Bu Fei Tang (Tonify the Lungs Decoction)

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Indications

Originally Appeared In:

• Everlasting Categorization of Seal Formulas (Yong Lei Qian Fang)

Notes:

• How does Bu Fei Tang differ from Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang and Yu Ping Feng San?

  All three formulas use Huang Qi as a central herb, but they are built for three different problems: Bu Fei Tang tonifies and astringes Lung qi itself for chronic cough/wheeze; Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang raises collapsed, sinking Middle-Jiao qi; and Yu Ping Feng San consolidates the exterior (Wei qi) to prevent recurrent colds. Confusing the three is the most common mistake made with this group of Huang Qi–based formulas.

  • Bu Fei Tang (this formula): targets Lung qi deficiency directly — weak chronic cough, shortness of breath, and a low voice — using Ren Shen, Shu Di Huang, Wu Wei Zi, Zi Wan, and Sang Bai Pi alongside Huang Qi to tonify, nourish, astringe, and settle the Lung itself.
  • Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang (Tonify the Middle and Augment the Qi Decoction): uses Huang Qi with Sheng Ma and Chai Hu to lift qi that has sunk downward — organ prolapse, chronic diarrhea, or a sensation of sagging/heaviness — a sinking-qi problem, not a Lung-specific weak-cough problem.
  • Yu Ping Feng San (Jade Windscreen Powder): just three herbs (Huang Qi, Bai Zhu, Fang Feng) that consolidate Wei qi at the body’s surface to reduce susceptibility to wind invasion and spontaneous sweating — a preventive, exterior-defense formula rather than a treatment for an already-established chronic cough.

  Classical source and lineage: Bu Fei Tang is recorded in the Yong Lei Qian Fang (Formulas to Aid the Living), a Song-dynasty formulary compiled by Yan Yonghe (12th century) — one of several formulas of this name in the Chinese herbal literature, so composition should always be checked against the specific version referenced.

  Source: Bensky & Barolet, Formulas & Strategies; Chen & Chen, Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications (formula comparisons and classical source). Traditional-use framing.

Clinical Studies & Research:

• Is there modern research on Bu Fei Tang and Huang Qi for Lung qi deficiency?

  A 2014 systematic review in PLoS One of 25 randomized controlled trials (1,834 participants) found that oral Chinese herbal medicine added to standard pharmacotherapy for stable COPD improved the BODE index (by roughly 0.71 points) and six-minute walk distance (by roughly 55 meters) compared with pharmacotherapy alone, with Astragalus membranaceus (Huang Qi) the most frequently used herb, appearing in 18 of the formulas reviewed across 16 studies (PMID 24622390). This supports Huang Qi’s traditional role as a Lung/Qi tonic in chronic respiratory deficiency, though the authors cautioned that formula variation and methodological weaknesses in the underlying trials limit firm conclusions.

  • Astragalus-based CHM + pharmacotherapy for stable COPD (systematic review/meta-analysis): improved BODE index and six-minute walk distance versus pharmacotherapy alone across 22 pooled RCTs (PMID 24622390).
  • Shenqi Bufei Tang, COPD rat model with lung-qi-deficiency syndrome: a Bu Fei Tang–based formulation reduced NF-κB activity and MMP-9/TIMP-1 expression and narrowed airway-wall/smooth-muscle thickening versus untreated diseased rats in a smoke/SO2/papain-induced COPD model, though a glucocorticoid comparator performed better on some measures (PMID 19160802).
  • Bufei Decoction, bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis mouse model: reduced lung hydroxyproline content, inflammatory cell infiltration, and NF-κB activation versus untreated fibrotic mice over four weeks (PMID 32963571).

  These studies use modified or Bu-Fei-Tang–family formulations in animal models or as an adjunct alongside standard pharmacotherapy, not the exact six-herb formula in isolation in human trials; they should be read as mechanistic and adjunctive-care context, not proof this specific formula treats COPD or pulmonary fibrosis.

  Sources: PubMed 24622390 (PLoS One, 2014); PubMed 19160802 (Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi, 2008); PubMed 32963571 (Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2020). Research context, not a therapeutic claim.