Classic formula · Tonify yin
Yi Wei Tang
益胃汤 Benefit the Stomach Decoction
Five ingredients that put the moisture back into a Stomach that heat has dried out. For the dry mouth that does not want to drink, the missing appetite, the dry retching, and the dry stools that follow a fever or years of Stomach heat, with a tongue peeled bare in the middle.
After a fire goes through a kitchen, you do not cook in it the next day. You wash it down first. This formula is the washing down.
Also sold as: Benefit Stomach Decoction
Who Yi Wei Tang is for
This formula is chosen for one pattern. Match your own picture before you match the name.
Signs it is classically given for
- Dry mouth and throat with little wish to drink
- No appetite after a fever or illness
- Dry retching or hiccups
- Dry stools
- A dull burning in the stomach after eating
- A tongue with the coat peeled off in the middle
- Tongue
- Red with a peeled or absent coat, especially in the middle.
- Pulse
- Thin and rapid.
What is in Yi Wei Tang
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mai Dong Mai Dong Ophiopogon Root Tuber | 15 g | Chief | Ophiopogon moistens the Stomach and generates fluids. |
| Sheng Di Huang Fresh Rehmannia Root | 15 g | Chief | Raw rehmannia cools and nourishes yin. |
| Bei Sha Shen Glehnia Root Use caution | 9 g | Deputy | Glehnia moistens the Stomach and Lung. |
| Yu Zhu Fragrant Solomonseal Rhizome | 5 g | Deputy | Solomon's seal moistens without clogging. |
| Bing Tang Crystal Sugar | 3 g | Envoy | Rock sugar sweetens and moistens the Stomach. |
How Yi Wei Tang works
Four moist, cool tonics and a little rock sugar. There is nothing to drain and nothing to move, because the problem is simply that the fluid is gone. It is the gentlest formula in the yin family and the one to reach for when the tongue has a bare patch in the middle.
Actions in classic terms
- Nourishes Stomach yin
- Generates fluids and moistens dryness
Common changes to Yi Wei Tang
A practitioner rarely gives the bare formula. These are the classic additions for a specific picture.
- Dry retching that will not stop add Zhu Ru, Shi Hu Bamboo shavings settle the stomach; dendrobium feeds its yin.
- Dry stools add Huo Ma Ren Hemp seed moistens the gut.
Cautions with Yi Wei Tang
- Not for a damp Spleen: loose stools, a greasy coat, bloating.
- Not for a cold stomach that likes warm drinks.
- A fresh illness with fever and a thick coat needs its heat cleared first.
Forms and typical dose
Sold as granules, decoction.
- Decoction
- One bag a day in two doses, with the amounts above
- Course
- One to three weeks.
Follow the label of the brand you buy. Pill sizes differ between makers.
Buying Yi Wei Tang
Rarely sold as a patent pill. A practitioner usually prescribes it as granules or a decoction, and it is easy to make from four herbs and rock sugar.
Brand comparisons for formulas live on Supplements Apothecary, the buying side of this library.
Usually a prescribed decoction rather than a shelf product.
Formulas often confused with Yi Wei Tang
- Sha Shen Mai Dong Tang 沙参麦冬汤 Adds Lung herbs for a dry cough and throat on top of the dry Stomach.
- Yu Nu Jian 玉女煎 For heat still burning on the dry base: toothache, bleeding gums, thirst. Cools as well as moistens.
Conditions where Yi Wei Tang comes up
Sources
- Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition Composition, actions, and indications.
- Wu Ju-tong, Wen Bing Tiao Bian, 1798 Source text.
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.