Properties: Sour, salty, cold
Meridans Entered:
Primary: Liver and Heart
Traditional Actions/Indications:
- Clears Heat from the Ying and Xue stages, relieves Fire toxicity, cools the Blood, clears skin blotches and stops bleeding
Ying or Xue Stage Heat or Blood Heat with a very high fever and chaotic movement of Blood (erythema, purpura, epistaxis, hematemesis, convulsions and delirium)
- Clears the Heart and calms the Shen
Shen disturbance
- Clears Heat and extinguishes Liver Wind (arrests tremors)
Warm-Heat pathogen diseases when the Heat enters the Ying or Xue levels with unremitting high fever, loss of consciousness, delirium, convulsions or manic behavior
- Aids fasting
Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the middle class of animal parts which can, with protracted taking, make the
body light. This may suggest it was part of supplementing the diet when engaging in an "avoiding grain" (Bigu 辟穀) fasting regime to cultivate life (Yangsheng 養生).
Suggested Daily Dosage: 2.5-10g in decoction, or as pills or powder.
Cautions: Due to its endangered status it is contraindicated from use. It is generally substituted with Shui Niu Jiao. Since animal products are prohibited from use in the UK under the Medicines Act 1968 ch. 67 which restricts herbalists to the use of plant products only, this is also prohibited. It is generally substituted with Huang Lian and Xuan Shen in 3:1 ratio.
Traditional contraindications include pregnancy. It is incompatible with Wu Tou and Lei Wan.
Appears in 3 formulae listed on this site: (click to display)
Research Links & References: (click to display)
Research Links:
Reference Notes:
Individual herb information has sourced mainly from TCM Wiki and American Dragon for basic data and then updated manually with my own notes. Zhou, Xie and Yan (2011): Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Vol. 5, and A+ Medical Encyclopaedia have been used for entries not available from those sources with additional material searched for and filled in where available. Western herbs not appearing in the Chinese literature have used Ross (2010): Combining Western Herbs and Chinese Medicine: A Clinical Materia Medica, White Rabbit Institute of Healing and therapeutika.ch. Choices of which source to use or combine have been my own.
These pages are intended to assist clinicians and are not intended for self-diagnosis or treatment for which a qualified professional should be consulted. Actions and indications are taken from traditional uses and do not necessarily reflect the evidence base which should be researched independently. Dosages are for guidance only and will vary dependening on the potency of the batch and the tolerance of the individual so should be evaluated by a professional based on individual needs.
