Da An Wan大安丸
Great Tranquility Pill
Ingredients8 herbs
Indications
Food accumulation on a background of Spleen-qi deficiency. Food that is not moved becomes damp and turbid, the damp further burdens an already weak Spleen, and the two feed each other until neither reducing nor tonifying alone resolves it.
Clinical Manifestations
- Chronic or repeatedly returning food accumulation in children
- Poor appetite with a distended, uncomfortable abdomen
- Loose, foul-smelling or undigested stools
- Sour belching and reflux after eating
- Slow weight gain in a child whose digestion has been unreliable for months
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Marked Spleen deficiency — pale, thin, easily tired — increase Bai Zhu 白术 and consider adding Dang Shen 党参
- Trapped food generating more heat — bad breath, yellow coating — increase Lian Qiao 连翘 and add a small amount of Huang Lian 黄连
- Accumulation chiefly of grain and starch — increase Shen Qu 神曲 and add Mai Ya 麦芽
- Cold in the abdomen with watery stools — add Sha Ren 砂仁 or a small amount of Gan Jiang 干姜
- Hard accumulation with constipation — this is no longer the right formula — a guiding-out approach such as Zhi Shi Dao Zhi Wan 枳实导滞丸 fits better
Contraindications
Not for an acute, hard, painful accumulation with constipation and a forceful pulse — that needs a formula that guides the accumulation downward, not one that props up the Spleen. Not a long-term appetite tonic: once the accumulation clears, the prescription should change. Not appropriate where the poor appetite comes from Stomach-yin deficiency, since the drying herbs would make a dry mouth and peeled tongue worse.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Use in pregnancy only under a practitioner's supervision. The dispersing herbs are mild, but Shan Zha and Lai Fu Zi are both downward-moving and are traditionally kept away from early pregnancy and from any threatened miscarriage, and Ban Xia needs a practitioner's judgment before it is given to a pregnant patient. Do not self-prescribe while pregnant.
References
Source Dan Xi Xin Fa 《丹溪心法》 · Yuan
- 《丹溪心法》(classical source, public domain) — the appended-formula record for 保和丸.
2. Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. — composition & dosage cross-checked.
3. 《方剂学》（全国中医药行业高等教育规划教材）— pattern analysis cross-checked.
Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.