Pangolin Scale – 1 lb (454 g)

Pangolin Scale, known in Chinese as 穿山甲 (Chuānshānjiǎ) and scientifically as Squama Manis, is a valued herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This TCM herb has been traditionally used to support natural wellness, maintain vitality, and encourage holistic balance. At TCMforyou.com, we provide premium-quality Pangolin Scale carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Pangolin Scale helps promote overall well-being and supports natural energy, immunity, and balance. Integrating this herb into your wellness routine offers a gentle, time-tested approach to enhancing daily health. Whether brewed as tea, added to herbal remedies, or taken as part of a TCM formula, Pangolin Scale provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Pangolin Scale has been used in TCM to harmonize the body and encourage optimal functioning of key systems. At TCMforyou, we prioritize authenticity and quality. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure purity and potency, delivering an herbal product aligned with traditional practices.

Experience the natural support of Pangolin Scale, promoting immune health, vitality, and holistic well-being. Embrace the wisdom of TCM and incorporate this gentle, effective herbal remedy into your daily wellness journey.

[Overview] This item is also known as Lingli Jia, Chuanshanjia, Jia Pian, and Shanjia Pian. It is the scale of the pangolin Manis pentadactyla Linnaeus, an animal of the Manidae family. It is mainly produced in Guangxi, Zhejiang, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Hunan, Fujian, Taiwan, and other regions. It can be captured year-round. After capture, the animal is killed, the scale skin is peeled off, then placed in boiling water to scald until the scales fall off by themselves. The scales are then collected, cleaned, and sun-dried, called “Jia Pian”.

[Properties] Taste salty, slightly cold in nature. Enters the Liver and Stomach meridians.

[Actions] Invigorates blood and disperses stasis, unblocks menstruation and promotes lactation.

[Applications]
1. Used for blood stasis causing amenorrhea, abdominal masses (zhengjia), and rheumatic arthralgia. For qi stagnation and blood stasis causing abdominal masses and lower abdominal pain, often combined with Chuanshanjia (pangolin scale), Myrrha (myrrh), and Corydalis Rhizoma (Yanhusuo). For treating abdominal masses with pain and tenderness, often combined with Trionyx carapace (Biejia), Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (Dahuang), and Galla Chinensis (Ganqi). For wind-cold-damp painful obstruction causing limb pain, difficulty in flexion and extension, or persistent numbness, often combined with Fangfeng (Saposhnikoviae Radix), Qianghuo (Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix), and Chuanxiong Rhizoma.
2. Used for qi and blood stagnation causing insufficient or scanty lactation; can be used alone, taken warm with wine. This is the formula Yongquan San. When combined with Vaccariae Semen (Wangbuliuxing), lactation promotion is enhanced. If due to qi and blood deficiency with scanty milk, often combined with Astragali Radix (Huangqi), Codonopsis Radix (Dangshen), and Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Danggui). If due to liver qi stagnation causing insufficient lactation and breast distension and pain, often combined with Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Bupleuri Radix (Chaihu), and Chuanxiong Rhizoma.
3. Used for carbuncles, sores, scrofula, and tuberculosis. For early-stage carbuncles with redness, swelling, heat, and pain without suppuration, often combined with Lonicerae Flos (Jinyinhua), Angelicae Dahuricae Radix (Baizhi), and Trichosanthes Radix (Tianhuafen), as in the formula Xianfang Huoming Yin. For carbuncles with qi and blood deficiency and pus formation without rupture, often combined with Gleditsiae Spina (Zaojiaoci), Angelicae Dahuricae Radix, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, and raw Astragali Radix, as in the formula Tuoli Tounong Tang. For scrofula with phlegm and blood stasis nodules, often decocted with Scrophulariae Radix (Xuanshen), Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus (Beimu), and Prunellae Spica (Xiakucao); can also be externally applied with Artemisiae Argyi Folium (Ai Ye), Olibanum (Ruxiang), and Myrrha (Moyao) powders.
Additionally, externally used for treating pruritic wind sores, impetigo with yellow discharge, and purulent otitis externa.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 5–9 g; or included in powders. Generally used after processing by stir-frying. External use: appropriate amount, powdered and sprinkled or made into a paste for application.

[Cautions] Contraindicated in cases of qi and blood deficiency, suppurated carbuncles, and pregnancy.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: The scales contain stearic acid, N-butyl-23-amide, cyclic dipeptides such as cyclo-(L-serine-L-tyrosine) and cyclo-(D-serine-L-tyrosine), and trace elements including zinc, sodium, titanium, calcium, lead, silicon, phosphorus, iron, manganese, chromium, magnesium, nickel, copper, vanadium, boron, aluminum, molybdenum, and tin.
2. Pharmacological effects: The water-alcohol precipitate of pangolin scales can increase arterial blood flow in dogs, reduce peripheral resistance, and directly dilate blood vessel walls; the decoction significantly prolongs coagulation time in mice and rats and reduces blood viscosity; both aqueous and alcoholic extracts show significant anti-inflammatory effects on croton oil-induced ear inflammation in mice.
3. Clinical reports: For benign prostatic hyperplasia, pangolin scales (processed by stir-frying) combined with cinnamon in a 6:4 ratio are made into a powder, taken orally at 10 g twice daily with honey water for 20 days per course. In 45 cases treated, 29 were cured, 13 improved, and 3 ineffective, with a total effective rate of 93.3%. [Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1982, 23(7):509]