Common Names
- Ling Gui Zhu Gan Decoction
- Poria and Atractylodes Combination
- Hoelen and Atractylodes Combination
- Lin-Kuei-Chu-Kan-Tang
For Patients & Caregivers
Tell your healthcare providers about any dietary supplements you’re taking, such as herbs, vitamins, minerals, and natural or home remedies. This will help them manage your care and keep you safe.
What is it?
Ling Gui Zhu Gan Tang (LGZGT) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula made up of four different herbs.
What are the potential uses and benefits?
Ling Gui Zhu Gan Tang is used to treat:
- Dizziness
- Vertigo (feeling like things are moving or you’re moving)
- Arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat)
- Heart failure
- Heart disease
Talk with your healthcare providers before taking herbal formulas. They can interact with some medications and affect how they work. For more information, read the “What else do I need to know?” section below.
What are the side effects?
Side effects have not been reported.
For Healthcare Professionals
Clinical Summary
Ling Gui Zhu Gan Tang (LGZGT) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula composed of Poria (Fu Ling), Cinnamon twig (Gui Zhi), Atractylodes macrocephala (Bai Zhu), and Licorice (Gan Cao) (1) (2). It was first documented in the TCM treatise Jin Gui Yao Lue (Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber). This formula has been used to treat dizziness, vertigo, arrhythmia, cardiac failure, and other cardiovascular diseases.
Limited clinical data suggest benefits of LGZGT in reducing hyperlipidemia and obesity (3) ; managing coronary heart disease (4); lowering the risk of stroke in patients with vertigo (5); and reducing cardiovascular risk factors in obese patients with impaired glucose tolerance (6). Findings also suggest utility of LGZGT in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (7).
Larger studies with methodological rigor are needed to strengthen the evidence.
Purported Uses and Benefits
- Dizziness
- Vertigo
- Arrhythmia
- Cardiac failure
- Cardiovascular disease
Mechanism of Action
In preclinical studies, LGZGT reduced oxidative stress and protected cardiac tissues, along with decreasing inflammation and apoptosis following myocardial injury, possibly by modulating the astrocytic NOD-like receptor protein 3/Caspase-gasdermin D pathway. In addition, an LGZGT-containing serum protected cardiomyoblasts from oxidative damage via activation of the Nrf2/Keap1/HO-1 pathway (2).
A pharmacokinetic study in rats showed that disease states such as myocardial infarction may alter the absorption and elimination of LGZGT (8).
Adverse Reactions
Side effects have not been reported.
Herb-Drug Interactions
None known.