🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Viral hepatitis is a global medical challenge, characterized by complex etiology, pathogenesis, and variable symptoms, difficult to diagnose and hard to cure, seriously endangering human health.
To overcome this challenge, after over 30 years of clinical practice, meticulous exploration, and dedicated research, I have developed a relatively complete theoretical system and formulated a highly effective formula, "Chen's Hepatitis Spirit Capsules," for treating hepatitis B.
Based on my extensive clinical experience and symptom analysis, I believe hepatitis B falls within the TCM categories of liver depression, costal pain, jaundice, epidemic febrile disease, and accumulation. Main clinical manifestations include fatigue, poor appetite, nausea, epigastric distension, costal pain, and jaundice. The fundamental cause of viral hepatitis is "toxin" as the root, with "stagnation and stasis" as the basic pathogenesis, transmitted via infection. Overall, the pathogenesis involves latent damp-heat epidemic toxins blocking the spleen and stomach, causing middle-jiao stagnation, dampness transforming into fire, consuming body fluids, leading to liver and kidney yin deficiency. Thus, the pathological basis is imbalance among the liver, spleen, and kidney yin-yang, with pathogenic factors accumulating, damp-heat obstructing qi and blood stasis.
Treatment principle focuses on detoxification, regulating qi, and resolving stasis, combined with syndrome differentiation according to disease progression. It also integrates enhancing immune function, suppressing viruses, improving liver circulation, resisting hepatic fibrosis, and promoting hepatocyte repair. Therapeutic methods emphasize nourishing, softening, and soothing the liver, regulating qi and resolving stasis, supporting healthy qi, clearing heat, promoting diuresis, and detoxifying.
Formula: My self-developed empirical formula, "Chen's Hepatitis Spirit Capsules," shows remarkable efficacy in treating viral hepatitis, gradually eliminating clinical symptoms and positive lab indicators, achieving recovery. It is an excellent TCM remedy for eradicating hepatitis B virus at its root, bringing tremendous social and economic benefits to humanity.
Liver Physiology
As recorded in classics: "East generates wind, wind generates wood, wood generates sour, sour generates liver. Liver corresponds to spring season. When yang energy activates, yin responds accordingly, producing wind. Spring corresponds to wood in the five elements; wood has a sour taste; humans inherit this to form the liver. The liver governs rising and dispersing, regulating blood volume. Its meridians ascend to the top of the head and connect to the brain. When the liver functions normally, it resembles trees in spring—lush, flexible, full of vitality. The liver has yin essence but yang function. 'Essence' generally refers to physical structure or substance; 'function' refers to action and capability. Since the liver stores blood, which is yin, the liver's essence is yin. The liver governs free flow, harbors fire in the form of wood, making it prone to wind and fire transformation. The liver also governs tendon activity. These functions and pathological conditions, analyzed from a yin-yang perspective, lean toward movement and heat, thus belonging to yang. Hence, the concept of "liver has yin essence but yang function." The liver is a rigid organ; it enjoys smoothness and dislikes depression, nor does it tolerate excess. The rigidity of the liver primarily manifests in liver qi. When emotionally stimulated, people easily become irritable and angry—this is excessive liver qi. Conversely, insufficient liver qi leads to fear and anxiety. The liver and gallbladder are mutually related; the liver's rigid function often requires gallbladder cooperation to manifest. Tang Rongchuan said: "The liver stores blood. Blood originates from the heart, descends into the uterus—the blood sea. All bodily blood depends on the blood sea for regulation. If the blood sea is undisturbed, all blood throughout the body follows suit. The liver meridian governs this part, hence the liver stores blood." The liver is the organ storing blood, also governing wind-wood. The gallbladder houses the fire element, connected to the liver. Thus, the liver and gallbladder meridians clearly involve blood and fire. Blood arises from heart fire, transformed by heavenly yang shining upon wood. Human spirit, mental peace, and harmony of qi and blood depend on the liver not being depressed and the gallbladder fire not being excessive. Thus, regulating blood begins with regulating qi, extinguishing fire especially by harmonizing blood. Blood becomes scorched and congealed when affected by pathogenic factors. Thus, blood circulation remains unobstructed and calm only when liver and gallbladder qi and blood are harmonious. If wood becomes depressed and transforms into fire, blood becomes disharmonious; if fire erupts into anger, blood flows uncontrollably—upward causing hematemesis and epistaxis, downward causing melena and hematuria. Tang Rongchuan said: "Liver with stagnant fire causes stabbing pain in chest and flanks," indicating that blood affected by heat can disrupt liver-gallbladder harmony. Summarizing the main functions of the liver:
① Governs Free Flow: Free flow means dispersion and smoothness. It refers to the liver's ability to disperse and regulate. Ancient scholars used the image of wood's vigorous growth to describe normal liver free flow. Thus, free flow represents the liver's gentle, comfortable physiological state—neither depressed nor excessive. The liver's free flow primarily relates to the smoothness of the body's qi movement. Qi movement broadly refers to the dynamic changes of qi, relating to the functional activities of internal organs. If the liver fails to regulate qi, qi movement becomes unbalanced, leading to emotional disturbances—either depression or hyperactivity. Conversely, emotional abnormalities can also cause liver qi stagnation and unbalanced qi movement. Thus, the liver enjoys smoothness and dislikes depression or sudden rage.
② The liver's free flow not only regulates qi movement but also assists in the ascending and descending of spleen and stomach qi and bile secretion. Impaired liver free flow affects digestion and bile secretion, causing indigestion. Liver qi invading the stomach leads to abdominal distension and lack of appetite. Normal liver free flow also facilitates the triple burner and clears water passages. Impaired liver free flow leads to unsmooth qi movement, blood stasis, blocked channels, and impaired fluid metabolism, resulting in ascites.
③ The liver stores blood: The liver has the function of storing blood and regulating blood volume. Liver blood deficiency can cause various disorders. The circulation of liver blood also relies on smooth liver qi movement. If free flow is impaired, qi stagnation and obstruction occur.
Hepatitis B Etiology and Pathogenesis
Viral hepatitis is primarily caused by viruses, transmitted via infection. From an etiological standpoint, it involves both external and internal factors. External factors often stem from exposure to seasonal pathogens, epidemic toxins, and dietary indiscretion. Internal factors arise from weakened vital energy and emotional injury leading to yin-yang imbalance and unsmooth qi movement. External and internal factors interact causally, making disease progression complex.
1. External Invasion by Seasonal Pathogens
Due to abnormal climatic changes—extreme heat, misty fog, dampness not dissipating, darkness—poor environmental conditions, unclean diet, and epidemic toxins, the body contracts external pathogens either through the surface or directly entering the interior. These pathogens become trapped and unresolved, obstructing the middle jiao, impairing spleen and stomach function, disrupting liver free flow, causing unbalanced qi movement, and leading to bile overflow. Bile invades the skin, stains the eyes, and flows into the bladder, resulting in jaundice, yellow eyes, and yellow urine.
2. Damage from Diet and Fatigue
Individuals with pre-existing spleen-stomach weakness or weakened vital energy, overwork, post-illness spleen yang damage, impaired fluid distribution, inadequate postnatal source of nourishment, irregular eating habits, overconsumption of alcohol, or excessive intake of rich, fatty foods damage the spleen and stomach. Spleen dysfunction impairs transformation and transportation of food and fluids, leading to dampness accumulation, qi stagnation transforming into heat, which steams the liver and gallbladder, causing liver yin and blood deficiency or impaired liver free flow.
3. Epidemic Toxins
Epidemic diseases are neither wind, cold, summer heat, nor dampness; they are caused by a unique atmospheric "noxious air" ("li qi"). Transmission occurs via air and contact through mouth and nose.
4. Liver Qi Stagnation
The liver is the "General Official," governing free flow, favoring smoothness and disliking depression. Emotional depression or sudden anger leads to qi stagnation, which transforms into fire, causing excessive liver fire and gallbladder fire, upward inflammation of liver fire, and excessive yang disturbing the nerves. Heat pathogens easily force fluids outward, deplete yin fluids, and deprive tendons of nourishment, leading to internal liver wind. Qi is the commander of blood, blood is the mother of qi. Qi moves when blood moves; qi stagnates when blood stagnates. If the liver fails to maintain smoothness, prolonged qi stagnation or heavy physical strain damages the costal vessels, leading to impaired blood and qi circulation, blood stasis, and obstruction of costal vessels, causing costal pain, abdominal distension, and ascites.
Understanding and Diagnosis of Viral Hepatitis
The etiology of viral hepatitis centers on "toxin" as the root, with "stagnation and stasis" as the fundamental pathogenesis.
TCM believes acute hepatitis often presents with jaundice, primarily due to internal damp-heat. Hepatitis A tends to have more heat than dampness, whereas hepatitis B, with a longer course and stubborn nature, typically features more dampness than heat. However, acute hepatitis is contagious, so it cannot be explained solely by ordinary damp-heat. It results from a unique atmospheric "noxious air," necessitating the concept of epidemic toxins to understand and reveal the essence of acute hepatitis—its etiology is dominated by pathogenic toxins, mostly of damp-heat nature. Thus, damp-heat epidemic toxins invade and accumulate in the middle jiao, causing qi and blood stagnation, manifesting as jaundice, costal pain, and liver enlargement.
After the acute phase, although damp-heat symptoms subside, epidemic toxins remain lingering and unresolved, qi movement still unsmooth, blood circulation still impaired. Over time, qi and blood deficiency ensues, liver essence loses nourishment, evolving into chronic hepatitis. Chronic hepatitis, a prolonged condition, gradually evolves into accumulation, distension, liver fixation, liver failure, and liver cancer.
Pathogenic toxins can also cause coma.
Transformation of Pathogenesis in Viral Hepatitis
Overall, damp-heat epidemic toxins are trapped in the spleen and stomach, causing middle jiao stagnation, dampness transforming into fire, consuming body fluids, leading to liver and kidney yin deficiency. Thus, the pathological foundation is imbalance among liver, spleen, and kidney, with pathogenic factors accumulating, damp-heat obstructing, and qi and blood stasis. Chronic hepatitis carriers remain in a persistent viral state, often due to weakened vital energy, liver yin deficiency, followed by internal invasion and lingering of epidemic toxins, consuming qi and blood, leading to spleen and kidney yang deficiency, qi and yin deficiency, liver yang deficiency, and latent pathogenic toxins.
Therefore, liver diseases can be both deficient and excess. Deficient conditions commonly include liver blood deficiency, liver yin deficiency, and liver yang deficiency. Excess conditions involve excess qi-fire or invasion by damp-heat pathogens, with internal wind and yang disturbance—these are examples of deficiency at the root but excess at the surface.
For treating viral hepatitis, I believe since the etiology is fundamentally "toxin" and the basic pathogenesis is "stagnation and stasis," treatment naturally focuses on detoxification and regulating qi to resolve stasis—targeting the root of the disease. Combined with disease progression and syndrome differentiation, treatment addresses primary symptoms. Clinically, we also enhance immune function, boost immunity to suppress viruses, improve liver circulation, resist hepatic fibrosis, promote hepatocyte repair, and improve liver function, ultimately aiming to enhance the body's immune capacity and eliminate the virus. In summary, TCM treatment of hepatitis B, based on the liver's function and nature and the transformation of pathogenic invasion, emphasizes nourishing the liver, softening the liver, soothing the liver, regulating qi and resolving stasis, supporting healthy qi, clearing heat, promoting diuresis, and detoxifying.
Syndrome Differentiation and Treatment
1. Invasion by Epidemic Toxins:
Symptoms: Pathogenic heat affecting the skin, fever, limb fatigue, chest and flank fullness, lack of appetite, bitter mouth, dry throat, dizziness, wiry pulse, pale coating.
Treatment: Expelling pathogenic heat from the primordial region.
Formula: Da Yuan Yin
Formula Explanation: Areca (Lang Pi), Cardamom (Cao Guo), penetrate and expel pathogenic heat from the primordial region; Scutellaria (Huang Qin), Anemarrhena (Zhi Mu) clear upper-jiao heat; Bupleurum (Chai Hu) resolves Shaoyang, expels stagnated heat; White Peony (Bai Shao), Licorice (Gan Cao) relieve pain and soothe the liver; Magnolia Bark (Chuan Pu) reduces distension and eliminates fullness.
2. Damp-Heat Obstruction in Middle Jiao:
Symptoms: Chest distension, epigastric fullness, nausea, aversion to greasy food, poor appetite, yellowing of skin and eyes, bright yellow complexion, sticky mouth, bitter taste, yellow urine, yellow greasy tongue coating, string-like rapid pulse.
Formula: Long Dan Xie Gan Tang, Yin Chen Hao Tang.
Treatment: Clearing heat and resolving dampness.
Formula Explanation: Gentian (Dan Cao) clears liver and gallbladder damp-heat as the primary herb; Gardenia (Zhi Zi), Scutellaria (Huang Qin) clear heat and dry dampness as secondary herbs; Plantain Seed (Mu Tong), Job's Tears (Che Qian), Hoelen (Ze Xie) promote diuresis and remove dampness; Rehmannia (Sheng Di), Angelica (Dang Gui), Bupleurum (Chai Hu) nourish blood and soothe the liver; Licorice (Gan Cao) harmonizes all herbs; Artemisia (Yin Chen) promotes diuresis and removes jaundice.
3. Liver Qi Stagnation with Spleen Deficiency:
Symptoms: Distension and pain in chest and flanks, chest tightness, sighing, epigastric fullness, depression, reduced appetite, bland taste, fatigue, loose stools, pale tongue with tooth marks on edges, thin coating, deep string-like pulse.
Treatment: Soothing liver, regulating qi, strengthening the spleen.
Formula: Xiao Yao San
Formula Explanation: Bupleurum (Chai Hu) soothes the liver and resolves stagnation; White Peony (Bai Shao), Licorice (Gan Cao) relieve pain and soothe the liver; Angelica (Dang Gui) nourishes blood; Atractylodes (Bai Zhu), Poria (Fu Ling) strengthen the spleen and resolve dampness; Mint (Bo He) releases exterior and penetrates the skin.
4. Liver-Kidney Yin Deficiency:
Symptoms: Dull pain in flanks, worse with exertion, soreness in waist and flanks, dizziness, blurred vision, dry eyes, dry throat, insomnia, frequent dreams, five palms feeling hot, emaciated body, gum bleeding, red tongue with little moisture, fine rapid weak pulse.
Treatment: Nourishing liver and kidney.
Formula: Yi Guan Jian
Formula Explanation: Rehmannia (Sheng Di), Goji Berry (Qi Zi) nourish liver and kidney; Adenophora (Sha Shen), Ophiopogon (Mai Dong), Angelica (Dang Gui) nourish yin and soothe the liver; Cyperus (Chuan Lian Zi) soothes the liver, regulates qi, and relieves pain.
5. Spleen-Liver-Kidney Yang Deficiency:
Symptoms: Cold stomach preferring warmth, cold limbs, fatigue, lower abdominal and lumbar-scapular pain, poor appetite, loose stools, edema in lower limbs, damp cold scrotum or impotence, pale swollen tongue with tooth marks, white coating, deep slow or deep slow pulse.
Treatment: Nourishing blood, warming the interior, reinforcing yang.
Formula: Nuan Gan Jian, Dang Gui Si Ni Tang
Formula Explanation: Ginger (Wei) warms the meridians and dispels cold; Angelica (Dang Gui), White Peony (Bai Shao) nourish blood and harmonize the nutritive aspect; Cinnamon Twig (Gui Zhi) enters the liver and blood, promoting vital energy; Aconite (Fu Zi) warms the kidney and supports yang.
6. Blood Stasis Blocking Collaterals:
Symptoms: Dull complexion, visible red threads or spider veins, stabbing pain in flanks, enlarged liver and spleen with hard texture, spider angiomas, palmar erythema, dark tongue or ecchymoses, fine涩pulse.
Treatment: Removing stasis and unblocking collaterals.
Formula: Xuan Fu Hua Tang
Formula Explanation: Madder Root (Xian Cao) activates blood and unblocks collaterals; Salvia (Dan Shen) activates blood and resolves stasis; Inula Flower (Xuan Fu Hua) soothes the liver, regulates qi, and relieves pain; Green Onion (Cong Bai) warms and opens channels; Honeysuckle (Jin Yin Hua), Forsythia (Lian Qiao), Wild Chrysanthemum (Gong Ying), Dandelion (Di Ding) clear heat, detoxify, and reduce swelling; Angelica (Dang Gui), White Peony (Bai Shao) nourish blood, soothe the liver, and support healthy qi.
Summary: After over 30 years of clinical practice, careful exploration, and dedicated research, I have developed the self-formulated "Chen's Hepatitis Spirit Capsules," a highly effective formula for treating hepatitis B.
This formula helps eliminate clinical symptoms and positive laboratory findings gradually, achieving recovery. It is an excellent TCM remedy for eradicating hepatitis B virus, bringing immense social and economic benefits to humanity.
Deputy Chief Physician: Chen Hua
Address: Old TCM Clinic, Yanyuan Community, Lu Nan District, Tangshan City, Hebei Province
Phone: 0315—2220343 Home: 0315—2565993