Mu Li - 牡蠣 - Concha Ostreae - Oyster Shell
| Pharmaceutical Latin: | Concha Ostreae |
| Common English: | Oyster Shell |
Category
Substances that Calm the Spirit: Substances that Anchor, Settle and Calm the Spirit (Substances that Calm the Liver and Extinguish Wind)Properties
| Taste | Temperature | Entering Meridians | Dosage |
| Salty Astringent | Cool | Liver Kidney (Gallbladder) (Heart) | 9-30g cook first when used in decoction |
Actions And Indications
| Actions | Indications/Syndromes |
Heavily settles and calms the Spirit | Agitated Heart and Spirit with palpitations with anxiety, restlessness and insomnia |
Calms the Liver, benefits Yin and anchors Floating Yang | Liver Yin Deficiency with Liver Yang Rising or Yin Deficiency with internal Heat with restlessness, irritability, palpitations and spontaneous sweating |
Prevents the leakage of fluids | Continuous sweat after febrile disease or in patients with steaming bone disorder Loss of fluids due to Deficiency with night sweats, spontaneous sweating, nocturnal emissions, spermatorrhea or vaginal discharge and uterine bleeding |
Softens hardness and dissipates nodules | Various kinds of lumps particularly neck lumps such as goiter or scrofula |
Absorbs acidity and alleviates pain (calcined) | Excessive Stomach pain with a sour taste in the mouth |
Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions
| CONTRAINDICATIONS |
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| INCOMPATIBILITIES |
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| HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS |
Major Combinations
| Succinum | Fossilia Ossis Mastodi | Fossilia Ossis Mastodi |
Insomnia. | Restlessness, irritability, palpitations and spontaneous sweating due to Floating Yang. | Anxiety, palpitations, insomnia, and dream disturbed sleep. Headaches, dizziness, tinnitus and other symptoms associated with Yin Deficiency with Yang Rising. |
| Fossilia Ossis Mastodi | Fossilia Ossis Mastodi Or Fossilia Ossis Mastodi | Plastrum Testudinis |
Spermatorrhea. | Excessive uterine bleeding and vaginal discharge. | Movement of Liver Wind after a febrile disease manifesting as tremors and spasms. |
| Rx. Rehmanniae | Rx. Astragali | Sm. Euryales |
Internal stirring of Wind from Deficiency. | Spontaneous sweating and night sweats. | Spermatorrhea and sore lower back and extremities. |
Fr. Rosae Laevigatae | Fr. Corni | Rx. Scrophulariae |
Urinary frequency or incontinence. | Irregular uterine bleeding or vaginal discharge. | Scrofula and lymphadenoma. |
Rx. Bupleuri | Rx. Salviae Miltiorrhizae | Concha Haliotidis |
Sub-costal pain and swelling. | Organomegaly. | Calcined as a powder for epigastric pain with acid regurgitation. |
Endoconcha Sepiae | Fr. Corni | Rx. Trichosanthis |
As a powder for epigastric pain with acid regurgitation. | Sweating. | Irritability and mental disorientation due to Lung and Stomach Yin Deficiency and ascending Heat with thirst. Goiter from clumping of Phlegm-Heat. |
Caul. Polygoni Multiflori | Fr. Rubi | Endoconcha Sepiae |
Insomnia. | Enuresis. | Duodenal or peptic ulcer. |
Fr. Evodiae | ||
Acid reflux. |
Notes
- It acts synergistically with Bul. Fritillariae Chuan Bei Mu or Zhe Bei Mu, Rx. Glycyrrhizae Gan Cao, Rx. Achyranthis Bidentatae Niu Xi and Rx. Polygalae Yuan Zhi.
- It disperses Phlegm better than Fossilia Ossis Mastodi Long Gu.
- Combined with Fossilia Ossis Mastodi Long Gu, it treats insomnia, neurosis, epilepsy and other disorders that call for stronger sedatives.
- Although an animal produces it, the material is essentially mineral, and it must be crushed before decocting.
- Research has shown that it inhibits the growth of cancer cells.
- It is reported to relieve fullness and rigidity of the hypochondrium, scrofula and every type of furuncle.
- It eases Heart and Spleen pain from Qi Stagnation, leukorrhea with reddish discharge, goiter and tuberculosis.
- For ulcerous paronychia and phalangeal polyps with pus, grind the thick head into powder and take 6g per dose with an alcohol decoction of Flos Carthami Hong Hua. Take it orally three times a day and also apply it topically to the lesion.
- To draw pus from a painful swelling that has not festered, mix the powder with water and apply it to the area often.
- For a carbuncle, apply the powder to the area and surround it with egg white, repeating often.
- The cooked meat is reported to regulate the Middle Jiao and cure consumptive and inflammatory diseases and menoxenia. Eaten raw with ginger, it can cure inflammatory diseases and ease the thirst and irritation caused by drinking.
- Cooked, the meat treats consumptive diseases, inflammatory diseases and menoxenia, and regulates the Middle Jiao
- Eaten raw with ginger and vinegar, the meat treats inflammatory diseases and eases the thirst and irritation caused by drinking.
- According to one source, it softens hard lumps, dispels Phlegm, eliminates scrofula, relieves hiccups, restores sperm and cures metrorrhagia and leukorrhagia.
- Long Gu and Concha Ostreae Mu Li share many qualities and are frequently used together. Long Gu is sweet and astringent, enters the Heart and Liver channels, and is better at stopping abandonment, suppressing fright and calming the Spirit. It neither softens hardness nor disperses clumping, and it nourishes Yin far less, so it is used less when night sweats come from Yin Deficiency. Mu Li is salty and astringent and enters the Kidneys to soften hardness, transform Phlegm and cool Heat.
- Calcined Oyster Shell Duan Mu Li binds more strongly and also dries, so it astringes sweating and Jing and stops vaginal discharge. It secures the Lower Jiao, expels turbid Dampness and inhibits Deficiency sweating.
- Dui Yao pair with Xuan Shen: for neck lumps and nodules such as scrofula, lipoma, swollen glands or goiter in Phlegm-Fire patterns, and likewise for nodules in the inguinal canal and elsewhere in the body. Used together in Xiao Luo Wan.
From Class
- Month 7 (Lung, bones): KI-9, BL-11; Long Gu, Mu Li, Xu Duan, Du Zhong: Month 7: warm the interior, rid damp-cold, strengthen bones with KI-9, BL-11, Long Gu, Mu Li, Xu Duan, Du Zhong; restless fetus: Zhong Ru Shi. (Lewis)
- Pao zhi (processing): Sheng Di vs Shu Di; Bai Zhu preparations; calcined (Duan) Mu Li: Processing changes category: Sheng Di clears heat, Shu Di tonifies yin/blood; bran-fried Bai Zhu gains qi-tonifying; calcined Mu Li's calcium binds heat and calms the Shen. (Rabinowitz)
- Neuro formulas: Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin, Ban Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang, Chai Hu Long Gu Mu Li Wan, Yi Guan Jian, Ding Zhi Wan, Wen Dan Tang: Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin for liver wind, Ban Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang for wind-phlegm, Yi Guan Jian for liver yin, Ding Zhi Wan settles the will. (Shea)
- Zhen Gan Xi Feng Tang ('roof tiles' formula): For pending stroke/TIA (Liver yang turning to wind): very high-dose Niu Xi leads blood down, with Mai Ya, shells and hematite as 'lead shoes'. (Gioioso)
- Mineral & shell substances to extinguish wind: For acute nervous-system flare-ups, wind-extinguishing substances are often minerals: coral, oyster shell (Mu Li), dragon bone (Long Gu). (Yuen)