Chinese Medical Diabetes

Jin Jin Yu Ye Tang & The Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus

abstracted & translated by
Bob Flaws, Dipl. Ac. & C.H., FNAAOM, FRCHM

Keywords: Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, diabetes mellitus, Jin Jin Yu Ye Tang

Deng Hai-qing of the Qingyuan Municipal Yuan Tan Hospital in Guangdong and Pan Zhao-xia of the Qingyuan Municipal Chinese Medical Hospital also in Guangdong published an article on the treatment of diabetes mellitus with Jin Jin Yu Ye Tang (Golden Fluid & Jade Humor Decoction) in issue #2, 2002, of the Shang Hai Zhong Yi Yao Za Zhi (Shanghai Journal of Chinese Medicine & Medicinals) on pages 21-22. This article was a report on a clinical audit Drs. Deng and Pan conducted from Jun. 1995 to Sept. 1999. An precis of this article appears below.

Cohort description:

There were a total of 83 patients, all of whom met WHO criteria for diabetes mellitus, in this study. Sixty-three patients were divided into the treatment group and 20 patients constituted the comparison group. In the treatment group, there were 33 males and 30 females 20-70 years of age, with an average age of 45.6 years. These patients had suffered from diabetes for from one month to eight years, with an average disease duration of 10 months. Fifty-six of these patients had noninsulin-dependent diabetes melittus (NIDDM) and seven had insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). In the comparison group, there were 11 males and nine females aged 19-68, with an average age of 47 years. These patients had had diabetes from from one month to seven years, with an average disease duration of nine months. Eighteen of these patients had NIDDM and two had IDDM. Therefore, in terms of sex, age, disease duration, or disease type, there were no significant statistical differences between these two groups.

Treatment method:

The members of the treatment group, received Jin Jin Yu Ye Tang which basically consisted of: Radix Astragali Membranacei (Huang Qi), 30g, Radix Dioscoreae Oppositae (Shan Yao), 10g, Radix Puerariae (Ge Gen), 20g, Radix Scrophulariae Ningpoensis (Xuan Shen), 15g, Rhizoma Atractylodis (Cang Zhu), 15g, Tuber Ophiopogonis Japonici (Mai Men Dong), 10g, uncooked Radix Rehmanniae (Sheng Di), 10g, Rhizoma Coptidis Chinensis (Huang Lian), 6g, Sclerotium Poriae Cocos (Fu Ling), 15g, Radix Codonopsitis Pilosulae (Dang Shen), 15g, Concha Ostreae (Mu Li), 30g, Gypsum Fibrosum (Shi Gao), 20g, and Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis (Wu Wei Zi), 10g. If blood sugar continued to be high and did not descend, Shi Gao was increased to 30 grams and 20 grams of Rhizoma Anemarrhenae Aspheloidis (Zhi Mu) were added. If urine glucose did not go down, Sheng Di was increased to 40 grams and 30 grams each of Radix Trichosanthis Kirlowii (Tian Hua Fen) and Fructus Pruni Mume (Wu Mei) were added. If there was polyphagia, Sheng Di was increased to 40 grams and 40 grams of cooked Radix Rehmanniae (Shu Di) were added. If there were ketones in the urine, Huang Lian was increased to 10 grams and 12 grams of Radix Scutellariae Baicalensis (Huang Qin) were added. Thirty ji equaled one course of treatment. The members of the comparison group received 2.5mg of glyburide BID. Otherwise, their treatment was the same as the Jin Jin Yu Ye Tang group.

Treatment outcomes:

Marked effect was defined as marked improvement or disappearance of the patient’s symptoms, normalization of blood sugar, negative urine glucose, and no recurrence within half a year. Some effect was defined as improvement in the patient’s symptoms, lowering of blood sugar and/or negative urine glucose, however, a recurrence after stopping the above medications. No effect meant that there was no improvement in symptoms nor marked change in blood or urine glucose. Based on these criteria, in the treatment group, 48 cases experienced a marked effect, 13 cases got some effect, and two cases got no effect, for a total amelioration rate of 96.8%. In the comparison group, three cases got a marked effect, 12 got some effect, and five got no effect, for a total amelioration rate of 75.0%.

Discussion:

According to Drs. Deng and Pan, the main disease mechanisms of this condition are yin vacuity, dryness, and heat. Within the above formula, Mai Men Dong is sweet and cold. It clears heat, moistens the lungs, and nourishes the stomach. It also has a tendency towards the upper burner. Huang Lian and Shi Gao clear heat from the lungs and stomach. Sheng Di is sweet, cold, and slightly bitter. It enriches yin and clears heat, supplements and nourishes the liver and kidneys. It has a tendency towards the lower burner. Xuan Shen is salty and cold. It increases fluids and clears heat. It affects all three burners. Dang Shen and Fu Ling fortify the spleen and stomach, while Wu Wei Zi and Mu Li nourish yin and clear heat, secure the essence and subdue yang. Modern pharmacodynamic research has shown that Cang Zhu and Ge Gen can promote the lowering of blood glucose, while Huang Qi and Shan Yao can promote the lowering of urine glucose.

For more information on the Chinese medical treatment of diabetes and its complications, see Bob Flaws, Lynn Kuchinski & Robert Casañas’s The Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus with Chinese Medicine available from Blue Poppy Press in late Spring-early Summer, 2002.