What is Ling Jiao Gou Teng Tang?
Ling Jiao Gou Teng Tang is a Chinese herbal formula. It is given for high fever with twitching, fits, bad headache or dizziness. Its English name is Antelope Horn and Uncaria Decoction.
It is sold as one product made of about ten herbs. So it is handled as one medicine: Single drug (TCM formula).
In traditional terms it is used for what herbalists call "liver wind stirring from extreme heat". That means a hot, restless, shaking illness. Modern herbalists also use it for high blood pressure with headache.
The honest verdict on evidence: this formula has a long, respected record in Chinese medicine. But we could not find good published human trials for it. Long use is not proof of effect, and that holds for every claim on this page.
The problems this formula was built for are medical emergencies. Fits, a very high fever and a sudden bad headache all need urgent care. Nothing here is a reason to wait before you call for help.
How does Ling Jiao Gou Teng Tang work?
No one has shown how this formula works in people. What follows is theory and lab work, not proven action.
In traditional theory the formula "cools heat and calms wind". Antelope horn and uncaria (gou teng) are said to settle the shaking. Mulberry leaf and chrysanthemum clear heat.
Rehmannia and white peony restore fluids. Fritillaria and bamboo shavings clear phlegm. Poria and licorice steady the rest.
In the lab, uncaria holds plant chemicals called alkaloids. One of them is rhynchophylline. In animal tissue these relax blood vessels and quieten nerve activity.
That is a long way from showing an effect in a person.
Licorice root in the mix holds glycyrrhizin. It is well documented that this makes the body hold salt and water, and lose potassium. That effect is real and can be predicted.
It is the main safety concern with this formula.
What forms does Ling Jiao Gou Teng Tang come in?
You will most often meet it in these forms:
Raw herb packets. These are weighed out and simmered at home into a decoction (a strong tea). A practitioner usually prescribes them.
Strong granules or powder that dissolve in hot water. This is the most common modern form.
Pills or capsules of dried extract.
Quality varies a great deal. Imported herb blends have been found to hold heavy metals, pesticides or hidden drugs.
Buy only from a seller that tests its products and shares the results. Avoid any product that claims to hold real saiga antelope horn.
Where it comes from:
The formula was written down by Yu Gen-Chu. It appears in the Tong Su Shang Han Lun (Popular Guide to the Treatise on Cold Damage). That Chinese text dates from the early twentieth century, and it drew on much older warm-disease theory.
It became a standard teaching formula for fever with fits. It is still taught in Chinese medicine schools today.
Its standing rests on centuries of reports from healers in one tradition. It does not rest on trial data.
If this is an emergency
Some reactions to Ling Jiao Gou Teng Tang need urgent care. Call your local emergency number or go to an emergency department straight away — do not wait to see whether it passes.
Who should avoid Ling Jiao Gou Teng Tang?
- Never use this formula to treat a seizure, a convulsion or a very high fever at home — call emergency services instead
- Do not use if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant
- Do not use if you are breastfeeding
- Do not give it to a child unless a qualified practitioner and your doctor have both agreed
- Do not use if you have high blood pressure, heart failure or a heart-rhythm problem (an irregular heartbeat)
- Do not use if you have low potassium (hypokalaemia), a low blood level of the mineral potassium
- Do not use if you have kidney disease or liver disease
- Do not use if you take digoxin (a heart medicine) or a diuretic (water pill)
- Do not use if you take a blood thinner such as warfarin without asking your doctor first
- Never buy a product that claims to contain real saiga antelope horn — that trade is illegal and the animal is critically endangered
- Do not use it in place of medicine your doctor has prescribed for blood pressure, epilepsy or infection
When should you see a doctor?
Call emergency services right away for a convulsion, a fit, a stiff neck with fever, a sudden worst-ever headache, confusion, or a fever that will not come down — especially in a child, an older person or anyone with a weak immune system.
Stop the formula and see a doctor the same day if you notice swollen ankles, a rising blood pressure reading, muscle weakness or cramps, a fast or irregular heartbeat, or unusual thirst and tiredness. These can be signs that potassium has fallen too low.
Tell your doctor and pharmacist you are taking it before any surgery, and before starting any new prescription.
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