Source: Zhengzhi Zhunsheng ( Standards of Diagnosis and Treatment).
  
Ingredients :
No. 1 Chaobaizhu ( Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephatae) (baked)75 g;
No. 2 Muxiang (Radix Aucklandiae)22.5 g;
No. 3 Huanglian (Rhizoma Coptidis) (parched with wine)22.5 g;
No. 4 Gancao (Radix Glycyrrhizae)22.5 g;
No. 5 Fuling (Poria)60 g;
No. 6 Renshen (Radix Ginseng)45 g;
No. 7 Chaoshenqu (Massa Fermetata Medicinalis ) (baked)30 g;
No. 8 Chenpi (Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae)30 g;
No. 9 Sharen (Fructus Amoni)30 g;
No. 10 Chaomaiya ( Fructus Hordei Germinatus ) (baked)30 g;
No. 11 Shanzha (Fructus Crataegi)30 g;
No. 12 Shanyao (Rhizoma Dioscoreae)30 g;
No. 13 Roudoukou (Semen Myristicae)30 g.
  
Administration:
Grind the above drugs into fine powder before steaming and making it into pills. Take 9 g each time and twice or 3 times daily with warm boiled water or old rice gruel before meals. Or decoct them in water with dosages in proportion to the original recipe.

Actions:
Reinforcing the spleen and regulating the stomach, promoting digestion and arresting diarrhea.

Clinical Application:
This recipe is indicated for food stagnancy due to weakness of the spleen, marked by poor appetite and indigestion, epigastric and abdominal distention and fullness, loose stool, greasy yellowish fur,feeble pulse. It is applicable to chronic gastritis, chronic enteritis, dyspepsia and others, which pertain to indigestion due to weakness of the spleen and stomach. If concomitant with yang deficiency, cold sensation and pain of the epigastrium, aversion to cold and preference for warmth, subtract No. 3 and add Ganjiang (Rhizoma Zingiberis) to warm the middle-energizer and dispel cold. In case of dampness syndrome with diarrhea and thick greasy fur, add Cheqianzi (Semen Plantaginis ) and Zexie (Rhizoma Alismatis) to eliminate dampness by inducing diuresis and arresting diarrhea.
  
Elucidation:
The syndrome is caused by usual weakness of the spleen and stomach, leading to their hypofunction in transporting and digesting food so that dampness and heat are generated when food gets stagnated. This should be treated by reinforcing the spleen and regulating the stomach as well as promoting digestion and arresting diarrhea. No. 11, No. 7 and No. 10 are monarch drugs with the function of promoting digestion, removing stagnancy and regulating the stomach. No. 6, No. 1, No. 5 and No. 4 together, namely the Sijunzi Tang, have the function of supplementing qi and reinforcing the spleen and are used as minister drugs, of which No. 1 and No. 5 with larger dosage are meant to activate the spleen and eliminate dampness so as to relieve diarrhea.

No. 12 and No. 13 have a tonic and astringent effect respectively on the spleen and intestines and promote the function of theminister drugs. No. 2, No. 9 and No. 8 possess the function of regulating the flow of qi and the stomach, promoting the effect of transportation and transformation and relieving fullness. No. 3 can clear away heat and eliminate dampness generated from stagnated food. The above six ingredients act together as adjuvant drugs. No. 4 also serves as guiding drug to mediate drug properties. All are together used for elimination and reinforcement in combination with the latter prevailing over the former, thus making the spleen invigorated, stomach regulated, dampness eliminated, heat cleared away and all symptoms relieved.
 
Both this recipe and Zhizhu Wan possess dispersive and tonic action simultaneously and are applied in the treatment of indigestion due to weakness of the spleen. But the former has a better effect than the latter in supplementing qi and activating the spleen as well as relieving dyspepsia, and can also eliminate dampness to arrest diarrhea. The latter, however, focuses on activating the spleen and promoting the flow of qi so as to relieve fullness. The former is fit for indigestion due to weakness of the spleen with chief manifestations as poor appetitie, loose stool and greasy yellowish fur, while the latter suitable for that mainly characterized by obstructed flow of qi and severe fullness sensation in the epigastrium.

Caution:
This recipe is contraindicated for weakness of the spleen with poor appetite but without stagnancy.