This product is the carapace of the soft-shelled turtle (Trionyx sinensis Wiegmann) of the Trionychidae family. It is mainly produced in Hebei, Hunan, Anhui, Zhejiang, and other regions. It can be captured throughout the year. After killing, it is scalded in boiling water until the hard skin on the carapace can be peeled off, then removed and the residual flesh is cleaned. It is dried in the sun, stir-fried with sand, and then quenched with vinegar for use.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Salty, cold. act on liver and kidney channels.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Nourishing yin and subduing yang, softening hardness and dissipating mass.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Yin-deficiency fever, yin deficiency with yang hyperactivity, stirring wind due to yin deficiency, etc. It can enrich yin and clear heat, subdue yang and calm wind. It is more effective in treating yin-deficiency fever than Tortoise Carapace, making it a key medicine for treating yin-deficiency fever. It is often combined with Sweet Wormwood, Gentian, Anemarrhena, etc., such as Sweet Wormwood and Turtle Shell Decoction, Large Gentian and Turtle Shell Powder, etc.; for treating yin deficiency with yang hyperactivity, dizziness, and blurred vision, it is combined with Unprocessed Rehmannia Root, oyster shell, Chrysanthemum Flower, etc.; for treating Rebing damage to yin, stirring wind due to yin deficiency, dry and crimson tongue, and wriggling of limbs, it is often combined with Unprocessed Rehmannia Root, Tortoise Carapace, oyster shell, etc.
2. It is used for abdominal mass, malaria with splenomegaly, etc. It can soften hardness and dissipate mass. It is often combined with Bupleurum, Moutan Bark, ground beetle, etc., such as Turtle Carapace Decocted Pill.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Benjing: "For masses in the heart and abdomen, cold and heat, removes stuffiness and polyps, pudendal sores, hemorrhoids (nuclei), and malignant flesh."
2. Bencao Huiyan: "Turtle carapace, a remedy for yin deficiency and heat malaria, alleviates steaming bone fever due to overwork... It enters the liver, governing diseases of the Jueyin blood aspect... For Jueyin blood stasis and evil accumulation, gradually leading to cold and heat, for masses, for stuffiness and distension, for malaria, for dribbling urination, and for steaming bone fever, it is effective in all these conditions."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Decoction, 15-30g; should be decocted first.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

Turtle carapace contains animal glue, keratin, iodine, and vitamin D, among other substances. It can inhibit the proliferation of connective tissue in the liver and spleen, increase plasma protein levels, and has anti-tumor effects.