Zhi Jing San (Stop Spasms Powder)

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Indications

Western Uses:

• What is Zhi Jing San used for in modern practice?

  In modern practice, Zhi Jing San’s traditional wind-extinguishing/anti-spasmodic use is referenced against conditions Western medicine recognizes as involving seizure or involuntary muscle spasm — including epilepsy, tetanus, viral (type B) encephalitis and meningitis, migraine and trigeminal neuralgia, and stroke-related facial paralysis or spasticity.

  These biomedical correlates are offered strictly as a reference to the formula’s traditional use, not as a claim that it treats any disease. We could not verify a clinical trial of the Zhi Jing San combination itself; modern research instead concentrates on its two individual toxic ingredients, largely at the preclinical stage (see research). Because both ingredients are toxic animal medicinals, any therapeutic use belongs with a qualified, licensed practitioner.

  Source: traditional-use correlates summarized from Bensky & Barolet, Formulas & Strategies (p. 401) and multiple online sources (epidemic encephalitis B context); reference only, not a treatment claim.

Originally Appeared In:

• Traditional Chinese Medical Formulas (Fang Ji Xue)

Notes:

• How is Zhi Jing San modified, and how does it relate to other wind-extinguishing formulas?

  Zhi Jing San is deliberately minimal — just the reinforcing Quan Xie/Wu Gong pair — so in practice it is frequently expanded with other herbs to match the underlying cause of the wind-stirring. Reported modifications:

  • For tetanus-related muscle twitching: add Fang Feng, Qiang Huo, Bai Zhi, Tian Ma, Tian Nan Xing, and Bai Fu Zi (yielding a formula close to Yu Zhen San).
  • For chronic childhood convulsions from Spleen deficiency with prolonged diarrhea: add Gan Jiang, Ren Shen, Bai Zhu, Zhi Gan Cao, and Fu Zi (combining with the Li Zhong Wan strategy of warming and tonifying the Spleen).
  • For acute febrile disease with heat stirring wind: add Sang Ye, Ju Hua, Long Dan Cao, Tian Ma, and Gou Teng to clear heat while extinguishing wind.

  Within this site’s own record, Zhi Jing San sits in the “Formulas that Release Wind from the Skin and Channels” subcategory alongside other internal/channel wind formulas — comparison to specific formulas in that group (e.g. Qian Zheng San) was not independently verified against a primary source and is omitted here rather than guessed.

  Source: Bensky & Barolet, Formulas & Strategies (p. 401, modifications per multiple online sources) + this site’s own category record.

Clinical Studies & Research:

• Is there modern research on Zhi Jing San?

  Direct clinical research on the Zhi Jing San combination itself was not located in the literature we could verify; modern research instead concentrates on its two toxic ingredients individually, mostly at the preclinical stage.

  • Wu Gong (Scolopendra subspinipes): a 2025 scoping review of 45 studies found analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumor, anticoagulant, and neuroprotective bioactivity from venom- and whole-body-derived peptides and alkaloids, but states evidence “remains primarily preclinical” with standardized formulations and human trials still lacking (PMID 40423312).
  • Quan Xie (Buthus martensii): a 2025 review documents historical (Song-dynasty) use for stroke, hemiplegia, facial deviation, and spasm/convulsion, correlating with modern anticoagulant, antithrombotic, anti-epileptic, and anticonvulsant pharmacological activity; the same review documents toxic effects at high exposure (neurotoxicity, liver injury, cardiovascular/autonomic effects) and notes LD50 data for isolated venom components is largely unestablished (PMID 41357859).
  • Combined scorpion + centipede TCM formulation (not Zhi Jing San specifically): network pharmacology and molecular docking on a scorpion-and-centipede formulation for asthma identified shared targets (including TP53, HSP90AA1) and an IL-17-linked pathway, with effects partially validated in a mouse model — illustrating how this animal-medicinal pair is being studied computationally, not a trial of Zhi Jing San itself (PMID 40605076).

  Sources: PubMed 40423312; PubMed 41357859; PubMed 40605076. Preclinical/mechanistic evidence on the individual ingredients and a related two-ingredient formulation; no formula-specific clinical trial evidence located — research context only, not a therapeutic claim.