San Zi Yang Qin Tang三子养亲汤
Three-Seed Decoction to Nourish One's Parents
Ingredients3 herbs
Indications
Phlegm obstructing with rebellious qi and food stagnation. The three sit together and reinforce one another: undigested food breeds phlegm, phlegm blocks qi, and blocked qi rebels upward as cough and wheeze.
Clinical Manifestations
- Cough and wheeze with copious phlegm in older adults
- Chest fullness with belching and poor digestion
- Reduced appetite with a greasy tongue coating
- Phlegm-type wheeze worse after eating
- Chronic productive cough with abdominal distension
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Phlegm dominant — Bai Jie Zi 白芥子 is made the largest of the three
- Wheeze and rebellious qi dominant — Zi Su Zi 紫苏子 is made the largest of the three
- Food stagnation dominant — Lai Fu Zi 莱菔子 is made the largest, and Shan Zha 山楂 may be added
- Cold signs marked, sputum clear and thin — Gan Jiang 干姜 and Xi Xin 细辛 are added per pattern, or the formula is combined with Ling Gan Wu Wei Jiang Xin Tang
Contraindications
Not for a dry cough with little sputum, and not for a chronic cough from qi or yin deficiency — all three seeds disperse, and a weak patient loses ground on them. Stop once the phlegm and the fullness resolve rather than continuing out of habit. Lai Fu Zi is traditionally held to weaken the effect of ginseng, so it is not given at the same time as a Ren Shen-based tonic. Use cautiously with loose stools.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Use in pregnancy only on a practitioner's decision. None of the three seeds is a classical abortifacient, but all three move qi downward and disperse, and Lai Fu Zi in particular breaks qi, which is not what a pregnancy needs. Cough and indigestion in pregnancy are treated with a gentler prescription.
References
Source 《皆效方》，录自《杂病广要》 · Ming
「各微炒，击碎，看何证多，则以所主者为君，余次之。」
- Classical source (public domain) — 《韩氏医通》, Ming dynasty, 韩懋.
2. 《方剂学》（全国中医药行业高等教育规划教材）— 祛痰剂·温化寒痰, pattern analysis cross-checked.
3. Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. — composition & dosage cross-checked.
4. Chinese Pharmacopoeia monographs on 白芥子, 紫苏子 and 莱菔子 — dose ranges and preparation.
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.