Dit da jow


Dit da jow is a common Chinese liniment used as traditional medicine in the belief it can reduce the pain from external injuries.

Description

Dit da jow thought to be an analgesic liniment preferred by martial artists is made from herbs put in a glass or polyethylene terephthalate plastic jar and mixed with an alcohol, such as rice wine or yellow wine.

Typical ingredients

The herbs and other ingredients are typically coarse-ground, then steeped in alcohol, sometimes with heat, and then aged.

Chinese Pharmacopoeia formula

The 2020 Edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia lists one "Feng Liaoxing's Medicated Liquor for Arthritis and Dieda". It is a baijiu extract of the following ingredients :
  • 丁公藤 Erycibe obtusifolia or E. schmidtii stem/vine, 2500 g
  • 桂枝 Cinnamomum cassia young branches, 75 g
  • 麻黄 Ephedra "ma-huang", 93.8 g
  • 羌活 Notopterygium incisum or N. franchetii rhizome and root, 7.5 g
  • 当归 Angelica sinensis root, 7.5 g
  • 川芎 Ligusticum chuanxiong rhizome, 7.5 g
  • 白芷 Angelica dahurica root, 7.5 g
  • 补骨脂 Psoralea corylifolia fruit, 7.5 g
  • 乳香 frankincense "ru-xiang", 7.5 g
  • 猪牙皂 Gleditsia sinensis infertile fruits, 7.5 g
  • 陈皮 Citrus reticulata peel, 33.1 g
  • 苍术 Atractylodes lancea or A. chinensis rhizome, 7.5 g
  • 厚朴 Magnolia officinalis bark, 7.5 g
  • 香附 Cyperus rotundus rhizome, 7.5 g
  • 木香 Aucklandia lappa root, 7.5 g
  • 枳壳 Citrus aurantium unripe fruit, 50 g
  • 白术 Atractylodes macrocephala rhizome, 7.5 g
  • 山药 Chinese yam rhizome, 7.5 g
  • 黄精 Polygonatum kingianum, P. sibiricum, or P. cyrtonema rhizome, 20 g
  • 菟丝子 Cuscuta australis or C. chinensis mature seed, 7.5 g
  • 小茴香 Foeniculum vulgare fruit 7.5 g
  • 苦杏仁 Prunus armeniaca var. ansu, P. sibirica, P. mandshurica or P. armeniaca mature seed, 7.5 g
  • 泽泻 Alisma orientale or A. plantago-aquatica rhizome, 7.5 g
  • 五灵脂 Trogopterus xanthipes feces, 7.5 g
  • 蚕沙 moth caterpillar feces, 16.2 g
  • 牡丹皮 Paeonia suffruticosa root bark, 7.5 g
  • 没药 myrrh "mo-yao", 7.5 g
In traditional Chinese medicine language, its functionality is described as the following by the Pharmacopoeia:

祛风除湿，活血止痛。用于风寒湿痹，手足麻木，腰腿酸痛；跌扑损伤，瘀滞肿痛。
Dispel wind and eliminate dampness, activate blood and stop pain. Used for wind-cold-dampness impediment, numbness in hands and feet, soreness and pain in waist and legs; for fall and impact injuries, stasis, swelling and pain.

Amounts are given for oral and topical use.
This medicated liquor dates to the 17th century. It is listed in Guangdong's provincial list of intangible cultural heritages.

Traditional ingredients

Traditional recipes may include:
  • baji tian
  • baidou kou
  • baihuashe
  • baiji zi
  • baizhi
  • banxia
  • cheqian zi
  • chenpi
  • chenxiang
  • chishao
  • chuanpo shi
  • chuanshan long
  • chuanwu
  • chuanxiong
  • danshen
  • danggui
  • danggui wei
  • digupi
  • dingxiang
  • duzhong
  • ezhu
  • fangfeng
  • fuhai shi
  • fuling
  • fuzi
  • gancao
  • ganjiang
  • gaoliang jiang
  • gegen
  • gouqi zi
  • gusuibu
  • gualouren
  • guizhi
  • haifeng teng
  • hong hua
  • hua jiao
  • huang bai
  • huang qin
  • ji xue teng
  • jiang huang
  • jiang xiang
  • jie geng
  • jing jie
  • kuan jin teng
  • li lu
  • liu huang
  • liu ji nu
  • long gu
  • lu lu tong
  • luo shi teng
  • ma huang
  • menthol
  • mo yao
  • mu dan pi
  • mu gua
  • mu tong
  • mu xiang
  • niu xi
  • pu gong ying
  • pu huang
  • qian nian jian
  • qiang huo
  • qin jiao
  • qing pi
  • rou cong rong
  • rou gui
  • ru xiang
  • san leng
  • san qi
  • shan zhu yu dogwood berry)
  • she chuang zi
  • sheng di huang
  • shu di huang
  • song jie
  • su mu
  • tao ren
  • tian ma
  • tian nan xing
  • tu si zi
  • wei ling xian
  • wu jia pi
  • wu ling zhi
  • wu wei zi
  • wu zhu yu
  • xi xin
  • xiang fu
  • xu duan
  • xue jie
  • yan hu suo
  • yu jin
  • ze lan
  • zhang nao
  • zhi ke
  • zi ran tong
  • zi su ye
  • zi wan

    Westernized recipe ingredients

Some recipes instead use ingredients more readily available, such as:
Detailed information on the bioactive components of dit da jow is limited, with formulations varying widely. One report stated the components vary considerably with brand and age, but those found included acetic acid, acetoglyceride, columbianetin, coumarin, rhododendrol, vanillin, chrysophanic acid, and salicylic acid.