This product is the dried body of the centipede species, the lesser-spined giant centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans L. Koch.). It is mainly produced in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan, Henan, Shaanxi, and other regions. It is captured during the spring and summer seasons, with bamboo strips inserted into its head and tail to stretch it straight, then dried; or it is first scalded with boiling water, followed by sun-drying or oven-drying.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Acrid, warm, toxic. Act on liver meridian.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Calm wind and stop convulsions, attack toxins and disperse nodules, dredge collaterals and relieve pain.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for convulsions. Centipede is pungent and warm in nature, good at moving and penetrating, able to reach both the interior and exterior, and has a stronger effect than scorpion in calming internal wind and expelling wind and dredging collaterals. The two are often used together for mutual reinforcement to treat convulsions caused by various reasons, such as Spasm-Relieving Powder. With appropriate combination of medicinals, it can also be used for acute and chronic infantile convulsions, tetanus, wind apoplexy involving meridians and collaterals, and facial deviation.
2. Used for sores, ulcers, swelling, and toxins, as well as scrofula and subcutaneous nodules. This product predominates over toxins with its own toxin, and its pungent taste disperses nodules. When combined with Realgar and pig gallbladder bile to make an ointment, it is excellent for external application on malignant sores and swelling toxins, such as in the formula Bu Er San. When ground into a fine powder with tea leaf, it can be applied to treat scrofula ulcers. If this product is baked yellow, ground into a fine powder, and taken with warm water, or used together with Coptis Rhizome, Rhubarb Rhizoma, and raw Liquorice Root, it can also treat poisonous snake bites.
3. Used for wind-dampness obstinate impediment. This product also has a similar effect to scorpion in dredging collaterals and relieving pain, and can be used with Saposhnikovia Root, Pubescent Angelica, Chinese Clematis Root, and other wind-dispelling, dampness-removing, and collateral-dredging medicinals.
4. Used for stubborn headaches. This product expels wind, dredges collaterals, and relieves pain, and can be used with Gastrodia Tuber, Sichuan Lovage Rhizome, and white Stiff Silkworm to treat long-standing stubborn headaches or migraines.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Benjing: "Dares to confront the poison of snakes, insects, and fish... eliminates three types of parasites."
2. Bielu: "Mainly treats cold and heat accumulation in the heart and abdomen, early abortion, and removes malignant blood."
3. Bencao Gangmu: "Treats infantile fright epilepsy, wind convulsions, neonatal tetanus lockjaw, erysipelas, bald sores, scrofula, bubo, hemorrhoid fistula disease, snake masses, and snake injuries."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Decoct and take 1-3g. Grind into powder and swallow, 0.6-1g each time. Apply an appropriate amount externally.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

This product is toxic and should not be used in large doses. It is contraindicated for pregnant women.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product contains two types of toxic components similar to bee venom, namely histamine-like substances and hemolytic proteins. In addition, it also contains fatty oils, cholesterol, formic acid, and multiple amino acids such as histidine, arginine, and leucine. Centipede has antagonistic effects on convulsions in mice induced by pentylenetetrazol, pure nicotine, and strychnine. The aqueous extract of centipede has varying degrees of inhibitory effects on subcutaneous nodule bacilli and various skin fungi. Centipede leech injection has inhibitory effects on tumor cells and enhances the function of the reticuloendothelial system.