Heat-Clearing and Blood-cooling Herbs
Shui Niu Jiao (Buffalo Horn)
Naming
Shui Niu Jiao (Cornu Bubali)——Ming Yi Bie Lu (Miscellaneous Records of Famous physicians)
The Processing of 水牛角
Origin
The horn of Bubalus bubalis Linnaeus. of family Ox.
Location
Most places of China.
The actual smell and taste
Light fishy smell, slightly salty taste.
Best quality
Large, from the healthy and mature cow.
Processing
Unprocessed and pounded; concentrated to powder at present.
The Effect of 水牛角
Property
Bitter, salty, cold; heart, liver, stomach meridians entered.
Actions
Clear heat and cool blood, purge fire and remove toxicity, extinguish wind and stop convulsions.
Indications
A. Heat entering nutrient-blood in warm diseases
It can clear nutrient and cool blood, purge fire and remove toxicity, and also extinguish wind and stop convulsions. With many therapeutic actions on warm diseases, it is commonly indicated for either syndrome of warm and heat with epidemic toxicity or syndrome of excessive heat in heart, liver and stomach which are manifested as high fever, restless, coma and delirium, convulsion and so on. It is combined with heat-clearing, resuscitating, wind-extinguishing and convulsions-stopping herbs to mutually take effects of clearing heart and cooling liver as well as resuscitating, for instance, Shi Gao, She Xiang, Ling Yang Jiao, etc. , as in Zi Xue Dan from Wai Tai Mi Yao. With the action of clearing heat and cooling blood, it is commonly indicated for heat entering nutrient-blood and bleeding due to blood heat manifested as macula, papula, hematemesis and apostaxis, and combined with blood-cooling and hemostatic herbs, such as Mu Dan Pi, Di Huang, Bai Mao Gen and Ce Bai Ye, etc, It is also indicated for allergic purpura and thrombocytolytic purpura in syndrome of blood heat at present. It can also be used with resuscitation-inducing herbs or tranquilization-inducing herbs, such as Niu Huang and Zhen Zhu Mu in treating wind troke resulting in hemiplegia, confused state of mind, or maniaB. Abscess, sores and ulcers, swollen and sore throatWith actions of clearing heat and removing toxicity, it is also indicated for syndrome of heat-toxicity accumulation manifested as abscess, sores and ulcers, and swollen and sore throat. It is combined with heat-clearing and toxicity-removing herbs to mutually take effects of removing toxicity and purging fire as well as dissipating nodulation and stopping pain, for example, Huang Lian, Lian Qiao and Ban Lan Gen, etc.
Dosage and Administrations
Decoct 15~30g in slice or powder firstly for more than 3 hours; or mix its concentrator with water, 1.5~3g for each time, twice a day.
Sources and further reading
We cite classical materia medica and modern reference works. This article is health education, not medical advice.
- Shennong Bencao Jing (The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), Han dynasty.
- Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen, 1578.
- Chinese Pharmacopoeia, current edition — identity, quality and safety monographs.
- NCCIH and WHO reference material on traditional medicine safety.
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