Honey-Fried Hedysarum Root Classic Formulas … Natural Herb Library

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Tonifies Spleen and Lung Qi ... Zhi Hong Qi is the honey-fried Hedysarum lane used when fatigue, weak appetite, and reduced defensive Qi call for a gentler regional tonic herb.
Strengthens the exterior and supports recovery from deficiency ... it is used for weak resistance, spontaneous sweating, and recurrent depletion patterns in the same general clinical territory as Huang Qi.
Promotes urination and reduces edema from Qi deficiency ... the prepared form supports fluid transformation when swelling reflects weak Qi rather than excess obstruction.
Supports tissue repair and recovery ... traditional use extends to helping sores discharge and knit when underlying Qi weakness slows healing.

Yu Ping Feng San adaptation logic ... Hong Qi is used regionally in Huang Qi's defensive-Qi role when consolidating the exterior and reducing spontaneous sweating.
Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang adaptation logic ... the prepared Hong Qi lane can stand in for stronger Qi tonics when raising clear Yang and supporting the middle burner.
Dang Gui Bu Xue Tang substitution logic ... Hong Qi may appear in regional blood-and-Qi rebuilding strategies where a Huang Qi-like tonic is desired.

Chinese Pharmacopoeia lists Hong Qi separately from Huang Qi even though the trade names overlap and substitution occurs in regional practice.
Northwest materia medica traditions especially in Gansu treat Hong Qi as a recognized tonic-root medicine rather than a mere misidentified Huang Qi.
Modern inference ... most modern studies investigate Radix Hedysari or Hedysarum polysaccharides rather than the honey-fried slice specifically, so the research section below is applied from the broader Hong Qi material to this prepared form.