Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang — Ephedra, Apricot Kernel, Gypsum & Liquorice Decoction
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What is Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang?
Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang — Ephedra, Apricot Kernel, Gypsum and Liquorice Decoction — is the foundational classical formula from the Shang Han Lun for Lung Heat with wheezing. In Chinese herbal medicine it is one of the most important formulas for hot-pattern asthma, acute bronchitis with heat and febrile childhood respiratory infections.
I prescribe Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang as part of bespoke herbal formulas from pharmaceutical-grade granules sourced from Sun Ten in Taiwan.
Ma Xing Shi Gan Tang TCM pattern
Prescribed for Heat lodged in the Lung obstructing Lung Qi: cough with wheezing, fever, sweating, thirst, restlessness, possible flaring of the nostrils, a yellow tongue coat with a red tongue body and a slippery rapid pulse.
Key herbs
- Ma Huang — disperses Lung Qi and arrests wheezing
- Shi Gao (gypsum) — clears intense Lung heat
- Xing Ren — descends Lung Qi and stops cough
- Zhi Gan Cao — harmonises and protects the middle
Formula actions
- Disperses Lung Qi and arrests wheezing
- Clears Lung heat
- Stops cough
Conditions treated
- Hot-pattern asthma with wheeze, thick yellow phlegm, fever and thirst
- Acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis with heat features
- Childhood pneumonia with cough, wheeze and high fever (alongside conventional treatment)
- Acute exacerbation of COPD with heat features
- Croup with hot-cough features
Cautions
Contraindicated in cold-pattern wheezing, Yin-deficient cough, hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, hyperthyroidism and concurrent sympathomimetic drugs (Ma Huang content). Use the formula only while heat-and-wheeze pattern persists. Children should be assessed by a paediatrician for serious respiratory illness; herbal therapy is an adjunct, not a replacement.
Always consult a qualified Chinese herbalist registered with the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM). Online herbal consultations are available.
Prefer to be treated from home? Chinese herbal medicine online consultations are available throughout the UK and worldwide.
