Po Chai Pills

Po Chai Pills (保濟丸) are a Chinese product made with several herbs formed into tiny pills about the size of buckshot. Po Chai is used as a remedy for the relief of acid indigestion, heartburn, and gas bloat. It is also used as a hangover prevention remedy.

Po Chai Pills were developed by Li Shiu Kei in Foshan, Guangdong in 1896. Following the Chinese Civil War, the Li family fled to Hong Kong and reestablished their company, the Li Chung Shing Tong, in Hong Kong. However, their mainland property was nationalized, with the result that there are two makers of Po Chai Pills (Baoji wan in pinyin):


 * Li Chung Shing Tong (Holdings) Limited (李眾勝堂) in Hong Kong; and
 * Guangzhou Wanglaoji Pharmaceutical Company Limited in Guangzhou, China.

A mutual agreement between these two parties has limited Wanglaoji's trademark rights to mainland China, while the Li Chung Shing Tong has the right to use the trademark in rest of the world. The mainland manufacturer sold the pills out of the PRC as Curing Pills.