A cupboard supply
Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang 6 Pack
6 bottles · 360 tablets · 6 a day, in short spells
Six bottles of Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang to keep in the cupboard for the odd tight, tugging spell. Because of the liquorice, it's meant for short stretches with breaks, not a sixty-day run. Why take it over weeks
- Regular price
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£132.30 - Regular price
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£147.00 - Sale price
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£132.30
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- 5:1 strength
- DaoDi herbs
- Vegan & gluten-free
- GMP certified
- Free UK delivery £40+
Why this one lives in the cupboard
Most formulas in our range are taken steadily for weeks. Not this one, though. Zhang Zhongjing wrote it for one particular moment (somebody's legs had seized up after the wrong treatment, as the story goes) and the herbalists who came after him mostly stuck to that idea, so you'd have a few days of peony and liquorice when the sinews felt pulled and then you'd put the stuff away again. And honestly? There's a down-to-earth reason as well. Liquorice in this amount isn't something to take month after month, as over long spells it can push blood pressure up and drop potassium.
Six bottles, then, is more of a stash than a course. It'll last. You could pop one by the bed and one in your gym bag, if that's handy. But cramps or tightness that keep coming back? Or that turn up with swelling, weakness or pain? We'd send you to your GP for those, not to a herb.
For short spells, with breaks in between
Using it in short spells
When you need it
A short spell
Things feeling tight and tugging? Three in the morning, three at night, for a few days. Then stop, really. You don't want this one ticking along in the background.
Between spells
Take a break
Then leave it be for a good while, a fortnight at least if it were us. Grabbing the bottle every other day? That's not a herb problem any more, frankly, so off to the GP.
The rest of the box
In the cupboard
Spares stay sealed, somewhere cool, somewhere dry. They're handy to have, but check before anyone else at home uses them, particularly anyone with high blood pressure or on regular medicine.
It's heavy on liquorice, and liquorice can put your blood pressure up, pull your potassium down and make you hold water. Pregnant or breastfeeding? Don't take it without advice, honestly. High blood pressure, a heart or kidney problem, or on water tablets, steroids or digoxin? Have a word with your GP or pharmacist before you start, we'd rather you did.
Choosing between them
Two neighbours that share the peony
White peony turns up in plenty of Aura formulas. Here are two close cousins. How would a herbalist pick? Mostly by asking where all that tension was coming from in the first place.
This page
Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang
Two herbs, that's it. Sour peony, sweet liquorice. Reached for when sinews felt short and tight, in the legs or a gripping belly, and only for short spells.
Peony for pent-up Qi
Si Ni San
The same peony and liquorice pair with bupleurum and tangerine peel added. Chosen when Qi felt bottled up inside, so warmth never quite reached the hands and feet.
See Si Ni SanBuilding the Blood
Si Wu Tang
Four roots including white peony, for Blood running low. Herbalists picked it for the pale, washed-out sort, and it's a formula people stayed on for longer.
See Si Wu TangWhat's in the box
Six bottles of Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang
Every bottle is the same: 60 tablets of the formula on our single bottle page, so 6 a day gives you 10 days a bottle.
| Bai Shao Paeonia lactiflora | 2524mg |
| Gan Cao Glycyrrhiza glabra | 842mg |
Also contains: Cassava starch, Hypromellose, Magnesium stearate, Polyethylene glycol, Talc.
Living with six bottles
The practical bits
Storing them
Somewhere cool and dry, out of direct sun. Leave the bottles you're not using sealed until you need them.
Best before
Every bottle carries its own best-before date on the label, so check the one you open next.
Delivery
Order before 3pm on a weekday and it goes out the same day from Essex. UK delivery is free on orders over £40.
Changed your mind?
Sealed, unopened bottles can be returned within 14 days of delivery. The details are in our refund policy.
Verified Loox reviews
What people say about Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang
Always go to a qualified Chinese Herbalist/Acupuncturist as they understand how to use this powerful model of health management.
Christine F., verified buyerShao Yao Gan Cao Tang: your questions
Is Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang used for night cramps?
Historically, legs that tighten and won't straighten are exactly where this formula began, and in Japan it often comes up in conversations about cramp. It isn't a treatment for cramp, though. Frequent cramps, or cramps with swelling, numbness or weakness, can have causes worth ruling out, so please see your GP.
What about period pains?
Herbalists traditionally reached for it, particularly in Kampo, when a tight, gripping feeling came around a period. That's tradition, not a treatment. Very painful or heavy periods, or a change from your usual pattern, are worth raising with your GP, as conditions like endometriosis can sit behind them.
Can I take it alongside another Aura formula?
Maybe. Just don't work it out by yourself. Peony and liquorice are already tucked inside loads of bigger formulas, and quite a few of ours have liquorice in, so doubling up piles it on faster than you'd think. Want to mix? Ask a qualified herbalist first, and tell your GP too.
Who traditionally took it?
Pretty much anyone with that tight, pulling feeling, from people with knotted calves to women with a clenching belly before their period. In Japan it's long been something of a household name. The people herbalists were wary with were those already holding fluid or running high blood pressure, because of the liquorice.
Why buy six if it's meant for short spells?
Because short spells add up over a year, and it's handy to have some in. The 6-pack is the same formula as the single bottle, 360 tablets in all. At six a day a bottle covers ten days, but most people use it in bursts of a few days, so a pack goes a long way.
Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang, six bottles at once
Back to the 6 pack