Calamine – 1 lb (454 g)

Calamine, known in Chinese as 炉甘石 (Lúgānshí) and scientifically as Calamina, 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 Calamine carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

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

Trusted for centuries, Calamine 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 Calamine, 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 Ganshi, Yangganshi, Fu Shui Ganshi, and Luyan Stone. It is a carbonate mineral belonging to the calcite group, specifically smithsonite. It is mainly produced in Guangxi, with Sichuan, Hunan, and Yunnan also producing it. It can be mined year-round. After extraction from the mine, impurities and mud are removed.

[Properties] Sweet in taste, neutral in nature. Enters the liver, spleen, and lung meridians.

[Actions] Brightens the eyes and removes film, dries dampness and relieves itching, promotes wound closure and tissue regeneration.

[Applications]
1. Used for red, swollen, and painful eyes, and the formation of eye film. This herb is commonly used in ophthalmology. For treating red, swollen, painful eyes with photophobia and lacrimation, ulceration of the eye margin, and itching at the eye corners, it is often combined with pearl, bear bile, musk, calcined borax, borneol, and other herbs, as in the formula Babao Eye Medicine (八宝眼药). For wind-induced eye tearing and ulceration, it is often combined with Coptis and natron for topical application. For eye film formation, it is dissolved in boiling water with green vitriol and natron and used as a warm wash on the affected area.
2. Used for non-healing ulcers and damp skin sores. For ulcers after carbuncles where pus is nearly exhausted, this herb is often combined with frankincense, amber, cinnabar, and borneol. For ear discharge with pus or yellow foul-smelling fluid, it can be combined with alum, rouge, and musk as a powder blown into the ear. For chancroid and genital ulcers, it can be combined with child tea and other herbs as a powder mixed with sesame oil for topical application. For chronic damp sores or burns with necrotic flesh and no tissue regeneration, it can be combined with calcined gypsum and red hematite, ground into a fine powder and applied to the affected area or mixed with sesame oil for topical use.

[Dosage and Administration] External use: appropriate amount, suspended in water for eye drops; or ground into powder and sprinkled on the affected area.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical composition: Smithsonite’s main component is zinc carbonate (ZnCO3), also containing small amounts of calcium oxide (CaO), magnesium oxide (MgO), iron oxide (Fe2O3), and manganese oxide (MnO). Zinc is often partially replaced by ferrous iron, and some samples contain trace amounts of cobalt, copper, cadmium, lead, and trace germanium and copper.
2. Pharmacology: This herb is a natural zinc carbonate insoluble in water. Modern medicine widely uses it in dermatology as a moderate antiseptic, astringent, and protective agent to treat skin inflammation or surface wounds, generally as a 5%-10% aqueous suspension (wash), and sometimes as an ointment. Smithsonite contains relatively high levels of harmful lead and cadmium.
3. Clinical reports: 1) Skin ulcers: A powder made from smithsonite, licorice, and borneol (Lugansan) was used topically in 154 cases, with an effective rate of 96.75%. [Shizhen National Medicine Research, 1997,(2):148] 2) Burns: 100 g of smithsonite was calcined, quenched in Sanhuang Decoction, dried, ground into an extremely fine powder, then mixed with 5 g borneol and sprinkled on burn residual wounds. In 78 cases, the cure rate was 97.4%. [Liaoning Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1994,(11):507] 3) Fat necrosis liquefaction of surgical incisions: After routine wound cleaning and thorough removal of wound fluid, smithsonite powder was sprinkled inside the wound and covered with sterile dressing, changed once daily. In 100 cases, all were cured after 3 to 10 dressing changes. [Chinese Clinical Medicine, 2003,4(20):90]