Hawthorn Fruit Classic Formulas … Natural Herb Library

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Reduces food stagnation - Shan Zha is a classic digestive fruit for fullness, belching, sour accumulation, and poor appetite, especially when greasy or meat-heavy food has become stuck.
Moves blood and disperses stasis - traditional use extends to postpartum abdominal pain, retained lochia, and fixed pain where food stagnation and blood stasis overlap.
Transforms turbidity and eases distention - it is often chosen when accumulative digestive patterns lead to bloating, focal fullness, or a heavy postprandial sensation.
Processed forms shift the emphasis - raw Shan Zha leans toward moving food and blood, while charred forms are more often used when diarrhea follows food stagnation.

Bao He Wan - the classic food-stagnation formula in which Shan Zha is the lead herb for undigested food, epigastric fullness, and sour belching.
Jiao San Xian combinations - charred Shan Zha with charred Shen Qu and charred Mai Ya for stubborn food accumulation and post-overeating distress.
Postpartum stasis formulas with Dang Gui, Hong Hua, or Xiang Fu - traditional pairing strategy when digestive stagnation and blood stasis coexist.

Standard TCM teaching describes Shan Zha as sour, sweet, and slightly warm, entering the Spleen, Stomach, and Liver to reduce food accumulation and invigorate blood.
Materia medica tradition repeatedly notes its particular strength in dispersing meat and greasy-food stagnation, which is one reason it remains so common in digestive formulas.