Ninety days at the hinge
Xiao Chai Hu Tang 6 Pack
6 bottles · 360 tablets · about 90 days at 4 a day
Six bottles of Minor Bupleurum, about three months at four tablets a day, for anyone who's settled on Xiao Chai Hu Tang and would rather follow the Shaoyang idea through properly than dip in and out. 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+
Living with the great harmoniser for three months
Zhang Zhongjing's Shaoyang picture was never about a dramatic illness. It was about the in-between: not right, not wrong, just stuck with a bitter taste, a so-so appetite and a temper that's shorter than you'd like. That kind of stalemate doesn't tend to announce when it's over, which is partly why people who take Xiao Chai Hu Tang often like a longer run at it. At four a day, six bottles see you through roughly ninety days, a full season in the old calendar.
There's a sensible side to that length as well. This is one formula where herbalists kept a close eye on things over the weeks, because of the rare lung and liver reactions reported in Japan. A longer course isn't a reason to stop paying attention. If anything, it's a reason to pay more.
15 days a bottle, about 90 days in all
A season of Minor Bupleurum, month by month
Bottles 1–2
Days 1 to 30
Two when you get up, two at teatime. Easy. Then watch how hungry you are and whether that bitter taste hangs about, and honestly, if a dry cough or any breathlessness shows up, that's the thing we'd want you to notice.
Bottles 3–4
Days 31 to 60
The middle month. Regular meals and decent sleep were what herbalists hoped to see return. Anything new or odd, such as yellowing skin, means stop and ring your GP.
Bottles 5–6
Days 61 to 90
So, where are you? Has all that back and forth calmed down a bit? Plenty of people stop here and that's fine, some have a chat with a practitioner first. Still got symptoms? Pop and see your GP.
On interferon? Then no, not with Xiao Chai Hu Tang, ever. Pregnant, breastfeeding, or you've got a liver or lung condition? Give it a miss unless your doctor's said yes. If a dry cough turns up, or you're short of breath, or your skin goes a bit yellow, stop that day (we really mean it), and if you're on any regular medicine we'd rather you had a word with your GP or pharmacist before you start.
Choosing between them
Other bupleurum formulas worth knowing
We've got bupleurum in loads of our formulas, funnily enough, and it doesn't do the same job in any two of them. Of the lot, these two are Minor Bupleurum's nearest relatives.
This page
Xiao Chai Hu Tang
Zhang Zhongjing's hinge formula, for being caught halfway: hot and cold by turns, a bitter mouth, no appetite. It clears and supports at once, thanks to skullcap alongside ginseng.
Its close cousin
Si Ni San
Also from Zhang Zhongjing, four herbs in equal parts. Chosen when Qi felt bottled up inside, so warmth didn't reach the hands and feet. No ginseng, no skullcap, simpler and more purely moving.
See Si Ni SanThe Song descendant
Xiao Yao San
The Free and Easy Wanderer. Think wound up but knackered too. There's dong quai and peony in it for the Blood, so it's more about feeding than clearing, if that makes sense.
See Xiao Yao SanWhat's in the box
Six bottles of Xiao Chai Hu Tang
Every bottle is the same: 60 tablets of the formula on our single bottle page, so 4 a day gives you 15 days a bottle.
| Chai Hu Bupleurum chinense | 785mg |
| Huang Qin Scutellaria baicalensis | 292mg |
| Jiang Ban Xia Pinellia ternata | 337mg |
| Sheng Jiang Zingiber officinale | 135mg |
| Ren Shen Panax ginseng | 337mg |
| Da Zao Ziziphus jujuba | 157mg |
| Gan Cao Glycyrrhiza glabra | 201mg |
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 Xiao Chai Hu Tang
Delighted, continues to work well for me.
Kathryn H., verified buyerVery good results so far, I’m treating my kidneys for the moment and shall be ordering more!
Fernanda T., verified buyerGood product. I've been taking them for nine months with desired effect. Good service, fast delivery.
Kathryn H., verified buyerXiao Chai Hu Tang: your questions
Did people take Xiao Chai Hu Tang when a cold seemed to linger?
Historically, yes, that's close to where it started. Zhang Zhongjing described illness that had moved past the shivery surface stage but hadn't gone deeper, leaving someone neither ill nor well. That's a Chinese medicine picture, though, and it isn't a treatment for a cold or any infection. A cough, temperature or anything that's dragging on is for your GP.
What did herbalists watch for over the weeks?
Two kinds of thing. On the hopeful side, they'd want your appetite back, the bitter taste going and your moods a bit less up and down. Then there's the other side (and this matters, because of the rare reactions people have linked with Sho-saiko-to in Japan): a dry cough, getting out of breath, feeling oddly worn out, or yellow skin or eyes. Notice any of that? Stop, and get medical advice the same day, please.
Does spring make a difference?
In the old way of thinking it might. Shaoyang belongs to the Gallbladder and Wood, and Wood's season is spring, the in-between stretch when the weather can't make up its mind. Some herbalists liked that symmetry. Practically, though, the formula was chosen for the pattern in front of them, whatever the month.
And food? Did Xiao Chai Hu Tang come with any rules about eating?
Not rules exactly. More like common sense. A queasy tummy and that full, tight feeling under the ribs were part of the picture, you see, so herbalists nudged people towards plain warm meals at regular times, and told them to lay off the greasy stuff and the booze for a while. Eating little and often instead of skipping meals and then overdoing it is the sort of advice you'd hear. Your nan would've said the same, frankly.
So how far will six bottles of Xiao Chai Hu Tang get me?
About ninety days. It's exactly the same formula as the single bottle, at four tablets a day (two in the morning, two in the evening), so each bottle of 60 lasts fifteen days and six of them carry you through roughly three months, one full season.
Xiao Chai Hu Tang, six bottles at once
Back to the 6 pack