Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin (Gastrodia and Uncaria Decoction)

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Indications

Western Uses:

• What conditions is Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin used for in modern practice?

  Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin calms ascending Liver yang and extinguishes Liver wind (headache, dizziness, tinnitus, and the tremor/spasm of internal wind on a base of rising yang), so it is referenced for wind-and-yang-rising conditions: hypertension, eclampsia of pregnancy (puerperal eclampsia), one-sided paralysis (hemiplegia), and trigeminal neuralgia.

  A critical safety note. Eclampsia is an obstetric EMERGENCY (seizures in pregnancy) and hemiplegia is a sign of STROKE — both require immediate emergency care. Hypertension requires medical management, and trigeminal neuralgia needs medical diagnosis. This formula is chosen for the Liver-wind pattern within, never instead of, that care. Traditional-use correlates only, not a treatment claim.

  Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (pattern) + Bensky & Barolet, Formulas & Strategies; biomedical correlates as reference only. Not medical advice.

Originally Appeared In:

• New Significance of Patterns and Treatment in Miscellaneous Diseases (Za Bing Zheng Zhi Xin Yi)

Notes:

• Is Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin a classical formula?

  No — Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin is a 20th-century formula, compiled by the physician Hu Guangci and published in his 1958 clinical text, making it one of the newer formulas in common use rather than one drawn from the classical canon.

  How does Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin differ from other Liver-wind formulas?

  It is frequently compared with two other formulas that also address ascending Liver yang and wind:

  • Zhen Gan Xi Feng Tang (Sedate the Liver and Extinguish Wind Decoction) treats a more severe presentation of Liver/Kidney yin deficiency with yang rising to the point of counterflow, and relies more heavily on heavy, anchoring minerals and shells (e.g., Dai Zhe Shi, Long Gu, Mu Li) than on heat-clearing herbs.
  • Long Dan Xie Gan Tang (Gentian Decoction to Drain the Liver) is a strongly heat-draining formula for genuine Liver/Gallbladder fire with damp-heat signs (e.g., genital itching or discharge) — a different pattern from the yang-rising-with-root-deficiency this formula targets.

  Source: cross-referenced against multiple online sources and Bensky & Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies.

Clinical Studies & Research:

• Is there modern research on Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin?

  Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin has been studied mainly as an adjunct in hypertension research, though the evidence base remains preliminary. This is research context only, not a treatment claim.

  • A 2012 Cochrane systematic review searching for randomized controlled trials of the formula for primary hypertension found no studies meeting its inclusion criteria, and concluded that well-designed trials had not yet been published.
  • A 2013 systematic review of 22 randomized controlled trials found blood pressure improvements when the formula was combined with conventional antihypertensive medication in several patient subgroups, but rated the overall methodological quality of the included trials as generally low.
  • A 2016 laboratory study in spontaneously hypertensive rats compared Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin with two other formulas for effects on hypertension-related myocardial fibrosis; Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin showed some effect but was less effective than Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang in that model.

  Sources: PMID 22696374, PMID 23710230, PMID 26852136.