Bupleurum and Tang Kuei Pills
Bupleurum and Tang Kuei is also known as Xiao Yao San in Chinese, which means "free and easy wanderer". The formulation of 8 herbs was originally designed in 11th century. It is intended to treat a complex pattern that Chinese Medicine recognizes as Liver qi stagnation, liver blood deficiency and spleen qi deficiency.
This Chinese Medicine diagnosis often overlaps with (but is not synonymous with) HPA axis disruption, premenstrual syndrome, anxiety, depression, adrenal fatigue, and stress response. The name refers to an old Taoist principle of relaxed, leisurely approach to life's difficulties. Rather than aggressively pushing against obstacles, the preferred approach from a Taoist perspective (and from a health perspective!) is to calmly navigate a way around over or through the obstacle without wearing yourself out pushing against an unmovable force.
Ingredients:
CHAI HU, Bupleurum root 16.1%
BAI SHAO, Paeonia lactiflora root 16.1%
DANG GUI, Angelica sinensis root 16.1%
BAI ZHU, Atractylodes macrocephala rhizome 16.1%
FU LING, Poria cocos fungus 16.1%
SHENG JIANG, Zingiber officinale rhizome-fresh 8.1%
ZHIGAN CAO, Glycyrrhiza uralensis root 8.1%
BO HE, Mentha haplocalyx herb 3.3%
There has been significant research on this formulation for a variety of conditions:
Reducing dyspepsia
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ptr.2920
Improving depression:
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2012/931636/abs/
Postpartum depression:
http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-SYQY200805024.htm
Bipolar Disorder:
http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-GLYZ200505004.htm
And its function may relate to serotonin activity:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874114008150