Herbsmith Rx Jia Wei Jin Gu Die Shang San is a classical Chinese herbal formula recommended by holistic veterinarians to invigorate the blood, dispel blood stasis, stop bleeding, and support the recovery of damaged tissues in dogs, cats, and horses. Also known as Augmented Muscle and Bone Traumatic Injury Powder, this seven-herb formula addresses the blood stasis pattern of traumatic musculoskeletal injury through a focused strategy of simultaneous blood stasis resolution and tissue nourishment: Tian San Qi (San Qi, notoginseng root) serves as the cornerstone herb, uniquely able to both stop bleeding and invigorate the blood without leaving static blood behind; the classical Ru Xiang and Mo Yao (frankincense and myrrh) pair provides the formula's primary blood and qi-invigorating and tissue-regenerating action; Hong Hua (safflower) and Yan Hu Suo (corydalis) contribute strong blood stasis-dispersing and channel stiffness and soreness-relieving action; Dang Gui Tou (the head portion of Angelica root, with stronger blood-nourishing action) ensures the traumatically injured tissue is adequately nourished alongside the blood stasis resolution; and Niu Xi (achyranthes) invigorates the blood in the lower limb channels and conducts the formula's actions downward to the joints and extremities. Well suited for dogs, cats, and horses presenting with blood stasis from acute traumatic musculoskeletal injury, post-surgical recovery, bruising and swelling from impact injury, or chronic blood stasis in the channel sinews and joints from sustained mechanical stress, characterized by fixed swelling, bruising or discoloration, channel stiffness and soreness that is worse with pressure and at rest and better with gentle movement, and a purple or dusky tongue and wiry or choppy pulse reflecting the blood stasis pattern. Available as a concentrated powder mixed into food; cats and dogs use the Canine Blend, while horses use the Equine/Horse Blend. Dosing varies by species and body weight, and your authorizing veterinarian will provide specific guidance.
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What It Supports
- Blood stasis resolution and bleeding arrest through Tian San Qi's dual hemostatic and blood-invigorating action: Addresses the core pathological mechanism of traumatic injury through Tian San Qi's (San Qi, notoginseng root) unique and clinically critical ability to simultaneously stop bleeding and invigorate the blood, resolving the blood stasis from the injury without causing additional bleeding and preventing the residual static blood from remaining in the channels after hemorrhage is controlled. This dual action is why Tian San Qi is the most important herb in all classical traumatic injury formulas and reflects the fundamental clinical challenge of traumatic injury treatment in TCVM: the tissue hemorrhage and blood stasis must both be addressed simultaneously, and attempting to resolve the blood stasis with strong blood-invigorating herbs without the hemostatic action of Tian San Qi risks reopening hemorrhage in acutely injured tissue.
- Blood and qi channel invigoration and tissue regeneration through the classical Ru Xiang and Mo Yao paired combination: The formula provides its primary blood- and qi-invigorating, tissue-regenerating action through the classical Ru Xiang (frankincense) and Mo Yao (myrrh) paired combination, the most widely used herb pair in Chinese traumatic injury medicine. Ru Xiang invigorates the blood and qi in the channels, disperses swelling and static blood from the injured tissue, and promotes tissue regeneration (sheng ji, generating flesh) in the traumatically damaged channels and sinews. Mo Yao invigorates the blood, disperses static blood and swelling, reduces bruising, and promotes tissue healing. Together, Ru Xiang and Mo Yao provide comprehensive blood- and qi-invigorating, stasis-dispersing, swelling-reducing, and tissue-regenerating coverage for the traumatically injured channels and sinews.
- Channel stiffness and soreness relief and strong blood stasis dispersal through Hong Hua and Yan Hu Suo: Provides strong blood stasis-dispersing and channel stiffness and soreness-relieving action through Hong Hua (safflower), one of the most potent blood-invigorating and static blood-dispersing herbs in the classical materia medica, and Yan Hu Suo (corydalis), the most direct herb in the formula for alleviating the stiffness and soreness of blood stasis in the channels through its combined blood-invigorating and qi-moving action. Hong Hua's strong blood-invigorating action vigorously disperses static blood from acute trauma, while the gentler tissue-regenerating action of Ru Xiang and Mo Yao supports recovery; Yan Hu Suo addresses channel stiffness and soreness that persist as residual blood stasis remains after the acute trauma phase.
- Blood nourishment to ensure adequate tissue perfusion alongside the blood stasis resolution: Ensures the traumatically injured tissue is adequately nourished with fresh blood as the stasis is resolved through Dang Gui Tou (the head portion of Angelica sinensis root, which has stronger blood-nourishing action than the tail portion), providing the blood tonification that prevents the forceful blood-invigorating herbs of the formula from dispersing the static blood without replenishing the blood supply to the injured tissue. The "tou" (head) portion designation is clinically meaningful: Dang Gui Tou emphasizes blood nourishment alongside mild blood movement, while Dang Gui Wei (tail) emphasizes stronger blood movement, and the choice of Tou reflects the formula's intent to nourish the injured tissue as the primary secondary action alongside the core blood stasis resolution.
- Lower limb and joint channel clearance and downward conduction through Niu Xi's blood-invigorating and directional action: Extends the formula's blood stasis-resolving action to the lower limb channels and joints through Niu Xi's (achyranthes root) combined blood-invigorating, sinew and bone-strengthening, and downward-conducting action, ensuring the blood stasis resolution from the formula's primary invigorating herbs is effectively delivered to the lower extremity joints, tendons, and channel sinews where traumatic injury most commonly presents in veterinary patients. Niu Xi's sinew- and bone-strengthening action also supports structural recovery of injured tissue alongside the formula's primary herbs' blood-stasis-clearing and tissue-regenerating action.
TCVM Principles
- Primary action - traumatic musculoskeletal injury blood stasis treatment through the simultaneous hemostasis, blood stasis dispersal, tissue nourishment, and tissue regeneration strategy: Addresses the blood stasis pattern of traumatic musculoskeletal injury through the classical TCVM principle that traumatic injury creates two simultaneous pathological conditions that must be treated concurrently: tissue hemorrhage (bleeding) and blood stasis (static blood obstructing the channels). The classical treatment principle for traumatic injury is to simultaneously stop the bleeding and invigorate the blood to prevent the residual static blood from becoming a permanent obstruction in the channels, while also providing the tissue nourishment and regeneration support needed to restore the structural integrity of the damaged sinews, tendons, and channels. Jia Wei Jin Gu Die Shang San executes this classical strategy through four coordinated mechanisms: Tian San Qi arrests bleeding while simultaneously preventing stasis; Ru Xiang, Mo Yao, Hong Hua, and Yan Hu Suo invigorate the blood, disperse the stasis, and promote tissue regeneration; Dang Gui Tou nourishes the blood to replenish the tissue perfusion being restored; and Niu Xi conducts the formula's actions to the lower limb channels and strengthens the sinews during recovery.
- Secondary action - the "jia wei" (augmented) additions of Niu Xi and Yan Hu Suo to the classical Jin Gu Die Shang San base and their clinical rationale: The classical Jin Gu Die Shang San base contains Tian San Qi, Dang Gui, Ru Xiang, Mo Yao, and Hong Hua as its core traumatic injury treatment herbs. The jia wei augmentation adds Niu Xi and Yan Hu Suo to extend the formula's clinical scope: Niu Xi adds specific lower limb and joint channel clearance and downward-conducting action that the classical base lacks, making the formula more effective for traumatic injuries involving the lower extremity joints, tendons, and channels of dogs, cats, and horses, where the stifle, hock, carpus, and lower limb musculoskeletal structures are among the most common sites of traumatic injury. Yan Hu Suo adds the most direct channel-stiffness and soreness-relieving herb in the classical materia medica through its qi-moving and blood-invigorating action, addressing the persistent channel stiffness and soreness from residual blood stasis that the base formula's blood-invigorating herbs alone do not specifically target.
Available Forms
- Powder - Canine Blend (for dogs and cats): Available in 75 g, 150 g, 500 g, 900 g, and 1200 g sizes; mix into food at the recommended dose for your pet's weight. Cats and dogs both use this blend.
- Powder - Equine/Horse Blend (for horses only): Available in 150 g, 500 g, 900 g, and 1200 g sizes; mix into grain at the recommended dose for your horse.
Suggested Use
For Dogs (Canine Blend Powder):
- Under 30 lbs: ½ tsp twice daily, or as prescribed
- 30-80 lbs: 1 tsp twice daily, or as prescribed
- 80-120 lbs: 1½ tsp twice daily, or as prescribed
- Over 120 lbs: 2 tsp twice daily, or as prescribed
For Cats (Canine Blend Powder): ¼ tsp twice daily, or as prescribed
For Horses (Equine/Horse Blend, 1,000 lb horse): Two tablespoons twice daily for 20 days, then two tablespoons once daily in grain. If the horse initially refuses, start with a small amount mixed into grain and gradually increase until the horse is accustomed to the taste. Most horses will readily accept the herbs in their grain.
Ingredients
Active Ingredients: Tian San Qi / San Qi (Notoginseng Root), Dang Gui Tou (Radix Angelicae Sinensis - head portion), Ru Xiang (Frankincense / Boswellia Resin), Mo Yao (Myrrh Resin), Niu Xi (Achyranthes Root), Hong Hua (Carthamus / Safflower), Yan Hu Suo (Corydalis Rhizome)
Inactive Ingredient: Flaxseed
VETERINARY AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED: Submit Your Authorization Request or Request a TCVM Telemedicine Consultation
Active Ingredient TCVM Actions
Jia Wei Jin Gu Die Shang San is a seven-herb traumatic injury formula organized around four coordinated actions: hemostasis with simultaneous blood stasis prevention, blood and qi-invigorating stasis dispersal and tissue regeneration, blood nourishment for injured tissue, and lower limb channel clearance and conduction:
- Tian San Qi / San Qi (Notoginseng Root) - Notoginseng / Pseudoginseng Root: Stops bleeding, invigorates the blood, dispels blood stasis, and reduces swelling; the cornerstone herb of traumatic injury medicine in Chinese medicine and the most clinically important herb in this formula, uniquely able to simultaneously arrest hemorrhage and invigorate the blood to prevent static blood accumulation in the traumatically injured channels. The classical description of Tian San Qi captures its dual action: it stops bleeding without leaving stasis behind (zhi xue bu liu yu) and invigorates the blood without causing bleeding (hua yu bu po xue), making it the only herb in the classical materia medica that addresses both the hemorrhage and the blood stasis of traumatic injury simultaneously within a single herb. Tian San Qi also reduces swelling from traumatic injury by dispersing the static blood and fluid accumulation in the injured tissue, providing direct structural support for the acute injury phase alongside its hemostatic and blood-invigorating actions.
- Dang Gui Tou (Radix Angelicae Sinensis - head portion) - Chinese Angelica Root Head / Dong Quai Head: Nourishes the blood and mildly invigorates it; the blood-nourishing component of the formula specifically uses the head portion (tou) of the Angelica root, which carries stronger blood-nourishing action compared to the tail portion (wei, which carries stronger blood-moving action) or the whole root (which provides balanced nourishing and moving). The choice of Dang Gui Tou reflects the formula's intent to nourish the traumatically depleted blood supply to the injured tissue as the primary secondary action, ensuring the blood stasis-resolving herbs are clearing static blood into a well-nourished channel rather than dispersing stasis from a blood-deficient tissue that cannot regenerate. Dang Gui Tou's mild blood-invigorating action also contributes to the formula's overall blood movement without the stronger dispersing action of Dang Gui Wei.
- Ru Xiang (Frankincense Resin / Boswellia) - Frankincense: Invigorates the blood and qi in the channels, disperses swelling and static blood, promotes tissue regeneration (sheng ji), and alleviates channel stiffness and soreness from blood and qi stasis; the first herb of the classical Ru Xiang and Mo Yao paired combination for traumatic injury, providing blood and qi-invigorating action that simultaneously clears the static blood from the injured channels and promotes the generation of new tissue in the recovering channels and sinews. Ru Xiang's sheng ji (tissue-regenerating, literally "generating flesh") action is particularly valued in traumatic injury formulas for its ability to promote the structural restoration of damaged sinews, tendons, and channels during recovery, making it an essential component of formulas addressing both acute injury blood stasis and the tissue repair phase.
- Mo Yao (Myrrh Resin) - Myrrh: Invigorates the blood, disperses static blood and swelling, reduces bruising, and promotes tissue healing; the second herb of the classical Ru Xiang and Mo Yao paired combination, providing complementary blood-invigorating and stasis-dispersing action that reinforces Ru Xiang's primary stasis-dispersing and tissue-regenerating coverage with Mo Yao's stronger stasis-breaking and bruising-reduction action. Mo Yao's specific affinity for dispersing the congealed static blood that causes bruising and ecchymosis makes it particularly appropriate for impact injuries where bruising and surface discoloration reflect the extent of the blood stasis in the superficial channels and tissue, while its tissue-healing properties support the structural recovery of the injured sinews alongside Ru Xiang's sheng ji action.
- Niu Xi (Achyranthes Root) - Achyranthes / Ox-knee Root: Invigorates the blood, dispels blood stasis, strengthens the sinews and bones, and conducts the formula's actions downward to the lower limbs and joints; the jia wei directional and lower limb-targeting herb that simultaneously contributes blood stasis-resolving action and channels the formula's comprehensive blood-invigorating effects downward to the lower extremity joints, tendons, and sinews where traumatic musculoskeletal injury most commonly presents in veterinary patients. Niu Xi's sinew- and bone-strengthening action also supports structural recovery of injured lower-limb tissue during the healing phase, providing constitutional tissue-strengthening support alongside the blood-stasis-clearing action of the formula's primary invigorating herbs.
- Hong Hua (Carthamus tinctorius) - Safflower / Carthamus: Invigorates the blood, breaks up blood stasis, and disperses static blood from the channels and tissue; one of the strongest blood-invigorating and stasis-dispersing herbs in the classical materia medica, providing the formula's most potent direct blood stasis-breaking action and ensuring the static blood from acute trauma is vigorously dispersed alongside the gentler tissue-regenerating and nourishing actions of Ru Xiang, Mo Yao, and Dang Gui Tou. Hong Hua's strong stasis-breaking action makes it particularly important in the acute and subacute trauma phases, when fresh blood stasis from recent injury must be actively dispersed before it becomes chronic and more difficult to resolve; however, it warrants caution in animals on anticoagulant medications due to its potent blood-invigorating properties.
- Yan Hu Suo (Corydalis Rhizome) - Corydalis / Chinese Corydalis: Invigorates the blood, moves qi, and alleviates channel stiffness and soreness from blood and qi stasis in the channels and sinews; the jia wei augmenting herb with the most direct channel stiffness and soreness-relieving action in the formula through its combined blood-invigorating and qi-moving properties, addressing the persistent channel stiffness and soreness that continues as residual blood stasis remains in the channels after the acute trauma phase. Yan Hu Suo's qi-moving action supports the blood stasis-resolving herbs' effects through direct qi movement in the obstructed channels, since blood stasis invariably creates secondary qi stagnation that perpetuates channel obstruction even as the static blood is progressively cleared. Yan Hu Suo is among the most important herbs in Chinese medicine for alleviating the stiffness and soreness of blood and qi stasis in the channels and sinews, and its inclusion distinguishes Jia Wei Jin Gu Die Shang San from the classical base by providing direct channel stiffness and soreness relief alongside the primary blood stasis resolution and tissue regeneration strategy.
Potential Drug Interactions
Jia Wei Jin Gu Die Shang San contains multiple strong blood-invigorating herbs that warrant careful review in animals on anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications. Hong Hua (safflower) and Yan Hu Suo (corydalis) are among the most potent blood-invigorating herbs in the formula and have significant anticoagulant properties that potentiate the effects of warfarin, heparin, aspirin, clopidogrel, and other anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications. Ru Xiang (frankincense) and Mo Yao (myrrh) also have blood-invigorating and anticoagulant properties. Dang Gui Tou has mild anticoagulant and estrogenic properties that warrant monitoring in animals on hormonal medications. Tian San Qi has hemostatic and blood-invigorating properties that require careful assessment in animals already on hemostatic medications. Yan Hu Suo (corydalis) has alkaloid components including tetrahydropalmatine that may interact with sedative medications, MAO inhibitors, and dopamine-related medications, and should be used with caution in animals with seizure histories or on antiseizure medications. The formula's overall character is strongly blood-invigorating and should not be used in animals with active uncontrolled bleeding, severe blood deficiency without concurrent stasis, or pregnancy.
Medication categories warranting extra caution include anticoagulant and antiplatelet medications (Hong Hua, Yan Hu Suo, Ru Xiang, Mo Yao, Dang Gui Tou, and Niu Xi's combined blood-invigorating effects), hormonal medications (Dang Gui Tou's estrogenic properties), hemostatic medications (Tian San Qi's combined hemostatic and blood-invigorating duality), and sedative, MAO inhibitor, and antiseizure medications (Yan Hu Suo's alkaloid components). Your authorizing veterinarian will determine appropriateness based on your animal's condition, current medications, and confirmation of the blood stasis from a traumatic musculoskeletal injury pattern, and will advise on appropriate timing relative to surgery or other procedures where anticoagulant effects are a consideration.
VETERINARY AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED: Submit Your Authorization Request or Request a TCVM Telemedicine Consultation
Frequently Asked Questions
What conditions is Jia Wei Jin Gu Die Shang San used for in TCVM?
In Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, Jia Wei Jin Gu Die Shang San is indicated for the blood stasis pattern of traumatic musculoskeletal injury, including acute impact injuries, post-surgical recovery, bruising and swelling from blunt trauma, and chronic blood stasis in the channel sinews and joints from sustained mechanical stress or incompletely resolved prior injuries. The TCVM blood stasis pattern from traumatic injury is characterized by fixed swelling, bruising or tissue discoloration, channel stiffness and soreness that is worse with pressure and at rest and better with gentle movement, a purple or dusky tongue reflecting the internal blood stasis, and a wiry or choppy pulse reflecting the blood stasis obstruction in the channels. Your authorizing veterinarian will confirm the traumatic injury blood stasis pattern and differentiate it from bi syndrome (wind-cold-damp channel obstruction), kidney or liver vacuity patterns, or neurological presentations that would require a different therapeutic formula.
How is Jia Wei Jin Gu Die Shang San administered to dogs, cats, and horses?
Mix the powder directly into food or grain at the dose recommended for your animal's species and body weight. Dogs and cats use the Canine Blend; horses use the Equine/Horse Blend. Dogs and cats receive the formula twice daily; horses receive two tablespoons twice daily for the first 20 days, then once daily for maintenance. If the horse initially refuses, start with a small amount mixed into grain and gradually increase until the horse is accustomed to the taste. Most horses will readily accept the herbs in their grain. Because the formula contains multiple strong blood-invigorating herbs, including Hong Hua, Yan Hu Suo, Ru Xiang, and Mo Yao, with significant anticoagulant properties, your authorizing veterinarian will review current medications before you begin use and advise on timing relative to surgery or procedures.
How long does it take to see results with Jia Wei Jin Gu Die Shang San?
For acute traumatic injury with active blood stasis, initial improvement in swelling, bruising, and channel stiffness and soreness is often seen within 1 to 3 weeks as the formula's strong invigorating herbs progressively disperse the blood stasis. For chronic blood stasis from incompletely resolved prior injuries or sustained mechanical stress, a longer course of 4 to 8 weeks or more may be needed to clear the more entrenched stasis from the channels. Your authorizing veterinarian will monitor tongue quality and color, pulse character, and local tissue signs (swelling, bruising, mobility) throughout the treatment course to confirm the blood stasis pattern is resolving and adjust the formula or dose as the pattern changes during recovery.
What makes Tian San Qi the cornerstone herb of traumatic injury treatment in TCVM?
Tian San Qi (San Qi, notoginseng root) is uniquely valuable in traumatic injury medicine because it is the only herb in the classical Chinese materia medica that simultaneously stops bleeding and invigorates the blood to prevent static blood accumulation, without the two actions interfering with each other. Most blood-invigorating herbs that disperse stasis risk increasing bleeding in acutely injured tissue, and most hemostatic herbs that stop bleeding risk leaving static blood behind as a residual channel obstruction. Tian San Qi resolves this clinical conflict through its dual hemostatic and blood-invigorating action, making it both safe to use in the acute hemorrhagic phase of traumatic injury (unlike the stronger stasis-breaking herbs Hong Hua and Yan Hu Suo) and essential for preventing the residual blood stasis that would persist if hemostatic herbs alone were used. This is why Tian San Qi is the lead and highest-priority herb in virtually all classical Chinese traumatic injury formulas and why it remains in continuous clinical use for both acute trauma management and post-surgical recovery support in veterinary TCVM practice.