Compatible Principle of Prescriptions for Treating Cough and Asthma in Prescriptions for Universal Relief

OBJECTIVE To analyze the compatible principle of lung system prescriptions for treating cough， pant-cough and asthma in Prescriptions for Universal Relief. MRTHODS The prescriptions applied for treating cough， pant-cough and asthma in Prescriptions for Universal Relief were collected and classified into cough formula， pant-cough formula and asthma formula. Association rules were used to process and analyze the selected 1 036 formulas， with the core herbs， herbal pairs and herbal groups being obtained. Then their corresponding properties and tastes were further analyzed. RESULTS Among the above three groups， apart from their own unique high frequently used herbs， the herbs like almond， pinellia ternata， aster， flos farfarae， fritillaria， licorice root， whitish honey， fresh ginger， white mulberry root-bark and the fruit of Chinese magnoliavine appeared as the commonly applied herbs with over 10% of support rate. In terms of drug compatibility， such medicine pairs as almond- licorice root-fresh ginger， pinellia ternata-licorice root-fresh ginger and almond- licorice root-ephedra can be seen in each formula. CONCLUSION Prescriptions for Universal Relief focuses much on tonification of healthy qi， invigoration of spleen and removal of dampness in treating cough and pant-cough， and especially on dispersing and descending of lung qi， purging lung and relieving asthma when dealing with pant-cough， while it attaches great importance to pathogen removal and stopping asthma for treating asthma， all of which demonstrates the treatment principle of treating secondary symptoms for emergency.