Black Pearl Agastache Formula pill is from the €˜Formulary of the Tai Ping Welfare Dispensary Bureau€™ (tai ping hui min he ji ju fang) (1151 CE), a compilation of popular and effective formulas that were used in the public dispensaries of the Song dynastic period. The name of the formula (literally: €˜Agastache Formula for Restoring the Health Qi€™) refers to the actions of the herbs Perilla (zi su ye) and Angelica dahurica (bai zhi), which send the clear Qi upwards, complemented by the actions of Pinellia (ban xia)and Wolfiporia (fu ling), which send the turbid Qi downwards. Thus the normal ascending and descending movements of the health Qi (zheng qi) are restored.
Although originally used for cholera and similar disorders with sudden onset of simultaneous vomiting and diarrhoea (huo luan), the formula has a broad range of applications that centre on the stagnation of turbid Damp in the middle Jiao, disrupting the normal Qi movements of the Spleen and Stomach. As mentioned previously under the formula Bu Zhong Yi Qi Wan, the herbs that dispel Wind-Cold from the Exterior also have a specific action on the middle Jiao, i.e. sending the clear Qi upwards. Therefore the formula is also used in cases with dysfunction of the middle Jiao due to turbid Damp without the presence of an Exterior syndrome.
The synergistic actions of the herbs are as follows:
- Agastache herb (huo xiang): dries Damp and activates the Spleen to resolve turbid Damp, harmonises the middle Jiao and sends the Qi downward, releases Exterior Wind-Cold.
- Perilla leaf (zi su ye), Angelica dahurica, root (bai zhi): release Exterior Wind-Cold, send the clear Qi upwards.
- Magnolia bark (hou po), Citrus peel (chen pi), Pinellia tuber (ban xia): dry Damp, enliven the Spleen, regulate the Qi and harmonise the middle Jiao
- Pinellia tuber (ban xia), Wolfiporia cocos (fu ling): send the turbid Qi downwards
- Atractylodes rhizome (bai zhu), Wolfiporia cocos (fu ling), Glycyrrhiza root (gan cao): tonify the Spleen Qi, harmonise the Stomach and Intestines, drain Damp
