- Region
- Asia
- Origin
- China
- Traditions
- Chinese medical traditions
Asia · Other · № 789
Massa medicata fermentata
Other · Asia
Medicated leaven (shen qu)
Massa medicata fermentata
Traditionally attributed effects: helps with food stagnation and poor digestion.
Safety notes
Not during pregnancy or with stomach fire. Contains wheat (gluten). Traditional use is no proof of effectiveness; if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult a doctor or pharmacist.
Preparation
Fermented cake of flour and herbs. Usually as a decoction, together with other herbs.
Use in traditions
Described in the classical Chinese materia medica, in the group 'herbs that relieve food stagnation'. Shen qu is a fermented cake of wheat flour, apricot kernels, red beans and herbs. It is used for food stagnation after heavy meals, often together with hawthorn berry and sprouted barley as the 'three roasted immortals'.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- sweet, pungent, warm
- Meridians
- spleen, stomach
Attributed effects
For food stagnation with a distended, full abdomen, poor appetite and diarrhoea, and for a laborious, painful digestion.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 9–15 g a day, usually in a decoction. A fermented mixture of wheat flour with, among others, qing hao, cang er zi and water pepper; rich in enzymes and therefore jokingly called 'Chinese yoghurt'.
Combinations
- With hawthorn berry and sprouted barley for food stagnation
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Decoction
- Formulas
- Bao he wanCi zhu wanYue ju wan