Gallstones found in dogs, known as “Cẩu Bảo,” are used to treat digestive issues caused by spleen and stomach deficiency with cold symptoms, such as inability to keep food down, choking, and difficulty digesting.
Cẩu Bảo has a shape resembling slightly bluish-white stones, formed in layers. These stones are produced by sick dogs, measuring between 0.5 to 1 cm. Cẩu Bảo has a salty taste, is warm in nature, and enters the stomach meridian, helping to dispel stagnant qi and clear accumulated phlegm.
Cẩu Bảo is primarily used to treat symptoms of vomiting after eating, choking, and indigestion. Recommended dosage: 0.6-1.5 g. It should not be used by those experiencing choking due to poor bodily fluids.
Recipe: Use 60 g of “Uy Linh Tien,” mix it with 10 g of crushed salt dissolved in a cup of water, strain out the residue, and drink the liquid three times a day with 0.3 g of finely powdered Cẩu Bảo. Symptoms should improve within a few days.
Not only dogs, but other animals such as cows and horses also produce medicinal stones within their bodies:
Bovine Gallstones
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| Bovine Gallstones (Image: SK & ĐS) |
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, these are referred to as “Ngưu Hoàng” (bovine gallstone), and they typically have an egg shape, though they can also be spherical, square, or triangular, with a diameter ranging from 0.6 to 3.3 cm. The exterior is golden yellow or brown, with irregular coloring, smooth and slightly shiny, sometimes covered with a thin black membrane. Some stones may have a cracked surface while others are rough. Ngưu Hoàng is lightweight, porous, and brittle, easily crushed by hand, with a broken surface that is yellowish-brown or golden, with varying shades and a glossy appearance arranged in evenly spaced circular layers. It has a pleasant fragrance, a slightly bitter taste that turns sweet, and dissolves smoothly without sticking to the teeth when swallowed. The best quality Ngưu Hoàng is shiny, smooth, and free from white coloration.
Ngưu Hoàng has the effects of clearing the heart, relieving heat, promoting phlegm elimination, treating convulsions, opening the orifices, and detoxifying. It is primarily used for symptoms of fever, mania, delirium, epilepsy, convulsions, and sores in the throat, mouth, and tongue.
Recommended dosage: 0.2-0.4 g in pill or powder form. For external use, apply as needed.
Recipe: Mix 30 g of crushed pearls and 30 g of Ngưu Hoàng finely ground together to treat swollen, painful throat ulcers (apply to the affected area).
Equine Gallstones
Mã Bảo is the name given to gallstones formed in the stomach or intestines of horses. When slaughtering a horse, if gallstones are found in the stomach or intestines, they are cleaned and dried in a cool place.
Mã Bảo is usually spherical, elliptical, or flat circular in shape, with sizes varying. Some stones weigh between 2-2.5 kg, while others weigh several hundred grams. Their diameter ranges from 6 to 20 cm. The exterior is either egg green or grayish-white, smooth, and often features chaotic or uneven patterns, with a hard and heavy composition. The broken surface is grayish-white with concentric rings, each layer measuring 0.3-1 cm thick, accompanied by many small blackish veins that are rough, uneven, with no smell and a bland taste.
Mã Bảo has a sweet, salty, and slightly bitter taste, and is effective in calming convulsions (anticonvulsant), resolving heat phlegm, and clearing liver and brain heat. It is primarily used to treat mania, epilepsy, and to control vomiting. Recommended dosage: 0.3-0.9 g, ground into powder for ingestion. It should not be used if there is no heat pathogen in the liver or gallbladder.
Dr. Phạm Hinh
