Knowledge Base/Herbs/Tortoise Shell (carapace and plastron)
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补阴药 · Yin-nourishing

Tortoise Shell (carapace and plastron) guī jiǎ · 龟甲

Chinemys reevesii (Carapax et Plastrum Testudinis)

Nature and flavour. Salty and sweet, slightly cold; Liver, Kidney and Heart systems.

Classed as nourishing Yin and anchoring yang, as strengthening the sinews and bones, as nourishing blood and settling the spirit, and as stabilising the menses. Within the Yin-nourishing group it is one of the heavier materials, described for the situation where Yin depletion lets yang float upward — the tidal fever, night sweating and dizziness of the classical descriptions.

性味归经。咸、甘，微寒；归肝、肾、心经。

归类为滋阴潜阳、益肾强骨、养血补心、固经止崩。在补阴药中它属质重之品，用于阴液亏虚、阳无所附而上浮的情形——即传统描述中的潮热、盗汗、头晕目眩。

Classical category · no formulas, no dosages, no herb-drug combinations are given.
Safety. An animal-derived material. Several species used in the trade are listed under CITES, so provenance and cross-border movement are legal questions in many countries, and ethical concern is on record as it is for other wildlife-derived materia medica. The tradition itself cautions against it in pregnancy and where the digestion is cold and weak: it is a heavy, salty, cold material. Traditional practice has specific requirements for its preparation and for decocting it first, and it is not a kitchen ingredient.

本品为动物来源药材。贸易中涉及的龟类多种已被列入 CITES 附录，来源与跨境流通在多数国家属法律问题；与所有野生动物来源药材一样，伦理关注亦有记录。传统本身即指出孕期慎用、脾胃虚寒者不宜——其性咸寒质重。传统用法对炮制与先煎有专门要求，它不是食材。

← PreviousSolomon's Seal Rhizome 玉竹Next →Soft-shelled Turtle Carapace 鳖甲

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