鸡内金

Naming

Ji Nei Jin (Endothelium Corneum Gigeriae Galli)——Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Shen Nong’s Herbal)

The Processing of 鸡内金

Origin

The membrane of the gizzard of Gallus domesticus Brisson. of family Phasianidae.

Location

All parts in China.

Harvest

After being cleaned.

The true smell and taste

The smell of raw meat, slightly bitter.

Best quality

Integrity, dry, big and yellow.

Processing

Dried in the sun, unprocessed, stir-baked or processed with vinegar.

The Effect of 鸡内金

Property

Sweet, bland; spleen, stomach, small intestine and bladder meridians entered.

Actions

Promote digestion and invigorate spleen, arrest seminal emission and relieve enuresis.

Indications

A. Food stagnation, infantile malnutrition with accumulation

It is widely used for all kinds of food stagnation for its strong actions of promoting digestion, dissipating food stagnation and invigorating spleen-stomach.

For milder case of food stagnation, it can be ground into powder singly for oral use; for severer case, it is combined with Shan Zha and Mai Ya. For infantile malnutrition with accumulation due to spleen deficiency, it is combined with spleen-invigorating herbs such as Bai Zhu and Shan Yao.

B. Seminal emission and enuresis based on kidney deficiency

It can arrest seminal emission and relieve enuresis. It can be stir-baked singly and ground into powder for oral use, or combined with kidney-tonifying, semen-securing and enuresis-relieving herbs. For instance it is combined with Tu Si Zi and Sang Piao Xiao in Ji Pi Zhi San from Sheng Hui Fang.

In addition, for it enters urinary bladder meridian and has the actions of relieving stranguria and eliminating stone, it is indicated for urinary and gall stones and usually combined with the stranguria-relieving diuretic such as Jin Qian Cao.

Dosage and Administrations

Decoct 3~10 g, l.5~3 g of the powder being taken with better effect.