Zi Bei Chi - 紫贝 - Concha Mauritiae/Cypraeae

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Concha Mauritiae Arabicae Concha Mauritiae/Cypraeae
Common English:	Arabic Cowry Shell Cowry Shell

Properties

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Salty	Neutral	Liver (Heart) (Spleen)	6-15g Smash and decoct first. Refine with water for eye drop application.

Actions	Indications/Syndromes
*Calms the Liver, anchors Yang* and sedates fright (calms the Shen) and Calms convulsions.**	Liver Yang Rising or Deranged Heart Yang with dizziness, vertigo, palpitations and insomnia Mania due to fevers
Clears the Liver, cools Heat and brightens the eyes	Red, swollen eyes with superficial visual obstruction, macula in children, cataracts, nebulae Dysentery, Purulent Blood, Toxic heat
Promotes diuresis	Edema, Hematuria, Leg Qi, Urinary retention

CONTRAINDICATIONS

INCOMPATIBILITIES

HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS

Concha Haliotidis Jue Ming Zi Concha Ostreae Mu Li Magnetitum Ci Shi	Ram. cum Uncis Uncariae Gou Teng Gypsum Fibrosum Shi Gao Cornu Saigae Tataricae Ling Yang Jiao	Periostracum Cicadae Chan Tui Fr. Gardeniae Zhi Zi Flos Chrysanthemi Ju Hua
Liver Yang Rising with dizziness, vertigo, palpitations and insomnia	Febrile convulsions in children	Blazing Liver Fire affecting the eyes
Succinum Hu Po Concha Haliotidis Jue Ming Zi Margarita Zhen Zhu	Concha Margaritaferae Usta *Zhen Zhu Mu* Rz. Coptidis Huang Lian Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum Ling Yang Jiao	Flos Chrysanthemi Ju Hua Fol. Mori Sang Ye Ram. cum Uncis Uncariae Gou Teng
Red, swollen, painful eyes with superficial visual obstruction For poxes in children entering the eyes	Palpitations, irritability, insomnia, dream-disturbed sleep or infantile convulsions due to high fever	Wind and Heat in the Liver channel manifested as red, swollen and painful eyes or visual obstructions Hyperactivity of Liver Yang manifested as dizziness, vertigo and headache

Collected in summer, the drug has the muscle removed, is washed clean and is then sun-dried.
It should be crushed prior to decoction.
Indications include superficial obstruction from Toxic Heat, spots and rashes in children that threaten the eyes, and night terrors that prevent sleep.
The white portions are said to enter the Qi level, while the purple portions enter the Blood level.
It opens and unblocks the water channels, expels toxins and descends the blood.
It is applied to resolve and remove all urinary blockage, edema, leg Qi, macular rashes, superficial visual obstruction in children, and toxins.
It softens hardness.
For superficial visual obstruction, it is used in the form of drops.
Zi Bei Chi and Fossilia Dentis Mastodi Long Chi both enter the Liver channel, calm the Liver, anchor Yang and sedate fright. Zi Bei Chi is neutral, anchors Yang more effectively and brightens the eyes, whereas Long Chi is heavier and more astringent, sedates and quiets more effectively, and can stabilize and bind.
Calcined Cowry Shell Duan Zi Bei Chi is the processed form used as eye drops.
Alternative names are Bei Ci and Zi Bei.