Tao Hong Si Wu Tang桃红四物汤
Four-Substance Decoction with Safflower and Peach Pit
Ingredients2 herbs
Indications
Blood deficiency compounded by blood stasis: there is too little blood, and what remains no longer moves freely. Both halves show at once — pallor and dizziness alongside clots and fixed pain — which is why neither a pure tonic nor a pure blood-breaker fits the case.
Clinical Manifestations
- Painful periods with dark clotted flow
- Late or scanty menses in a pale, tired patient
- Fixed stabbing pain of long-standing stasis
- Dull complexion with dark lips and nail beds
- Slow-clearing bruising in a blood-deficient patient
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Severe cramping with distension — add Xiang Fu 香附 and Wu Yao 乌药
- Cold in the uterus, pain eased by warmth — add Rou Gui 肉桂 and Pao Jiang 炮姜
- Concurrent qi deficiency — add Huang Qi 黄芪 and Ren Shen 人参
- Heat in the blood with early bright-red flow — substitute Sheng Di Huang 生地黄 for Shu Di Huang and Chi Shao 赤芍 for Bai Shao
Contraindications
Contraindicated in pregnancy. Avoid during heavy menstrual bleeding and in bleeding patterns without stasis. Use cautiously where appetite is poor and stools are loose — the rich blood tonics burden a weak Spleen.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Contraindicated in pregnancy — Tao Ren and Hong Hua move blood strongly and are standard pregnancy cautions.
Related Formulas
References
Source 《医垒元戎》，录自《玉机微义》 · Qing
- Classical source (public domain); no passage is quoted here because a verbatim line could not be confirmed.
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.
4. Manufacturer ingredient labels for products sold under this name — retail proportions 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.