The Formation of Decoctions from Pills and Powder Formulations in Shanhanlun / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

This paper reveals the formation of the decoctions in the Shanhanlun by comparisons of its pills, powders formulations and decoctions. In the early medicine found in the Huatuofang, pills and powder formulations, which have intense diaphoretic, emetic and laxative effects, were adopted. Although the Shanhanlun steers away from these extreme medicines, in the chapter Kebukepian there are two medical indications for such pills and powder formulations for basic treatment, and for such decoctions for relatively complicated symptoms of diseases. Focusing on the decoction preparationsthe doses of the decoctions are related to those of the pills and the powder formulations. In addition, some of the decoction ingredients come from soup or gruel to take with a pill or a powder formulation. These mean that dosage forms are changed from pills and powders, to decoctions in stages. We therefore conclude that the decoctions in the Shanhanlun are derived from pills and powder formulations.