Home >> Open Courses >> Science of prescriptions

Longdan Xiegan Tang (Decoction of Gentian for Purging Liver Fire)
龙胆泻肝汤

【Ingredients】
Longdancao (Radix Gentianae) (fried with wine) 6g ----monarch drug
Huangqin (Radix Scutellariae) (fried with wine) 9g ----minister drug
Zhizi (Fructus Gardeniae) (fried with wine) 9g ----minister drug
Zexie (Rhizoma Alismatis) 9g ----adjuvant drug
Mutong (Caulis Akebiae) 6g ----adjuvant drug
Cheqianzi (Radix Plantaginis) (fried with wine) 3g ----adjuvant drug
Danggui (Radix Angelicae Sinensis) (fried with wine) 3g ---adjuvant drug
Shengdihuang (Radix Rehmanniae) (fried with wine) 6g ----adjuvant drug
Chaihu (Radix Bupleuri) 6g ----adjuvant drug
Shenggancao (Radix Glycyrrhizae) 6g ----guiding drug
【Administration】
Decoct the drugs in water for oral use.
【Actions】
Purging excessive fire from the liver and gallbladder, removing damp-heat from the lower energizer.
【Clinical application】
Longdan Xiegan Tang (Decoction of Gentian for Purging Liver Fire) is used for upward attack of excessive fire in liver and gallbladder or downward flow of damp-heat from the liver meridian, manifested as headache, conjunctival congestion, hypochondriac pain, bitter taste in mouth, deafness, pain and bulge of ear, or marked by stranguria with turbid urine, pruritus and swelling of vulva, and leukorrhagia, red tongue with thick yellowish tongue coating, taut and rapid pulse.
It is applicable to  diseases with fire of excess type in liver meridian and damp-heat syndrome as intractable migraine, hypertension, acute conjunctivitis, furuncle of external auditory canal, acute pyelonephritis, acute icterohepatitis, acute cholecystitis, urethritis, vulvitis, bubo, and acute pelvic inflammation.