This formula was first recorded in 'Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces for Emergencies' (bei ji qian jin yao fang), by Sun Si-miao (end 7th Century), a 30 volume work that, together with an additional 30 volume supplementary work, is a compilation of medical knowledge to that date. The original formula was designed to treat chronic painful obstruction (bi) syndromes, in which the health Qi (zheng qi) has become deficient.

Although meant to treat lower body, it has been shown in clinical studies to be equally effective for chronic arthritic and rheumatic disorders of the upper limbs and neck. The key features are: chronic condition, cold (joints are not red, nor hot to the touch), muscular weakness, wasting and possibly also flaccidity.

The long term effect of retained Wind-Cold-Damp pathogens is to deplete the Qi and Blood as well as the Kidney and Liver Qi. This sets up a vicious cycle in which the pathogens can flourish while the weakened body constitution is less able to expel them and repair the damage. Therefore a balanced mixture of both dispersing and tonifying ingredients is required for the treatment of such conditions. Thus, this formula contains two groups of ingredients:

Herbs that dispel Wind-Cold-Damp pathogens to relieve pain, swelling and inflammation of the joints, e.g. Angelica root (du huo), Gentiana root (qin jiao).

Several groups of tonifying herbs to nourish the Blood and tonify the Liver and Kidney to strengthen the bones, tendons and muscles, e.g. Loranthus stem (sang ji sheng), Eucommia stem bark (du zhong), Rehmannia root (gan di huang), Angelica root (dang gui).

Black Pearl approximate equivalent DU HUO JI SHENG TANG (Du Huo & Loranthus BP009)

• Dispels Wind-Cold-Damp to relieve pain
• Tonifies the Qi and nourishes the Blood
• Tonifies the Liver and Kidney