State/School

California License Exam, Pacific College Comps

Pharm Name

Astragali Radix

Common Name

Astragalus

Category

Tonify the Qi

Ingredients

Taste

Sweet

Pao Zhi

Dry-fried to enhance its warming and tonifying properties for the Spleen and Stomach. Honey-prepared to induce the herb to travel deeper internally, and to specifically tonify and raise the clear qi of the middle burner; somewhat moistening, thus more appropriate when the pattern involves blood deficiency or dryness of the Spleen.

Temperature

Slightly Warm

Action / Indication

1. Tonifies the Spleen qi: used for lack of appetite, fatigue, diarrhea, easy bruising, shortness of breath, prolonged uterine bleeding, lassitude, and sallow complexion.
2. Raises yang qi of the Spleen and Stomach: used for prolapse of the uterus, stomach, or rectum.
3. Tonifies the Wei qi : used to boost the immune system and tonify the Lungs to treat frequent colds, shortness of breath, low breathy voice, and spontaneous sweating.
4. Tonifies qi: used to treat sudden qi collapse with profuse sweating, sudden drop in blood pressure, pallor, icy extremeties, and loss of consciousness due to shock or heavy blood loss, and to help cancer patients recover from chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
5. Tonifies qi and blood: used for post partum fever due to qi and blood deficiency, and in the recovery stage from severe loss of blood. Also treats low-grade fever due to qi deficiency, and numbness and pain due to blood deficiency, as well as recovery post-stroke when deficient symptoms present.
6. Stimulates urination and reduces edema: used to restore healthy fluid circulation to treat edema from deficiency with heaviness in the limbs.
7. Expels pus and heals the skin: used to treat chronic ulcers and sores due to deficiency that have formed pus but have not drained or healed well.
8. Treats wasting and thirsting syndrome: used to treat polyuria with thirst and fatigue.

Treatment Principles

Tonifies Spleen Qi
Raises the Yang Qi
Tonifies Wei Qi
Tonifies Qi and Blood
Treats Qi Collapse
Helps Recover from Chemotherapy and Radiation
Promotes Urination and Reduces Edema
Expels Pus and Heals the Skin
Treats Wasting and Thirsting Syndrome

Contraindication

Contraindicated in cases of exterior excess (Liver fire, qi stagnation, damp obstruction,food stagnation), exterioir pathogen, yin deficiency heat, lower jiao cold, and hot skin lesions. Use with caution for pregnant women in the third trimester (may reduce amniotic fluid).

Dosages

9-30g; in exceptional cases, 30-60g. Use raw or honey-fried.

Meridians

LU, SP

Tom's Comment

1. Huang Qi tonifies the Wei Qi (Defensive Qi) to strengthen our body's defenses against external evil.
2. Huang Qi is very common soup stock in TCM culture to tonify Spleen Qi and overall Zheng Qi.

Source

Formula Type