Qing Gu San (Cool the Bones Powder)

Actions

Indications

Western Uses:

• What is Qing Gu San used for in modern practice?

  In modern practice, Qing Gu San’s steaming-bone/yin-deficiency-heat pattern is referenced for lingering low-grade or tidal fevers that persist after the acute phase of an illness has passed — contexts where Western medicine recognizes a prolonged, unexplained or low-grade febrile state alongside night sweats and wasting. Historically this pattern was associated with the hectic afternoon fevers of pulmonary tuberculosis and other chronic wasting (consumptive) disease; contemporary practitioners have also applied it, alongside conventional care, to lingering post-chemotherapy/radiotherapy fever and to the night sweats and hot flashes of the yin-deficient menopausal transition.

  These biomedical correlates describe the formula’s traditional use only, not a claim that it treats any diagnosed disease. Direct clinical research on the intact formula is essentially absent (see research). Any use for a diagnosed condition belongs with a qualified practitioner and appropriate medical care.

  Source: traditional-use correlates summarized from Bensky & Barolet, Formulas & Strategies, and standard Clear-Deficiency-Heat formula conventions (Chen & Chen); reference only, not a treatment claim.

Originally Appeared In:

• Standards of Patterns and Treatments (Zheng Zhi Zhun Sheng)

Notes:

• How is Qing Gu San different from Qing Hao Bie Jia Tang and Da Bu Yin Wan?

  All three formulas clear deficiency heat, but they target different depths and severities of the pattern. Qing Gu San leans on venting herbs (Qing Hao, Qin Jiao) alongside heat-clearing bitters to disperse heat that has settled specifically in the bones, with only Bie Jia doing real yin-tonifying work — it suits pronounced steaming-bone heat with wasting, where venting the heat outward is as important as cooling it.

  • vs Qing Hao Bie Jia Tang (Bie Jia, Qing Hao, Sheng Di Huang, Zhi Mu, Mu Dan Pi — per Sacred Lotus sources & references): this sibling formula, from Wen Bing Tiao Bian, is used when residual heat is lodged deeper in the yin level after a febrile disease, producing fever that is worse at night and recedes by morning without sweating; it tonifies yin more directly with Sheng Di Huang and cools blood with Mu Dan Pi, but omits Qing Gu San’s bone-directed Yin Chai Hu, Hu Huang Lian, Qin Jiao, and Di Gu Pi.
  • vs Da Bu Yin Wan (Shu Di Huang, Gui Ban, Huang Bai, Zhi Mu — per Sacred Lotus sources & references): Zhu Danxi’s formula tonifies yin much more heavily (Shu Di Huang, Gui Ban) while directly draining deficiency fire (Huang Bai), for steadier Kidney yin-deficiency fire with night sweats, spermatorrhea, or coughing blood — a stronger tonic with less emphasis on venting heat from the bones/collaterals than Qing Gu San.

  Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references for Qing Hao Bie Jia Tang and Da Bu Yin Wan + Bensky & Barolet, Formulas & Strategies (comparison of Clear-Deficiency-Heat formulas).

Clinical Studies & Research:

• Is there modern research on Qing Gu San?

  No dedicated clinical trials or laboratory studies on the intact Qing Gu San formula were located in PubMed/PMC searches — unlike some classical formulas, it has not been a focus of network-pharmacology or randomized-trial research to date. The available modern evidence is indirect: pharmacology on its individual heat-clearing herbs, and clinical literature on a closely related sibling formula.

  • Chief herb (Yin Chai Hu): β-carboline alkaloids isolated from Stellaria dichotoma var. lanceolata inhibited nitric-oxide production in LPS-stimulated macrophages, supporting a traditional anti-inflammatory, heat-clearing use (PMID 21090796).
  • Deputy herb (Hu Huang Lian): a comprehensive review of Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora summarizes traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology, including hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory activity consistent with its deficiency-heat-clearing role (PMID 31586694).
  • Deputy herb (Zhi Mu): a review of timosaponin AIII, the major active constituent of Anemarrhena asphodeloides, reports anti-inflammatory activity among its pharmacological effects (PMID 32581782 / PMC 7283383).
  • Related formula (Qing Hao Bie Jia Tang, sharing Qing Hao, Bie Jia, and Zhi Mu): a literature review and case report describe a Qing-Hao-Bie-Jia-based formula used for defervescence of lung-cancer-related fever (Frontiers in Medicine, DOI 10.3389/fmed.2026.1717877).

  Sources: PubMed 21090796; PubMed 31586694; PubMed 32581782 / PMC 7283383; Frontiers in Medicine DOI 10.3389/fmed.2026.1717877. Research context on component herbs and a related formula, not evidence for Qing Gu San itself; not a therapeutic claim.