Functions
Sheng Mai San mainly functions to restore pulse by replenishing qi and to promote the production of bodily fluids by nourishing yin. The formula is used to treat 1) impairment to both qi and yin, 2) palpitation due to qi deficiency, 3) faint pulse and sweating due to debility, and 4) thirst and insomnia.
Dosage Info
Decoction: 1 dose a day. Infusion: 15g each piece (equivalent to 6g of raw herbal material), 1 piece each time, 3 times a day. Orally taken solution: 10ml each time, 3 times perday. Injection, 2ml/each seringe, intramuscular injection or i.v. injection. Capsules: 3 caps each time, 3 times a day. 5:1 concentrated extract: 9 grams/day.
Ingredients
Precautions
Contraindications: 1) excess and summer heat syndromes with lingering pathogenic heat; and 2) cough with external symptom-complex.
Allergy: There has been one report of one case of allergic red rashes after using Sheng Mai San. (1)
Pharmacology
Effects on the cardiovascular system: An experiment was set up to study the effect of Sheng Mai San on adriamycin poisoning in rats. One group was administered adriamycin only and another administered both adriamycin and Sheng Mai San (i.g. 5g/kg). The results show that Sheng Mai San can delay the appearance of adriamycin poisoning symptoms, decrease the number of incidences of congestive heart failure, and ameliorate the pathological changes. Indicators such as whole blood GSH-Px activity, myocardial SOD activity, and myocardial MDA content all show that Sheng Mai San can counteract adriamycin poisoning in rats. (2) Another study confirmed that Sheng Mai San can significantly raise the activity of SOD and GSH-Px and lower the MDA content (P
Clinical Applications
Sheng Mai San is widely used to treat viral myocarditis, myocardiac infarction, coronary heart disease stenocardia, hypotension, and cardiac arrhythmia.
Viral myocarditis
Zhang treated 42 cases of viral myocarditis with a modification of Sheng Mai San. The basic formula consisted of these herbs: Hong Shen, Mai Dong, Wu Wei Zi, Huang Qi, Dan Shen, Ku Shen, and Gan Cao. Further modifications of the basic formula were made to suit the patients’ individual conditions, a comparison group of 28 patients was treated with 0.6 grams of virazole plus physiological saline in two IV injections. The results: of the treatment group, 30 cases resolved, 8 cases improved, and 4 cases did not respond to the treatment, with a total effective rate of 90.48%; of the comparison group, the corresponding numbers were 13, 11, 4, and 85.71% respectively. (3)
Coronary heart disease
One study followed up on 51 cases of coronary heart disease treated with a modification of Sheng Mai San. The basic formula consisted of: Ji Lin Shen (or Dang Shen), Mai Dong, Zhi Wu Wei Zi, Dan Shen, Yu Jin, and San Qi. To suit the patient’s individual needs, further modifications were made as follows: for patients with blood stasis, the basic formula was further modified to include Chi Shao, Chuan Xiong, and Dang Gui; for patients with heart-qi deficiency, Huang Qi, Bai Zhu, and process Gan Cao were added to the formula; for patients with phlegm stagnation, Gua Lou, Xie Bai, and Ban Xia were added; and for patients with both heart- and kidney-yin deficiencies, Ji Lin Shen was replaced with Tai Zi Shen and Sheng Di Huang, Nu Zhen Zi, and Han Lian Cao were added. One dose of the formula was administered in decoction daily. A comparison group of 32 cases were treated with Compound Dan Shen Pills (containing Dan Shen, San Qi, and Bing Pian), one pill each time, three times a day. The results: the treatment group had a total effective rates of 71.11% as compared to the comparison group’s 46.15% (P