Objective: To explore the relations among property

flavor

meridian tropism and efficacy of Xiaochaihu Tang and other derived prescriptions through the analysis of their main added Chinese herbs. Method: With the Dictionary of Chinese Medicine·Volume Prescriptions as prescription sources

Xiaochaihu Tang and other derived prescriptions were collected. With the frequency analysis as the starting point

the golden section method was introduced to select out the main added Chinese herbs in these prescriptions and analyze their main efficacy

main property

flavor as well as meridian tropism. Result: The 509 collected prescriptions included 171 added herbs

and 25 of them were used for 1 506 times

accounting for 62.53% of all the added herbs. Among all herbs

Radix Paeoniae Alba was the most frequently used. By efficacy

antipyretic herbs were the most frequently used. By property

flavor and meridian tropism

the frequently used herbs were mostly cold and bitter and entered the spleen meridian. Conclusion: By using the frequency analysis of the data mining method

we can better study the prescription features and compatibility laws of the added Chinese herbs in Xiaochaihu Tang prescriptions

which provides theoretical guidance for the clinical herbal prescriptions.