Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang

What It Is

Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang (香砂六君子湯), literally “Six Gentlemen Decoction with Aucklandia & Amomum,” is a classical Chinese herbal formula. It is a modification of Liu Jun Zi Tang—a strengthening formula for the Spleen and Stomach (in TCM terms)—with the addition of Mu Xiang (Aucklandia) and Sha Ren (Amomum/Cardamom) to further move qi and regulate digestion.

It is mainly used for people with chronic digestive weakness plus qi stagnation, especially when there is bloating, nausea, belching, fullness after eating, and loss of appetite, often accompanied by fatigue.

How It Works

From a TCM mechanism perspective, the formula:

• Tonifies Spleen qi — improves transformation/transport function, supporting nutrient assimilation and post-prandial energy

• Dries dampness — reduces turbidity, heaviness, and mucus-like digestive burden

• Harmonizes Stomach — reduces reverse flow symptoms such as reflux or nausea

• Moves qi in the middle Jiao — relieves stagnation that produces bloating, pressure, and early satiety

From a biomedical plausible interpretation, the combined actions likely:

• Support gastric motility and emptying

• Decrease functional dyspepsia / IBS-like bloating and fullness

• Improve microcirculatory tone and vagal digestive signaling

• Reduce inflammatory “damp-stasis” manifestations of sluggish gut function

Why It’s Important

Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang is important clinically because it addresses a cluster common in chronic digestion patients: not just weakness, not just stagnation, but weakness that produces stagnation. People who are “weak but tight” or “low energy but bloated” often fail on either pure-tonic or pure-moving formulas alone. This compound formula:

• Prevents tonics from creating more stagnation by including qi-moving herbs

• Prevents moving herbs from draining the system by including qi tonics

• Is often central in post-illness gut rebuilding, chronic post-viral dyspepsia, and stress-gut patterns

• Can act as a bridge formula between deficiency care and later simplification once the gut stabilizes

Considerations

Suitability

Best for people who have digestive weakness with stagnation — i.e. fatigue, poor appetite, bloating, loose/soft stools or alternating stools, heaviness after meals, reflux from weakness, emotional or stress-related digestive slowing.

Cautions

Not ideal if the picture is:

• Excess heat or acute infection (e.g. sharp burning pain, foul diarrhea from heat, high fever, active gastroenteritis)
• Pure stagnation without deficiency, where stronger moving formulas are needed
• Very cold constitution without clear stagnation (might require warming adjustments)

Interactions and safety

Herbal formulas can interact with digestion-related medications (e.g., proton pump inhibitors, prokinetics, anticoagulants depending on co-herbs used) and should not be used blindly in pregnancy unless supervised. Quality of raw material/extract purity varies markedly by supplier.

Therapeutic course

It is typically used medium term: long enough to rebuild and decongest, but rarely intended as an indefinite tonic. As the middle recovers, clinicians usually either taper or convert to simpler maintenance tonics.