Shen-chu 16, 250 tablets

Shen-chu 16 is designed for treating food stagnation, a result of weak stomach function and/or overeating. It is related to several patent remedies, such as Pill Curing, Huo Xiang Zheng Qi Pian (see Pine Mountain) and Zi Sheng Wan. Shen-chu 16 also contains all but one of the ingredients of Bao He Wan (see Pine Mountain), with eight others added (mainly for regulating qi circulation). The various patent formulas provide digestive aids, such as shen-chu, crataegus, malt, and raphanus, that are used along with herbs for dispersing qi, moisture, and phlegm, to get rid of insufficiently digested food. A Chinese concept is that this food remnant, in addition to causing discomfort and bloating, generates unhealthy phlegm that can then clog the body and cause or worsen various diseases (Western practitioners often mention "phlegm-forming" foods, but the effect is from insufficient digestion of those foods). Shen-chu 16 can be taken after a meal that seems difficult to digest, or it can be taken regularly for a course of therapy to overcome the tendency to have problems with food digestion. This formula differs from those aimed at treating chronic weak absorption and distribution of nutrients; Ginseng 18 and Lotus 9, for example, are aimed more at tonification for the spleen, which is in charge of absorbing and distributing the nutrients. The ingredients of Bupleurum-S, a formula for abdominal stagnation due to liver qi disorder, are included in Shen-chu 16; Bupleurum-S addresses the stagnation of qi circulation affecting the stomach (often causing aching), but not food accumulation. Shen-chu is made by fermenting wheat combined with the residual material from several herbs that were first extracted with hot water; it has properties similar to ching-hao, one of its ingredients.