Classic formula · Tonify yin
Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan
知柏地黄丸 Anemarrhena, Phellodendron and Rehmannia Pill
Liu Wei Di Huang Wan with two cooling herbs added. For Kidney yin deficiency that has started to run hot: night sweats, hot palms and soles, a dry mouth that wakes you, loose teeth with gums that bleed a little, and red cheeks in the afternoon.
A pot with an inch of water spits and hisses. This formula adds water and turns the flame down at the same time.
Also sold as: Zhi Bo Di Huang Wan · Eight Flavor Rehmannia Teapills · Ba Wei Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan
Who Zhi Bai Di Huang 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
- Night sweats
- Hot palms, hot soles, a warm chest in the evening
- Dry mouth and throat at night
- Loose teeth and bleeding gums from empty heat
- Steaming-bone sensation, a heat that feels deep
- Nocturnal emissions
- Ringing in the ears
- Sore low back and knees
- Dark scanty urine, or burning urination from damp heat on a yin-deficient base
- Restless sleep, irritability
- Tongue
- Red, often peeled, with little or no coat.
- Pulse
- Thin and rapid.
What is in Zhi Bai Di Huang 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shu Di Huang Prepared Rehmannia Root Use caution | 24 g | Chief | Prepared rehmannia refills Kidney yin and essence. |
| Shan Zhu Yu Asiatic Cornelian Cherry Fruit | 12 g | Deputy | Cornelian cherry holds the essence in and stops the leaking sweat. |
| Shan Yao Chinese Yam Rhizome | 12 g | Deputy | Chinese yam steadies the Spleen and Kidney. |
| Ze Xie Rhizome of Oriental Waterplantain | 9 g | Assistant | Water plantain drains dampness so the tonic does not stagnate. |
| Mu Dan Pi Tree Peony Bark Use caution | 9 g | Assistant | Tree peony bark cools the blood and clears rising heat. |
| Fu Ling Poria | 9 g | Assistant | Poria leaches dampness and supports digestion. |
| Zhi Mu Rhizome of Common Anamarrhena | 6 g | Assistant | Anemarrhena clears empty heat while moistening. |
| Huang Bai Phellodendron Bark | 6 g | Assistant | Phellodendron drains heat from the lower body and the Kidney. |
How Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan works
The six base herbs fill the Kidney and keep the tonic moving. Zhi Mu and Huang Bai are the cooling pair. They clear the heat that flares when yin is too low to hold it down, without the harshness of the strong fire-draining herbs, so the formula can be taken for weeks rather than days.
Actions in classic terms
- Enriches yin and clears empty heat
- Drains deficiency fire from the Kidney
Common changes to Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan
A practitioner rarely gives the bare formula. These are the classic additions for a specific picture.
- Loose teeth and receding gums add Gu Sui Bu, Niu Xi The bone mender firms the tooth socket; Niu Xi carries the formula down to the teeth and low back.
- Heavy night sweats add Fu Xiao Mai, Mu Li Light wheat and oyster shell hold the sweat in.
- Insomnia with the heat rising to the Heart add Suan Zao Ren, Bai Zi Ren Settles the Heart for sleep.
Cautions with Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan
- Cooling. Not for a cold picture: cold hands and feet, pale face, clear urine, loose stools. That person needs the warming cousin.
- If stools loosen or appetite drops, the Spleen is objecting. Take it with food, and if that does not settle it, step down to plain Liu Wei Di Huang Wan.
- Once the night sweats and hot palms are gone, step down to the plain base formula. The cooling pair is for the heat, not for the long run.
- Pause during an acute cold or flu.
- Pregnancy: use only under a qualified practitioner.
Forms and typical dose
Sold as teapills, concentrated tablets, granules, decoction.
- Teapills
- 8 pills, three times a day with warm water, the usual label dose
- Decoction
- One bag a day in two doses, with the amounts above
- Course
- Two to three months, then reassess the tongue and step down to Liu Wei when the heat signs are gone.
Follow the label of the brand you buy. Pill sizes differ between makers.
Buying Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan
The box reads Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan with the characters 知柏地黄丸. The ingredient list shows eight herbs and the two that matter are Anemarrhena (zhi mu) and Phellodendron (huang bai). If it lists Cinnamon and Aconite instead, that is the warming cousin and the wrong bottle for a hot, dry picture. Plum Flower, made by Lanzhou Foci, is the widely sold tested brand.
Brand comparisons for formulas live on Supplements Apothecary, the buying side of this library.
Formulas often confused with Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan
- Liu Wei Di Huang Wan 六味地黄丸 The same formula without Zhi Mu and Huang Bai. Use it once the heat signs clear, or from the start when there are no heat signs.
- Da Bu Yin Wan 大补阴丸 Heavier on both sides: tortoise shell for deep yin and the same cooling pair in larger amounts. For strong steaming heat and night sweats that soak the sheets.
- Yu Nu Jian 玉女煎 For heat in the Stomach channel on a yin-deficient base: toothache and bleeding gums with real thirst. Yu Nu Jian cools the Stomach; Zhi Bai cools the Kidney.
- Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan 金匮肾气丸 The opposite cousin: warming herbs instead of cooling ones. Some boxes label it Ba Wei Di Huang Wan, and Zhi Bai is sometimes called Eight Flavor too, so read the ingredient list.
Conditions where Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan comes up
Sources
- Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition Listed as a modification of Liu Wei Di Huang Wan with composition and indications.
- Yi Zong Jin Jian, 1742 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.