Alum – 1 lb (454 g)

Alum, known in Chinese as 白矾 (Báifán) and scientifically as Alumen, 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 Alum carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

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

Trusted for centuries, Alum 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 Alum, 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 herb is also known as Fan Stone, Bright Alum, Raw Alum, and Mica Alum. It is a crystalline substance refined from the sulfate mineral alunite (Alunite) through processing. It is produced in Shanxi, Gansu, Hebei, Anhui, Hubei, and other regions. It can be mined year-round. The raw mineral is crushed, dissolved in water, filtered, and the filtrate is heated and evaporated to concentrate. Upon cooling, the crystallized product obtained is Alum.

[Properties] Taste is astringent and sour; nature is cold; it has slight toxicity. It enters the Lung, Spleen, Liver, and Large Intestine meridians.

[Actions] Detoxifies and kills parasites, dispels wind-phlegm, stops diarrhea and bleeding.

[Applications]
1. Used for carbuncles, furuncles, and malignant sores. Mostly ground into powder for external use, often combined with Realgar (Huang Dan). For example, in the formula Er Xian Dan (二仙丹). For carbuncles with necrotic flesh that does not slough or granulation tissue overgrowth, dry alum combined with potassium nitrate powder is sprinkled on. For cold sores that form fistulas with persistent pus, equal parts of alum and styrax powder are ground into powder, made into medicinal cotton swabs, and inserted into the fistula until pus is exhausted, then medication is stopped. For mild burns and scalds, dry alum solution is used to wet dress the wound. For poisonous insect bites, alum and realgar in equal parts are ground into powder and applied.
2. Used for oral ulcers, nasal heat sores, acute conjunctivitis, and purulent otitis media. For oral ulcers, dry alum combined with realgar or rice-fried powder is sprinkled externally. For swollen and painful gums, combined with bee propolis as a powder, decoction is used as a mouth rinse. For nasal heat sores with foul pus odor, dry alum combined with raw Rehmannia and Sophora flavescens decoction is dripped into the nose. For nasal polyps without odor, dry alum powder mixed with face cream or combined with cinnabar powder is applied topically to corrode the polyps. For acute conjunctivitis with persistent pain, egg white mixed with dry alum powder is applied to the eyelids, as in the formula Nian Tong San (拈痛散). For purulent otitis media, alum combined with rouge powder is ground into powder and blown into the ear, as in Hong Mian San (红绵散).
3. Used for scabies and damp sores. For scabies itching, alum alone mixed with rice vinegar is applied, or combined with pomegranate peel and Polygonum aviculare root, crushed and applied. For scrotal damp sores with itching and discharge, alum water is used for external washing, or combined with Cnidium monnieri and Coptis chinensis to make powder for external application. For yellow water sores with infiltration, dry alum combined with realgar detoxifying powder is sprinkled on to kill parasites.
4. Used for stroke, epilepsy, throat obstruction, and phlegm-fluid asthma and cough. For sudden collapse from stroke with phlegm blocking consciousness, combined with soapberry fruit, as in Xi Xian San (稀涎散). For epilepsy with excessive phlegm and sudden collapse with foaming at the mouth, combined with turmeric, as in Bai Jin Wan (白金丸). For acute throat obstruction with phlegm blocking airways and breathing difficulty, soapberry juice is made into pills or combined with silkworm. For phlegm-fluid asthma and cough with chest fullness, combined with Pinellia, Cyperus, and fresh ginger juice.
5. Used for diarrhea, dysentery, and leukorrhea. For chronic diarrhea in the elderly, combined with Terminalia chebula, as in He Li Le San (诃黎勒散). For persistent dysentery, combined with sulfur and potassium nitrate, as in Bai Fan Wan (白矾丸). For leukorrhea due to spleen deficiency with dampness, combined with Atractylodes, Angelica dahurica, and cuttlefish bone; for damp-heat itching, combined with Phellodendron, Sophora flavescens, and Cnidium monnieri.
6. Used for hematemesis, hemoptysis, bloody stools, and metrorrhagia, combined with gallnut, charred blood residue, and catechu. For external bleeding from trauma, used alone or combined with frankincense and rosin powder for external application.
Additionally, internal use of alum can treat damp-heat jaundice, often combined with Xiao Shi (消石), as in Xiao Shi Fan Shi San (消石矾石散). Dry alum externally mixed can treat night sweating, axillary sweating, foot sweating, and body odor. Recent reports indicate treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers using dry alum combined with Corydalis, cuttlefish bone, and honey in powder form.

[Dosage and Administration] External use: appropriate amount, ground into powder and sprinkled, blown into throat, applied as paste, or dissolved in water for rinsing. Internal use: ground powder, 0.6–1.5 g; or incorporated into pills or powders. Raw alum is more for detoxification and killing parasites; calcined dry alum is more for astringing and promoting tissue regeneration.

[Cautions] Internal use should not exceed recommended doses to avoid vomiting; use cautiously in patients with weak constitution or weak stomach.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: Bright alum is potassium aluminum sulfate [KAl3(SO4)2(OH)6]; alum contains dehydrated alunite.
2. Pharmacology: Alum inhibits Staphylococcus aureus, hemolytic streptococcus, pneumococcus, Proteus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella flexneri and Shigella dysenteriae, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi A, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Bacillus anthracis, etc. It shows significant in vitro anti-Trichomonas vaginalis activity. Alum water in vitro causes immediate serum precipitation, indicating strong protein coagulation effects.
3. Clinical reports:
1) Refractory oral ulcers: Alum 6 g and white sugar 4 g heated to form alum sugar paste, applied with cotton swab once daily. In 95 cases, over 90% cured after one treatment. [Yunnan Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1985,(3): Feng Du Sha San]
2) Otitis media: Equal parts dry alum and gallnut ground with small amount of ice insect stop tablets to make ‘Bei Ku San’. Ear cleaned with 3% hydrogen peroxide, secretions wiped dry, then powder blown into ear. In 49 pediatric purulent otitis cases, 48 cured within 3 days. [Shaanxi Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1988,(3):124]
3) Hemorrhoids: Injection containing 4% alum and 0.15% tannin extracted from alum and gallnut used to treat 968 cases of internal hemorrhoids stages I-III; 933 cured, 34 improved, 1 ineffective; cure rate 96.4%. [Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1980,(7):24]
4) Cervicitis: Equal parts alum, Bletilla striata, and Angelica dahurica ground into powder called ‘San Bai Fen’. Cervix and vaginal secretions cleaned, then powder sprayed onto cervical erosion, at least 1 g per application, once every 3 days. In 710 cases treated, 549 followed up: 448 cured, 101 improved. [Primary Medical Journal, 1981,(4):31]