Cow Gallstone – 1 lb (454 g)

Cow Gallstone, known in Chinese as 牛黄 (Niúhuáng) and scientifically as Calculus Bovis, 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 Cow Gallstone carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Cow Gallstone 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, Cow Gallstone provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Cow Gallstone 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 Cow Gallstone, 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 product is also known as Rhinoceros Gallstone and Choubao. It is the gallstone of the bovine species Bos taurus domesticus Gmelin. It is mainly produced in Beijing, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Hebei, Heilongjiang, and other regions. When slaughtering cattle, if gallstones are found, bile is filtered out, the gallstone is taken out, the outer membrane removed, and then air-dried. Due to the rarity of natural Calculus Bovis, in recent years, successful cultivation of gallstones inside live cattle has been achieved; this type is called “artificially cultivated Calculus Bovis.”

[Properties] Sweet in taste, cold in nature. Enters the Heart and Liver meridians.

[Actions] Clears the Heart, resolves phlegm, opens orifices, cools the Liver, extinguishes wind, detoxifies.

[Applications]
1. Used for warm-heat diseases with excessive heat stirring wind, delirium, high fever with convulsions. Commonly combined with musk, borneol, Coptis chinensis (Huanglian), Gardenia jasminoides (Zhizi), etc. Formulas include Niuhuang Qingxin Wan, Angong Niuhuang Wan, Zhibao Dan. If accompanied by excess in the ten viscera with constipation, combine with rhubarb and mirabilite. For pediatric high fever convulsions with abundant phlegm and saliva, combine with Arisaema cum Bile (Dan Nanxing), Bambusa tuldoides (Tianzhu Huang), as in Niuhuang Baolong Wan. Modern use often combines Calculus Bovis with gypsum, antelope horn, buffalo horn to treat epidemic encephalitis B; combined with Artemisia capillaris (Yinchen), Da Pinggan Huang, Gardenia jasminoides to treat severe hepatitis.
2. Used for epilepsy attacks, unconsciousness with convulsions and foaming at the mouth. Commonly combined with musk, Dan Nanxing, Tianzhu Huang, as in Jinbo Zhenxin Wan; combined with scorpion, stiff silkworm, cicada slough to enhance wind-extinguishing and spasm-relieving effects, as in Huafeng Ding.
3. Used for Liver meridian constrained heat with dizziness and vertigo caused by phlegm-fire disturbing the head. Commonly combined with antelope horn, Bupleurum, white peony root, as in Niuhuang Wan.
4. Used for heat toxin abscesses and swellings, mouth and tongue ulcers; can be taken internally or applied externally. For sore throat with ulceration and mouth ulcers, often combined with borneol and pearl powder, as in Zhuhuang San; combined with Lonicera japonica (Jinyinhua), Viola yedoensis (Zaoxiu) to treat all heat toxin sores and ulcers, as in Niuhuang Jiedu Wan; for scrofula, phlegm nodules, leucorrhea, and unnamed swellings and toxins, combined with musk, frankincense, myrrh, as in Xihuang Wan. The commonly used patent medicine Liu Shen Wan for carbuncles, furuncles, diphtheria, and mouth ulcers uses Calculus Bovis as the main herb for its heat-clearing and detoxifying effects.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: powder, 0.15–0.35 g per dose; or incorporated into pills. External use: appropriate amount, powdered and sprinkled or mixed for application.

[Cautions] Use with caution in cases of spleen deficiency with loose stools and in pregnancy.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical components: Calculus Bovis contains bilirubin, bile acids (including cholic acid and deoxycholic acid), bile salts, cholesterol, ergosterol, fatty acids, lecithin, vitamin D, and inorganic elements such as calcium, sodium, iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorus. It also contains carotenoids, various amino acids, and acidic components.
2. Pharmacological effects: Calculus Bovis has central nervous system inhibitory effects, can sedate and anticonvulse; oral or injected taurine has significant analgesic effects; Calculus Bovis and bile acids, bilirubin have cardiotonic effects. Taurine can significantly counteract myocardial ischemia and damage induced by isoproterenol injection, prevent and treat various experimental arrhythmias, lower blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats or deoxycorticosterone acetate-induced hypertensive rats, reduce blood cholesterol, increase high-density lipoprotein, and prevent atherosclerosis. Calculus Bovis has choleretic and hepatoprotective effects, promoting liver cell recovery and preventing fatty liver. It also has anti-inflammatory, expectorant, antiviral, anti-tumor, and immune-enhancing effects.
3. Clinical reports: 1) Subacute severe hepatitis: treated with conventional supportive therapy plus Chinese medicine mainly containing Calculus Bovis and bear bile, one course is 7 days. Among 44 cases treated, 28 survived, a survival rate of 63.6%. [Journal of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, 1994,(4):37] 2) Upper respiratory tract infection: treated with taurine capsules, 0.8–1.6 g per dose, three times daily. Among 80 cases, 52 cured, 23 improved, total effective rate 93.8%. [Chinese Pharmacology and Clinical, 1989,5(2):38] 3) Herpes zoster: treated with Niuhuang Jiedu Wan plus physiological saline applied topically; 30 cases treated, generally effective within 6–8 days. [Chinese Patent Medicine, 1989,(9):25]