Knowledge Base/Herbs/Cowrie Shell
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平肝息风药 · Liver-wind calming

Cowrie Shell zǐ bèi chǐ · 紫贝齿

Concha Mauritiae (shell of Mauritia arabica and related Cypraeidae)

Nature and flavour. Salty; neutral; Liver system.

A marine shell grouped with the Liver-calming and yang-anchoring drugs: traditionally described as calming the Liver and anchoring yang, as settling fright and quieting the spirit, and as clearing the Liver and brightening the eyes. It is used for the same rising-yang presentations as 石决明 — headache, dizziness, tinnitus — and, like 珍珠母, the traditional sources also record the fright-settling and spirit-calming action for it.

性味归经。咸，平；归肝经。

海产贝壳，归入平肝潜阳一类：传统认为平肝潜阳、镇惊安神、清肝明目。用于与石决明相同的肝阳上亢之证 —— 头痛、眩晕、耳鸣；与珍珠母一样，古典文献另载其镇惊安神之用。

Classical category · no formulas, no dosages, no herb-drug combinations are given.
Safety. It is a wild-collected marine shell, and two things follow from that: sourcing and legality should be traceable, and shells concentrate heavy metals from the water they live in, so supplier testing matters here exactly as it does for 牡蛎 and 珍珠母. As with the other shell drugs, traditional practice requires it to be broken up and decocted first, and the tradition itself does not use it where the Spleen and Stomach are cold and weak. Human safety data in pregnancy and breastfeeding are insufficient. Not for self-directed use.

它是采自野生的海贝，两点由此成立：来源与合法性须可追溯；贝壳会在其生长水域中富集重金属，因此供货方的检测与牡蛎、珍珠母同样重要。与其它贝壳类药材一样，传统用法要求打碎先煎；脾胃虚寒者传统不用。妊娠期与哺乳期的人体安全性数据不足。不得自行使用。

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Other Liver-wind calming herbs

6 related entries.

Gastrodia Rhizome天麻Gambir Vine Stem钩藤Oyster Shell牡蛎Abalone Shell石决明Mother-of-Pearl (Nacre Shell)珍珠母Dogbane Leaf (Apocynum)罗布麻叶

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