Da Bu Yin Wan — Great Tonify the Yin Pill

On this page

1. Overview
2. TCM pattern
3. Key herbs
4. Conditions treated
5. Cautions

Overview

Da Bu Yin Wan — Great Tonify the Yin Pill — is one of the principal formulas for nourishing Kidney Yin and descending the Empty Fire (Xu Huo) that arises when Yin is insufficient to anchor and cool Yang. Created by the great physician Zhu Danxi (1282–1358 CE), it addresses “Yin deficiency with vigorous Fire” — where insufficient Kidney Yin produces a state of relative Yang excess that generates heat signs without an underlying true excess of Heat.

TCM pattern

Da Bu Yin Wan is prescribed for Kidney and Liver Yin deficiency with Empty Fire blazing upward, characterised by: afternoon fever or feeling of heat in the afternoon and evening, heat sensations in the palms, soles and chest (the “five-palm heat”), night sweats, spontaneous seminal emission, tinnitus, dizziness, soreness and weakness in the lower back and knees, a red tongue with little or no coating, and a thin, rapid pulse.

Key herbs

1. Shu Di Huang (prepared Rehmannia root) — the principal Yin-nourishing herb; nourishes Kidney Yin and Essence and generates fluids
2. Gui Ban (Plastrum testudinis) — strongly nourishes Yin and descends Empty Fire; anchors Yang and guides Fire downward
3. Huang Bai (Phellodendron amurense bark) — clears Empty Fire from the Kidney without damaging Yin
4. Zhi Mu (Anemarrhena asphodeloides rhizome) — clears Heat, nourishes Yin and generates fluids; works synergistically with Huang Bai
5. Zhu Ji Sui (pork spinal cord) — nourishes Essence and marrow; tonifies the Kidney at the deepest constitutional level

Conditions treated

1. Menopausal hot flushes and night sweats where Kidney Yin deficiency with Empty Fire is the dominant pattern
2. Insomnia with night sweats and heat sensations from Yin deficiency Empty Heat
3. Tinnitus and hearing decline from Kidney Yin deficiency
4. Afternoon fever and night sweats in chronic deficiency conditions
5. Hyperthyroidism with Yin deficiency Heat pattern

Cautions

Always consult a qualified Chinese herbalist registered with the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM). online herbal consultations are available. See the prices page for costs.