Bie Jia - 鳖甲 - Carapax Trionycis - Tortoise Shell
| Pharmaceutical Latin: | Carapax Amydae Carapax Trionycis |
| Common English: | Chinese Soft-Shell Turtle Shell Tortoise Shell (Dorsal Side) |
Category
Herbs that Tonify the YinProperties
| Taste | Temperature | Entering Meridians | Dosage |
| Salty | Slightly Cold (Cold) | Liver Spleen (Kidney) | 9-30g Crush, and cook 30 minutes longer than the other herbs. |
Actions And Indications
| Actions | Indications/Syndromes |
Nourishes Yin and anchors Yang | Yin Deficiency with fever, steaming bone disorder, night sweats or consumption Internal stirring of Liver Wind |
Dissipates nodules, Invigorates the Blood, Promotes menstruation, Softens hardness | Chest and flank accumulations with pain and amenorrhea Excessive menstruation due to Hot Blood Malarial disorders with palpable masses |
Heavily anchors, descends, unblocks and facilitates the functions of the Blood vessels | Problems in children due to internal clumping |
Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions
| CONTRAINDICATIONS |
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| INCOMPATIBILITIES |
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| HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS |
Major Combinations
| Plastrum Testudinis | Plastrum Testudinis | Rx. Rehmanniae |
Steaming bones and night sweats due to Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency with Heat Rising. Calms the Liver, subdues Yang and extinguishes Wind to treat vertigo and tinnitus associated with Yin Deficiency with Yang Rising and deficient Wind moving internally. | Extreme injury to Yin leading to internal stirring of Liver Wind and tremors. | Injured Yin in the aftermath of a febrile disease with fever and night sweats followed by a sense of cooling in the morning. |
| Cx. Lycii Radicis | Cx. Lycii Radicis | Fossilia Ossis Mastodi |
Afternoon fever, night sweats and steaming bone disorder due to Yin Deficiency. | Steaming bone disorder in children with irritability around the diaphragm and palpitations. | Yin Deficiency with Internal movement of Wind manifesting in general or localized tremors. |
| Rz. Sparganii | Rx. et Rz. Rhei | Gel. Corii Asini |
Hard immobile masses of the epigastrium and abdomen. | Amenorrhea with abdominal masses. | Excessive menstruation and uterine bleeding. |
Rx. Bupleuri | Rx. Gentianae Macrophyllae | Sm. Persicae |
Chronic malarial disorders with organomegaly and hypochondriac pain. | An unreleased exterior problem and Interior Fire from constraint marked by fever that becomes higher in the afternoon with incomplete bowel movements. | Accumulation of Food Stagnation and buildup of Blood giving rise to long-term alternating chills and fever. |
Rx. Astragali | Rx. Paeoniae Alba (high dose) | Rx. Gentianae Macrophyllae |
Chronic non-healing sores and ulcerations. | Liver Wind. | Coughing and fatigue, Night fever, Night sweats, Steaming bones, Weight loss. |
Rx. Stellariae | Rx. et Rz. Rhei | Rz. Belamcandae |
Tuberculosis with chronic consumptive dry cough and blood-streaked sputum. | Amenorrhea or masses from Blood Stagnation. | Abdominal masses from malaria. |
Rx. Dichroae | Rx. Dichroae | Rx. Salviae Miltiorrhizae |
Chronic malarial disorders. | Warm malarial disorders. | Hepatomegaly or splenomegaly. |
Rx. Scrophulariae | ||
Goiter. |
Notes
- For abdominal pain and Intestinal Abscesses, use this substance in calcined, powdered form.
- The glue prepared from Bie Jia - Colla Carapax Trionycis Bie Jia Jiao is richer and more cloying, and is very effective for tonifying Blood and Yin. Its most common use is for consumption from Deficiency, or exhaustion of Blood and Yin with tidal fevers and Internal stirring of Liver Wind. The dosage is 3-9 gm. Dissolve it in hot water, then add it to the decoction.
- It is reported to cure hard abdominal masses.
- Research has shown this substance to be effective against Stomach and Liver cancers and lympholeukemia.
- It dispels Blood Stasis, leukorrhagia, hard abdominal masses and undigested food.
- In Japan, various cancers are treated with a decoction of the whole turtle.
- Bie Jia and Concha Ostreae Mu Li are both heavy substances that subdue ascendant Yang or anchor floating Yang. Both are salty, benefit Yin and soften hardness. Bie Jia tonifies Yin more strongly and cools at a deeper level, treating night sweats and steaming bones. Mu Li anchors and subdues Yang more strongly and is astringent, preventing the leakage of fluids such as sweat, vaginal discharge and seminal emissions. It also calms the Spirit.
- Bie Jia and Plastrum Testudinis Gui Ban are both shells that soften hardness, enrich Yin and subdue Yang. Bie Jia enters mainly the Liver channel, enriches Yin and softens hardness more strongly, and is used for gynecological conditions such as clumping around the flanks and abdominal masses. Being salty, cold and green, it enters the Liver and treats illnesses of the Blood level of the Liver channel. It travels through the Chong channel. Gui Ban enters mainly the Kidneys; because it is sweet, it is better at enriching the Yin to anchor the Yang, and it also unblocks the Ren channel to treat gynecological problems such as continuous uterine bleeding. Being black, it enters the Kidneys and treats all illnesses of the Blood level of the Kidney channel. It also unblocks the Heart.
- Vinegar-fried Soft-Shell Turtle Shell Cu Chao Bie Jia enters the Liver and is stronger at dispersing clumping and softening hardness. It is excellent for attacking hard areas without depleting Qi, and is used for accumulations and abdominal masses.
- Dui Yao pair with Qing Hao: for steaming bone fever, night sweats and cough from Yin Deficiency, for malaria, and for the later stage of Warm-febrile disease. Used together in Qing Hao Bie Jia Tang.
From Class
- Yu Zhu, turtle shells (Bie Jia, Gui Ban): Yu Zhu generates fluid and releases external wind; turtle shells anchor yang, tonify, move a little blood; stomach yin needed to release exterior. (Shea)