythia clears the heat that stuck food ferments into. |
How Bao He Wan works
Three digesters, each for a different kind of food: hawthorn for meat and fat, leaven for grain and drink, radish seed for starch and gas. Pinellia and tangerine peel settle and move. Poria drains. A little forsythia stops the pile from heating. It is the plainest formula in the pharmacy and one of the most useful.
Actions in classic terms
- Reduces food stagnation and harmonizes the Stomach
Common changes to Bao He Wan
A practitioner rarely gives the bare formula. These are the classic additions for a specific picture.
- Constipation with the fullness add Da Huang, Bing Lang Rhubarb and areca to move the bowel.
- A weak Spleen underneath add Bai Zhu This becomes Da An Wan, for a child who is both weak and stuffed.
- Heat with a yellow coat add Huang Lian A pinch of coptis.
Cautions with Bao He Wan
- For the stuffed stomach, not the weak one. If there is no backlog, it has nothing to do and can wear the Spleen down.
- Short courses: a few days after overeating, then stop.
- Pinellia must be processed.
- Pregnancy: use only under a qualified practitioner.
Forms and typical dose
Sold as teapills, concentrated tablets, granules.
- Teapills
- 8 pills, three times a day after meals, the usual label dose
- Course
- One to five days.
Follow the label of the brand you buy. Pill sizes differ between makers.
Buying Bao He Wan
The box reads Bao He Wan with the characters 保和丸. Seven ingredients led by Hawthorn, with Medicated leaven and Radish seed.
Brand comparisons for formulas live on Supplements Apothecary, the buying side of this library.
Formulas often confused with Bao He Wan
- Ping Wei San 平胃散 Dries damp in the stomach rather than digesting food. For heaviness and a greasy coat without the sour belching.
- Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang 香砂六君子汤 For the weak, bloated stomach that cannot keep up; tonifies rather than digests.
Conditions where Bao He Wan comes up
Sources
- Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition Composition, actions, indications, and modifications.
Important Note
Formula pages describe classic use so you can read a label, ask a better question, and find the right monographs. They are education, not a prescription. A formula that fits the wrong pattern can make things worse, so match the picture first.