Realgar – 1 lb (454 g)

Realgar, known in Chinese as 雄黄 (Xiónghuáng) and scientifically as Realgar, 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 Realgar carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

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

Trusted for centuries, Realgar 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 Realgar, 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 Stone Yellow, Yellow Stone, Smoked Yellow, and Cockscomb Stone. It is a sulfide mineral belonging to the realgar group, Realgar. It is mainly produced in Hunan and Guizhou provinces, with additional production in Hubei, Gansu, Yunnan, and Sichuan. In the ore, realgar is soft and muddy, but it hardens upon exposure to air. Generally, the fully matured parts are scraped off with a bamboo knife to remove impurities, stones, and soil.

[Properties] Pungent in taste, warm in nature, and toxic. Enters the Liver and Stomach meridians.

[Actions] Detoxifies and kills parasites, dries dampness and expels phlegm, arrests malarial disorders.

[Applications]
1. Used for carbuncles and furuncles, lumbago with fire toxin, and poisonous snake bites. For carbuncles with back eruptions and dark necrotic flesh, it can be ground with alum and potassium alum for external application, as in Jinsu Dan (金素丹). For hard, swollen carbuncles not yet suppurated, it is combined with frankincense, myrrh, and musk to make pills for internal use, such as Xingxiao Wan (醒消丸). For lumbago with fire toxin, realgar powder alone mixed with vinegar is applied externally. For snake and insect bites, it can be combined with Wu Ling Zhi powder for internal and external use.
2. Used for scabies, damp sores, and parasitic accumulations. For scabies, it can be mixed with snake bed seed and mercury for topical application, or combined with borax, sophora root, Sichuan pepper, and stemona root decoction for washing externally. For damp sores, it can be used with phellodendron bark, borneol, and potassium alum. For parasitic abdominal pain, it can be combined with areca nut, morning glory seed, and rhubarb, as in Qian Niu Wan (牵牛丸).
3. Used for throat wind and throat obstruction caused by phlegm retention, sore throat, and asthma. For throat wind and obstruction, it can be combined with croton seed and turmeric, as in Jiedu Xionghuang Wan (解毒雄黄丸). For ulcerated throat, throat wind, milk moth, and carbuncles, it can be combined with bezoar, toad venom, and pearl powder for internal or external use, as in Lei’s Liu Shen Wan (雷氏六神丸). For pediatric asthma with fullness and cough, it can be combined with cinnabar, apricot kernel, and fermented soybean, as in Xionghuang Dan (雄黄丹).
4. Used for convulsions and tetanus. For convulsive coma, it can be combined with cinnabar, gallstone, and turmeric. For tetanus, it can be used alone or combined with saposhnikovia and aconite, as in Fa Biao Xionghuang San (发表雄黄散).
5. Used for malaria, it can be combined with orpiment and rhubarb ground into powder and made into pills for internal use before malaria onset, as in San Sheng Wan (三圣丸).
Additionally, it can treat abdominal masses and accumulations by mixing with alum powder and applying as a paste to painful areas.

[Dosage and Administration] External use: appropriate amount, ground into powder and sprinkled or mixed for application, or burned for fumigation. Internal use: for killing parasites, powder 0.05–0.1 g; or incorporated into pills or powders. Not decocted in water; internal use of fire-calcined realgar is prohibited.

[Cautions] Internal use should be cautious; do not overdose or use long-term. External use should not cover large areas or be continuous to avoid skin absorption and poisoning. Contraindicated in pregnancy and in cases of yin deficiency and blood deficiency.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: Realgar mainly contains arsenic disulfide and also contains impurities such as silicon, lead, iron, calcium, and magnesium.
2. Pharmacological effects: 0.125% realgar has 100% bactericidal effect against Staphylococcus aureus; realgar aqueous extract (1:2) inhibits various dermatophytes including Trichophyton violaceum in vitro, and also inhibits Mycobacterium tuberculosis human and bovine types and Mycobacterium fortuitum; a combination of realgar with areca nut, ferula, and cinnamon shows anti-Schistosoma japonicum activity.
3. Clinical reports: (1) Herpes zoster: realgar oil (100 ml persimmon oil mixed with 5–8 g boiled realgar) applied 5–10 times on the first day, with reduced frequency thereafter, generally used for 4–7 days. 216 cases treated, all cured. [Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, 1989,(10):629] (2) Chronic granulocytic leukemia: realgar and indigo naturalis mixed at 1:9 ratio, encapsulated or made into tablets, 10 g daily in three doses, combined with syndrome differentiation and decoction treatment. 25 cases treated, 18 complete remission, 7 partial remission. [Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, 1981,(1):16] (3) Scrofula: 6 g realgar, 2 live earthworms, 1 duck egg. A small hole is made in the egg to remove some egg white; earthworms soaked in cold boiled water until clean, chopped and mixed with realgar powder inside the egg, stirred evenly, sealed with white wine or adhesive tape, roasted by fire until fully cooked, taken orally. One egg taken every 3 days; 3 eggs constitute one course; if ineffective, another course is given. 102 cases treated, 93 effective, 9 ineffective. [Guangxi Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1986,9(1):17] (4) Impetigo: appropriate amount of realgar powder mixed with 75% ethanol or white wine into a paste, applied locally with cotton swab once daily after disinfection. 12 cases treated, all cured. [Sichuan Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1984,(3):45]