Properties: Sour, astringent, cold

Meridans Entered:
Primary: Lung, Spleen, Liver and Large Intestine

1. Relieves toxicity (Purges Fire), dries Dampness, kills parasites and alleviates itching
   External wash for Damp-Heat rashes (scabies, tinea)
   Swollen, painful throat or eyes
   Jaundice
2. Restrains and inhibits sores, generates flesh and transforms putrefication
   Topically for problems where toxins and pathogens have collected and clogged the channels, collaterals and muscles leading to blockage and Stagnation
   Topically for toxic sores (Chuang Yung)
3. Stops bleeding and alleviates diarrhoea
   Chronic diarrhoea, hemafecia, uterine bleeding and vaginal discharge
   Topically for epistaxis, hemorrhoidal bleeding, bleeding gums and bleeding due to external trauma
4. Clears Heat and expels Phlegm
   Wind-Phlegm (Heat) disorders with irritability, delirium, and convulsions
   Cough with sputum that is difficult to expectorate
5. Aids fasting
   The ore (Fan Shi) is mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the superior class of minerals which can, after sublimation, make the body light, prevent senility and lengthen life. This may suggest this was part of supplementing the diet when engaging in an "avoiding grain" (Bigu 辟穀) fasting regime to cultivate life (Yangsheng 養生). However, it is not recommended for prolonged taking like most other superior minerals which is unusual since it is one of the least toxic minerals, often used in ancient times to purify drinking water.

Suggested Daily Dosage: 0.6-1g internally as powder or pills but more commonly used externally in washes.

Cautions: Do not use in large doses, or in kidney disease where the ability to excrete may be impaired resulting in aluminium toxicity. Symptoms include bone pain, muscle weakness, cognitive impairment, seizures, anaemia, and in severe cases, dementia.

Notes:

Alum has been used since ancient times as a mordant to fix dye, purify water, as a fire retardant on fortress walls, paper making, ceramics, in medicine and in alchemy. It is first mentioned by Herodotus (5^th century B.C.), and then by Pliny the Elder (Drozdov, 2007) and Dioscorides (1^st century C.E.) in the first western Pharmacopoeia. It also appears in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, the earliest Chinese pharmacopoeia (c. 1^st - 2^nd century C.E.). In more recent history it has been used as an adjuvant for vaccine delivery (De Gregorio, Tritto, & Rappuoli, 2008).