ABSTRACT
Recently we treated two patients with Toki-shigyaku-ka-goshuyu-shokyo-to-ka-uzu decocted with 400ml of water and 400ml of rice wine SAKE for 60 minutes.<br>Case 1 was a 46-year-old female patient. Feelings of coldness prevented her from sleeping, and she could not get to sleep without warming up the room and heating her arms with a dryer. After boiling Toki-shigyaku-ka-goshuyu-shokyo-to-ka-uzu with sake, she was able to sleep well.<br>Case 2 was a 65-year-old male patient who had been suffering from polyarthralgia, low back pain and feelings of coldness. After taking Toki-shigyaku-ka-goshuyu-shokyo-to-ka-uzu boiled with sake, he felt numbness around the lips and limbs, although the amount of aconiti tuber was not changed.<br>It is believed that SAKE heats and enhances Yang-Ki in Kampo formulas. These characteristics are the same as those produced by aconiti tuber. At first, we suspected that aconiti tuber and alcohol combined synergistically and could therefore give rise to occurrences of aconiti poisoning. But ethanol, in amounts comparable to the alcohol content in sake, did not create this effect. The effect was dependent on the sake itself rather than the alcohol.