🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Shangzha Wine
[Drug Composition] Hawthorn, white wine
[Function and Indication] Overwork, body pain, fatigue, dysmenorrhea. Also aids digestion and lowers blood lipids.
[Usage and Dosage] Twice daily, 10–20ml each time. The remaining hawthorns can be mixed with sugar and eaten.
[Preparation Method] Wash dry hawthorns, remove pits, place in a 500g narrow-necked bottle about halfway full, add 60% alcohol to fill (approx. 300ml), seal the bottle, shake once daily, ready to drink after one week. Add more alcohol (200ml) as needed during use.
[Source] "Popular Herbal Cuisine", "Collection of Medicinal Food Recipes"
Comment: Modern pharmacological studies show that hawthorn increases digestive enzymes in gastric juice, aids digestion, and has mild lipid-lowering effects. Ethanol extracts injected intravenously into rabbits cause a slow, sustained drop in blood pressure.
Guiqi Wine
[Drug Composition] 150g each of Angelica sinensis and Astragalus membranaceus, 100g of red dates, 500ml of wine
[Function and Indication] Dysmenorrhea.
[Usage and Dosage] Take 10ml each time, three times daily. One course lasts seven days, start taking five days before menstruation.
[Preparation Method] Wash Angelica sinensis and Astragalus membranaceus, slice them, add 100g of red dates into a silk bag, place in the wine container, cover and seal.
[Source] "Chinese Dietary Therapy"
[Note] 1. Each batch can be used for three courses. 2. Suitable for women who can consume alcohol.
Comment: This formula is based on Li Dongyuan’s “Angelica Sinensis Blood Tonic Decoction” with added red dates. The original “Angelica Sinensis Blood Tonic Decoction” uses five times more Astragalus than Angelica, aiming to tonify yang and achieve yin growth through yang stimulation. In this formula, Angelica and Astragalus are equal in dosage, aiming to enhance blood activation and achieve “unblocking leads to no pain” by tonifying qi and activating blood, suitable for qi deficiency causing menstrual arrest.
Xuanhu Wine
[Drug Composition] Corydalis yanhusuo (roasted and ground into powder)—one tael
[Function and Indication] Pain due to qi and blood stagnation affecting the chest and ribs in women; applicable for dysmenorrhea.
[Usage and Dosage] Warmly take an appropriate amount.
[Preparation Method] Roast Corydalis yanhusuo until fragrant, then steep in one sheng of clear wine.
[Source] Ming Dynasty, "Yifang Kao"
Comment: "Compendium of Materia Medica" states: "Corydalis yanhusuo can move stagnant qi and blood in the body, thus specifically treating pain throughout the body. When used appropriately, its effect is marvelous."
Danggui Xuanhu Wine
[Drug Composition] 15g each of Angelica sinensis, Corydalis yanhusuo, processed myrrh, Carthamus tinctorius
[Function and Indication] Abdominal distension and pain before menstruation.
[Usage and Dosage] Take one cup warm on an empty stomach morning and evening.
[Preparation Method] Crush the four herbs together, wrap in gauze, soak in 1000ml of white wine in a clean container. Use after one week.
[Source] Jin Dynasty, "Rumen Shiqin"
Liu Jiniu Wine
[Drug Composition] Liu Jiniu, licorice, equal amounts
[Function and Indication] Break blood stasis, promote menstruation, relieve pain; suitable for dysmenorrhea.
[Usage and Dosage] Warmly drink before meals, as much as desired.
[Preparation Method] Crush both herbs finely. Take 10ml each time, first boil with two small cups of water until reduced to one small cup, then add one small cup of wine, boil again until reduced to one small cup, remove residue.
[Source] "Selected Effective Recipes of Medicinal Wines"
Honghua Wine
[Drug Composition] 100g of safflower, 400ml of 60% alcohol
[Function and Indication] Treat blood stasis-induced dysmenorrhea in women; also useful for trauma, rheumatoid arthritis, and coronary heart disease.
[Usage and Dosage] Must take 10ml; can also be diluted with 10ml of cool water and add appropriate amount of brown sugar.
[Preparation Method] Place washed safflower (100mg) in a narrow-necked bottle, add 400ml of 60% alcohol, soak for one week, shake once daily.
[Source] "Popular Herbal Cuisine", "Compilation of Chinese Medicine Preparations"
Huajiao Wine
[Drug Composition] 1g of white pepper, one cup of white wine
[Function and Indication] Warm the middle burner, relieve pain. Suitable for dysmenorrhea and abdominal pain due to spleen-stomach deficiency-cold with vomiting of clear fluid.
[Usage and Dosage] Heat the wine and take orally.
[Precautions] Avoid use in cases of yin deficiency with false heat.
[Source] "Chinese Dietary Therapy"
Hu Tao Wine
[Drug Composition] 500g of walnut shells, 1000ml of yellow wine, 250g of brown sugar
[Function and Indication] Dysmenorrhea, hernia pain, lower back and leg pain.
[Usage and Dosage] Take 10ml each time, twice daily.
[Preparation Method] Crush walnut shells, place in a container, pour in yellow wine, cover and seal for 2–3 weeks, filter the wine, re-add brown sugar, boil until dissolved (just one boil), bottle and store.
[Precautions] Start taking five days before menstruation for dysmenorrhea.
[Source] Ming Dynasty, "Puji Fang"; "Chinese Dietary Therapy"