Ge Hua Jie Cheng Tang葛花解酲汤
Kudzu Flower Decoction to Relieve Alcohol Injury
Ingredients13 herbs
Indications
Injury from alcohol with damp accumulating in the middle burner. Wine is sweet, acrid and heating; retained, it becomes damp-heat that blocks the qi dynamic of the Spleen and Stomach and drains their qi at the same time.
Clinical Manifestations
- Hangover with nausea, vomiting and headache
- Chest and abdominal fullness after heavy drinking
- Poor appetite and lassitude following alcohol excess
- Scanty urination with a greasy coating after drinking
- Habitual drinkers with a weakened, damp middle burner
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Marked heat — thirst, bitter taste, yellow coating — add Huang Lian 黄连 in a small amount and reduce Gan Jiang 干姜
- Vomiting predominant — add Ban Xia 半夏 and Sheng Jiang 生姜
- Food accumulation alongside the alcohol — add Shan Zha 山楂 and Mai Ya 麦芽
- Constitution not deficient — reduce or omit Ren Shen 人参
Contraindications
Not for alcohol injury that has already turned into full damp-heat with jaundice, high fever or vomiting of blood — those need urgent medical assessment, not a sobering formula. The drying and warming herbs are wrong where there is yin deficiency with a red peeled tongue. It treats an episode; persistent liver disease, repeated vomiting or any suspicion of alcohol dependence needs medical care rather than a herbal remedy, and the formula should never become a routine that supports continued heavy drinking.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Not used in pregnancy as a routine remedy. Alcohol is itself contraindicated during pregnancy, so the situation this formula addresses should not arise; if a pregnant patient has been drinking, that needs medical assessment rather than a herbal sobering prescription. Qing Pi and Mu Xiang are strongly qi-moving and are used in pregnancy only on a practitioner's decision.
References
Source 《内外伤辨惑论》 · Jin
「治饮酒太过，呕吐痰逆，心神烦乱，胸膈痞塞，手足战摇，饮食减少，小便不利。」
- Classical source (public domain), cited in the source-quote section.
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.