Wu Zhu Yu Tang吴茱萸汤
Evodia Decoction
Ingredients4 herbs
Indications
Deficiency cold of the Liver and Stomach with turbid yin rising. The vomiting comes neither from heat nor from food stagnation but from cold that a weak middle burner can no longer hold down, so warming and supplementing have to be done in the same prescription.
Clinical Manifestations
- Nausea or vomiting soon after eating
- Vomiting of clear watery fluid and thin drool
- Headache at the top of the head with nausea
- Epigastric fullness and dull pain relieved by warmth
- Vomiting with diarrhea and cold hands and feet
- Restlessness with cold extremities in a depleted patient
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Severe vomiting — add Jiang Ban Xia 姜半夏 and Chen Pi 陈皮
- Vertex headache predominant — add Chuan Xiong 川芎 to lead the action upward
- Marked interior cold with cold limbs — add Gan Jiang 干姜, or prepared Fu Zi Fu Zi (Zhi) under supervision
- Sour reflux with some knotted heat — pair a small amount of Huang Lian 黄连 with Wu Zhu Yu — the Zuo Jin Wan pairing
Contraindications
Not for vomiting or headache from heat: reflux with a bitter taste, thirst, a red tongue and a rapid pulse will be made worse. Wu Zhu Yu is acrid, hot and drying, is unsuitable for yin-deficient patients, and is not taken continuously over long periods; in excess it is irritating, so the dose and course belong to the practitioner.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Wu Zhu Yu is acrid, hot and irritating in excess, and pregnancy is a standard caution for it. The formula does have a traditional use for severe cold-type morning sickness, but that is a supervised prescription — it is not to be taken in pregnancy on one's own judgment, and persistent vomiting in pregnancy needs medical assessment.
References
Source Shang Han Lun 《伤寒论》 · Eastern Han
「干呕，吐涎沫，头痛者，吴茱萸汤主之。」
- 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.