Arthritis: Genuine Chinese Herbs

Chinese herbal remedies often combine many herbs together. I want to look for an herbal treatment for arthritis in the way of Chinese Medicine.
However, in the process of searching for herbal formulas to treat arthritis on search engines, I found that most are single herbs.
Moreover, the herbs found online are mostly popular, easy-to-find herbs. Chinese herbs are often esoteric.

Trying hard to find, I found a genuine Chinese formula to treat arthritis.

Here I will share with you the Chinese herbal arthritis treatment recipes.

Genuine Chinese herbal recipes for treating arthritis

Of course these are not Chinese esoteric remedies for treating arthritis. Here are four sample formulas based on new treatments:

1. Wangbi Chongji;
2. Shuguan Wenjing Chongji
3. Shuguan Qingluo Chongji;  
4. Fengshi Xiandan.

The term "chongji" in the first three formula names refers to the form of preparation: these are instant tea granules, produced by making the extract of the herbs and then combining it with sugar and forming into large granules that will dissolve when hot water is applied; the fourth formula is made into pills (dan).

Wangbi Chongji

This formula was developed by the famous physician Jiao Shude, who is widely known for his work in the treatment of arthritis. Western practitioners may know of him through the popular work Ten Lectures on the Use of Medicinals from the Personal Experience of Jiao Shude.

The precise formulation for Wangbi Chongji has not been published, and this is a common procedure when the manufacturer wishes to protect their special formulations from being copied. Also, at least three formulations are mentioned above: the original and two modifications. The following ingredients have been listed for the formula; they are presented here divided into therapeutic categories for ease of interpretation (not all ingredients are in a single formulation):

• Kidney tonic and warming herbs: rehmannia, drynaria, dipsacus, psoralea, epimedium, aconite
• Blood vitalizing herbs: carthamus, peony, red peony, achyranthes, pangolin scales
• Wind-chill and wind-damp dispelling herbs: tu-huo, clematis, siler, red atractylodes, ma-huang, cinnamon twig, pine node, lycopodium
• Other: anemarrhena, gleditsia, scolopendra

The dominant therapeutic approaches here are tonifying the kidney, warming the body, and vitalizing blood; some of the standard herbs for dispelling wind-chill and wind-damp, used in the anti-arthralgia formulas designed for early and intermediate stage arthritis, are also included. Of the items listed, ingredients that are usually avoided in Western practice are ma-huang, clematis, and scolopendra; pangolin scales are sometimes not available due to endangered species concerns (in China there is a plentiful supply because the animals are raised on farms).
The formula is produced by the Benxi Third Pharmaceutical Factory. It comes in packets of 10 grams, and is taken 1-2 packets each time, three times a day.

In clinical work, the formula is mainly used for arthritis and gout. For arthritis, data for 332 patients collected from the medical units in China suggest its effectiveness (some degree of improvement in symptoms) for about 70.8% of those who use it (9). A report on use of a similar formulation for treating wangbi involved an extract of epimedium, curculigo, morinda, cibotium, dipsacus, rehmannia, pine node, carthamus, and sparganium (10). These herbs were extracted and dried, and put into capsules; patients took 4 capsules, three times daily for 60 days. It was claimed that all but 4 of 43 patients so treated had improvement in their clinical condition, especially for pain, swelling, and morning stiffness.

The potential role of phlegm obstruction in advanced rheumatoid arthritis is still important to consider. Wei Song wrote an article on treating wanbi, emphasizing this aspect. He noted that:

Invisible stubborn phlegm plays an important role in the pathogenesis of wanbi. If stubborn phlegm isn't eliminated, wanbi won't be healed. Based on the principle of warming transformation (wenhua), the author treated the disease with sinapis, typhonium, silkworm, arisaema, etc. This approach can markedly improve the curative effect of treatment and restrain the condition of wanbi.

This method of therapy, based on resolving phlegm with these herbs, is briefly described by Yang Yifan in her book comparing the effects of various Chinese medicinals:

The herbs that transform wind-phlegm are arisaema, typhonium, sinapis, silkworm, gastrodia, pinellia, bamboo sap, and bamboo silica. These herbs are used in clinical practice to treat cramp, numbness, tingling, heaviness and pain in the limbs, facial paralysis, facial spasm, epilepsy, hemiplegia, migraine, neuralgia, and arthritis. They are often used together with herbs that regulate the qi and blood, expel wind-dampness, and extinguish internal wind.

Shuguan Wenjing Chongji and Shuguan Qingluo Chongji

The Shuguan formulas (shuguan means to clear away the obstacles) were mentioned in articles by a research group about a single study published both in the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine. The formulas were given to advanced arthritis patients; the matched control group received the already well-established Wangbi granules. The ingredients mentioned in the articles for these two formulations were:

• Shuguan Wenjing: epimedium, dipsacus, aconite, rehmannia, clematis, sinapis, eupolyphaga, scolopendra, and millettia
• Shuguan Qingluo: rehmannia, ho-shou-wu, photinia, chin-chiu, campsis, euonymus, arisaema, wasp nest, earthworm

The first formula was given to patients diagnosed primarily as having yang deficiency, while the second was given to those with yin deficiency. Since the patients were specifically selected for having advanced arthritis, the level of response to treatment was less than that reported above, but was in the range of 36-44%, with the Wangbi formula having the higher total effective rate, though on some categories of symptom evaluation, the Shuguan formulas performed somewhat better than Wangbi granules.

While Shuguan Qingluo includes several ingredients not commonly found in the other formulas for arthritis, Shuguan Wenjing has characteristics similar to the Wangbi formula, in tonifying kidney, warming the body, and vitalizing blood (for information on unique ingredients, see table). The use of sinapis and arisaema illustrates the approach of resolving hidden phlegm to treat advanced arthritis.

The Shuguan formulas were manufactured for the clinic conducting the study and are not commercial products. It was reported that 16.5 grams of crude herbs were extracted for each packet of the granules, and the dosage used was one packet each time, three times a day; this corresponds to the decoction of about 50 grams of herbs per day. A course of treatment was three months, which was the observation period. Outside China, the ingredients scolopendra and wasp nest are usually avoided due to concerns for toxicity.

Fengshi Xiandan

Formulation principles along the lines outlined above continue to be advocated, even for earlier stages of arthritis. In a 2003 article in the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine (15), a formula called Fengshi Xiandan was evaluated for rheumatoid arthritis (fengshi means wind-damp and is the ancient designation of arthritis; xiandan is the ancient term for special pills of the immortals, indicating a highly-valued remedy). The formula ingredient list given was:
epimedium, curculigo, morinda, cibotium, rehmannia, scrophularia, peony, anemarrhena, carthamus, sappan, viola, taraxacum, scorpion, scolopendra, arisaema, and sinapis.

• Here, both arisaema and sinapis are included, along with yang tonics and blood vitalizing herbs; the formula is warming in nature. Its unique feature is adding two "antitoxin" herbs, viola and taraxacum, which are mainly used in cases of early stage arthritis (13 of the 53 patients treated had cases of recent onset, and only 4 had late stage arthritis). Anemarrhena and scrophularia are examples of herbs that help nourish the yin and prevent the strong warming and dispersing herbs from further weakening the kidney yin; the formula reportedly produced no side effects.
• Fengshi Xiandan was produced by grinding the herbs to powder and forming them into pills. The pills were administered orally, 10 grams each time, three times per day, with three months as a course of therapy; the patients were treated for two courses. A control group was given indomethacin, and the result of treatment outcome was claimed to show that the herb treatment provided significantly better results than the drug, with fewer adverse reactions (all the adverse reactions reported for the herbs involved gastro-intestinal responses, and these occurred only about only about 1/4 as frequently as with the drug, which also produced other types of side effects). The herb formula's benefits were especially noted in reducing the duration of morning rigidity (from an average of 49 minutes to about 19 minutes), greatly reducing the tenderness of the joints, and improving both walking speed and grip strength of the hands.

Author: Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon

Related content: Classification of Arthritis in Traditional Chinese Medicine

What you need to know about herbs can help alleviate arthritis symptoms.

Which Herbs Should You Take?

Research hasn’t always kept pace with the popularity of herbs, botanicals and supplements. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t approve supplements or assure their consistency, but more natural medicines are being put to the test in some well-designed clinical trials.

How Are Herbs Taken?

Not all botanicals are the same. They can come in a variety of forms. And keep in mind studies conducted almost always use standardized extracts in pill form, so using other forms could make it hard to know how much active ingredient you are really getting.

Infusions and Teas

Tea is one of several ways botanicals are sold and is probably the most popular and well known form. It can also be called an infusion. It is made by adding boiling water to fresh or dried plant products – stems, leaves or flowers – and steeping them to release their active ingredients. 

Concoctions and Decoctions

Tea requires just a few minutes of steeping, but some plant products need more time for their active ingredients to release. A concoction is a mixture of herbal ingredients that can be prepared in a variety of ways, usually with heat. When the heating method is boiling, the mixture – usually of roots, bark or berries – is called a decoction. The resulting liquid is then drunk.

Liquids, Extracts and Tinctures

Botanicals are sold in liquid forms, such as oils, extract-containing drinks, syrups and tinctures. When preparations are made with alcohol and water, they are called tinctures.

Extracts can be made with many different liquids (solvents), and that liquid is often evaporated to make a dry extract. Dry extracts are put into capsules and tablets.

Tinctures and extracts are usually more concentrated than teas. When looking at the recommended dose, it is important to notice the form of the product. For example, a dose might be three cups of tea per day or one to three teaspoons of tincture per day.

Fresh or Dried Herbs

Herbs can be grown at home or purchased fresh-cut at a market. Air-dried, freeze-dried or fresh, herbs can be used in cooking or for making tea.