Guest guest Posted August 22, 2001 Report Share Posted August 22, 2001 A patient, who is a nurse, is concerned about taking Chinese herbal formulas that contain licorice (gan cao). She says that, taken over time, the licorice can lower potassium levels. What if she took an average dose of bu zhong yi qi tang over a year (or longer)? I believe this formula will benefit her, but she is concerned about the licorice and her potassium levels. Thank you to whomever can help with this perplexity. Frances Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics specializing in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional services, including board approved online continuing education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 23, 2001 Report Share Posted August 23, 2001 Presrcibe a formula without gan cao to keep her happy or ask her to take a potassium supplement . Are you sure you can say that she needs bu zhong yi qi tang for a year. Heiko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 23, 2001 Report Share Posted August 23, 2001 Thanks. I cannot say that she needs bu zhong this long, just posing it as an example. This situation made me wonder if someone was in danger of low potassium levels, how seriously, if at all, their potassium would be affected by the small amounts of gan cao that are in most formulas, especially if they were administered long term. Certainly we could omit the gan cao and advise potassium supplementation Heiko Lade wrote: Presrcibe a formula without gan cao to keep her happy or ask her to take a potassium supplement . Are you sure you can say that she needs bu zhong yi qi tang for a year. Heiko Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics specializing in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional services, including board approved online continuing education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 23, 2001 Report Share Posted August 23, 2001 , Frances Gander <fgander@c...> wrote: > A patient, who is a nurse, is concerned about taking Chinese herbal > formulas that contain licorice (gan cao). She says that, taken over > time, the licorice can lower potassium levels. What if she took an > average dose of bu zhong yi qi tang over a year (or longer)? I believe > this formula will benefit her, but she is concerned about the licorice > and her potassium levels. > > Thank you to whomever can help with this perplexity. > > Frances > Licorice affects potassium levels via its dose-dependent effects on aldosterone. This happens at high prolonged doses. This would be a higher dose than typically used in bu zhong in decoction. If you are using a patent, there is no risk at all, in my understanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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