A "resolve the six stagnations" formula from the Yuan dynasty, qi, blood, phlegm, fire, dampness, and food, the classical TCM "regulate everything that gets stuck" formula.
Cultural reference - how this formula has been discussed in Chinese medical tradition. Not medical advice.
Background & origin
Compiled by the Yuan dynasty physician Zhu Danxi (朱丹溪) in "Danxi's Mastery of Medicine" (《丹溪心法》) as the master "regulate all six stagnations" formula. In Japan, Ekkkotsu-gan (越鞠丸) is sold by Kracie and Kotaro as the standard OTC for "mood-related chest and epigastric fullness". In Korea it appears as Wolgul-hwan (월굴환) in the Kyungdong hanbang line. The formula is unusual in TCM in that it has no direct "tonic" herbs, it is entirely a "regulating" formula.
From the source text
This page is cultural documentation, not medical advice.
From the source text · 《丹溪心法》卷三·六郁·越鞠丸
Classical text
越鞠丸，解诸郁。又名芎术丸。苍术、香附、抚芎、神曲、栀子各等分。上为末，水丸如绿豆大，每服一百丸。
Modern Chinese rendering
越鞠丸是朱丹溪"六郁"理论下落方最简而精的代表方,通治气、血、痰、火、湿、食"六郁"。方名"越鞠"二字取"发越鞠郁"(发越郁结、消散壅滞)之意;又名"芎术丸",因川芎(古称抚芎)、苍术为该方核心。香附为君,行气解郁,治气郁;川芎为臣,活血行气,治血郁;栀子清热泻火,治火郁;苍术燥湿运脾,治湿郁;神曲消食化积,治食郁;五药相须为用,虽不直接治"痰郁",但气行则痰自消、血活则痰化、火清则痰不生、湿去则痰无源、食消则痰不聚,故亦能兼治痰郁。全方"行气 + 活血 + 清热 + 燥湿 + 消食"五法合用,治六郁为病所致的胸脘痞闷、胁腹胀痛、嗳气吞酸、食欲不振、情志不舒诸症。
Editorial translation
Yuè Jū Wán is the most concise and refined representative formula of Zhu Danxi's "six stagnations" (六郁) theory, addressing qi, blood, phlegm, fire, dampness, and food stagnations together. The name "Yuè Jú" (越鞠) carries the meaning "to break out and disperse the bound and the stuck" (发越鞠郁). It is also known as "Xiōng Zhú Wán" (芎术丸, "Chuanxiong-Atractylodes Pill") because Chuān Xiōng (Chuanxiong, anciently styled 抚芎) and Cāng Zhú (Atractylodes) are the core of the formula. Xiāng Fù (Cyperus) is the sovereign to regulate qi and resolve stagnation, addressing qi stagnation; Chuān Xiōng is the minister to invigorate blood and move qi, addressing blood stagnation; Zhī Zǐ (Gardenia) clears heat and drains fire, addressing fire stagnation; Cāng Zhú dries dampness and activates the spleen, addressing dampness stagnation; Shén Qū (Massa fermentata) disperses food and transforms accumulation, addressing food stagnation; the five herbs work in concert. Although the formula does not directly "address phlegm stagnation", it does so indirectly: when qi moves, phlegm disperses; when blood circulates, phlegm transforms; when fire is cleared, phlegm does not generate; when dampness is removed, phlegm has no source; when food is digested, phlegm does not accumulate. The whole formula combines "move qi + invigorate blood + clear heat + dry dampness + digest food" in five, and is used for the patterns of "six stagnations" with chest and epigastric glomus fullness, hypochondriac and abdominal distension and pain, belching, acid regurgitation, poor appetite, and emotional frustration.
In tradition
In TCM tradition, associated with the "six stagnations" pattern when the stagnation is felt to be the primary issue: chest and epigastric fullness, distension and pain, irritability, low mood, poor appetite, slight nausea, and a sensation of being "stuck everywhere". It is the formula of choice when the patient has no clear single excess pattern but rather a vague sense of "everything is blocked", often described in the context of "liver qi stagnation with secondary phlegm and dampness".
Formula composition
Monarch1
- Cyperus rhizome (Xiāng Fù / 香附) — for qi stagnation
Minister1
- Chuanxiong rhizome (Chuān Xiōng / 川芎) — for blood stagnation
Assistant3
- Gardenia fruit (Zhī Zǐ / 栀子) — for fire stagnation
- Atractylodes (Cāng Zhú / 苍术) — for dampness stagnation
- Massa fermentata (Shén Qū / 神曲) — for food stagnation
International availability
Japan (Kampo)
- Tsumura & Co.ツムラOTC越鞠丸Etsukutsu-gan
Korea (Hanbang)
- Kyungdong경동OTC월굴환Wolgul-hwan
Taiwan & Hong Kong
- 順天堂OTC越鞠丸Yue Ju Wan
Cautions & context
- A regulating formula, generally safe for short-term use, but not appropriate for active fever or acute infection.
- Contains chuanxiong, which is generally considered inappropriate during pregnancy unless under qualified guidance.
- Long-term daily use may over-move qi in some constitutions, periodic breaks are typically recommended.
- Persistent abdominal pain, vomiting, blood in the stool, or significant mood changes requires medical evaluation before any herbal remedy is considered.
Related formulas
Other formulas from this text· "Danxi's Mastery of Medicine"
Other formulas by this contributor· Zhu Danxi
Related concerns
Concern · stress
Stress & Mood
Everyday tension, low mood, irritability, the sense of being "wound up but tired". The cluster of complaints that brings many Chinese adults to the family 中成药 drawer before they ever see a doctor.
Concern · digestion
Digestion
Upper-abdominal heaviness, bloating, sour reflux, loose stools, traveler's stomach, and the aftermath of a meal that was richer, spicier, or larger than usual.
Editorial note
Compiled from "Danxi's Mastery of Medicine" (1347).
Last reviewed: July 18, 2026
Three layers of evidence
Classical source
≈ 700 years · "Danxi's Mastery of Medicine" (1347)
Pharmacopoeia indication
"Regulate qi and resolve stagnation, relax the middle and remove fullness. Used for chest and epigastric glomus fullness, abdominal distension, food stagnation, belching, and acid regurgitation."
Modern research status
As of 2026-07-18, a PubMed search using the formula name and the Latin / Korean / Japanese transliterations together with "systematic review" and "meta-analysis" did not identify a dedicated systematic review for this formula. Any clinical evidence that does exist is fragmented across small individual trials or covered in broad herbal-medicine umbrella reviews, which do not allow a per-formula evidence assessment; the absence of a dedicated SR is itself the relevant editorial fact here.
References
References reviewed on July 18, 2026 · PubMed search on 2026-07-18
- 01ClassicalZhū Zhènhēng (朱震亨, styled Yànxiū 彦修, self-styled Dān Xī 丹溪, 1281–1358), 《丹溪心法》 (Dān Xī Xīn Fǎ / Danxi's Mastery of Medicine), compiled by his disciples around 1347, vol. 3 (卷三), the "six stagnations" (六郁) section, the entry for Yuè Jū Wán (越鞠丸, also known as 芎术丸), the foundational "resolve the six stagnations" (解六郁) representative formula in TCM, with the elegant equal-dose, five-ingredient structure addressing qi/blood/fire/dampness/food stagnations in concert, embodying Zhu Danxi's signature "stagnation is the root of many disorders" diagnostic principle; the present-day 中成药 form is the modern industrial production of the classical equal-dose water-pill formula.
- 02TextbookDuan Fuqin (段富津) et al. (eds.), 《方剂学》 (Fāngjìxué / Science of Formulas), 2nd edition, Shanghai Scientific and Technical Publishers, 2011, the standard modern university-level formula textbook in mainland China, with Yuè Jū Wán analysed in the "qi-regulating formulas" (理气剂) chapter as the representative "resolve the six stagnations" formula, the canonical entry for "qi, blood, phlegm, fire, dampness, and food stagnations" (气、血、痰、火、湿、食郁).
- 03PharmacopoeiaPharmacopoeia Commission of the PRC, 《中华人民共和国药典》 2020 edition, vol. 1 (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Yàodiǎn, Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, 2020 ed., vol. 1), China Medical Science Press, 2020, the official national monograph for Yuè Jū Wán (丸 / 片), "functional indication" reads "regulate qi and resolve stagnation, relax the middle and remove fullness, used for chest and epigastric glomus fullness, abdominal distension, food stagnation, belching, and acid regurgitation".