Turtle Shell – 1 lb (454 g)

Turtle Shell, known in Chinese as 鳖甲 (Biējiǎ) and scientifically as Carapax Trionycis, 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 Turtle Shell carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

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

Trusted for centuries, Turtle Shell 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 Turtle Shell, 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 Shangjia, Bie Ke, Jiayu Ke, and Tuanyu Ke. It is the dorsal shell of the soft-shelled turtle Trionyx sinensis Wiegmann, belonging to the family Trionychidae. It is mainly produced in Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi provinces. It is captured in spring, summer, and autumn. The turtle’s head is cut off, and the body is placed in boiling water and cooked until the hard skin on the dorsal shell can be peeled off. Then the dorsal shell is removed, cleaned of flesh, and sun-dried.

[Properties] Taste: salty; nature: slightly cold. Channels entered: Liver and Kidney meridians.

[Actions] Nourishes yin and clears heat, subdues yang and extinguishes wind, softens hardness and dissipates nodules.

[Applications]
1. Used for yin deficiency with internal heat, yin deficiency with wind movement, and yin deficiency with hyperactive yang. For example, to treat liver and kidney yin deficiency with vigorous fire causing consumptive bone steaming and tidal fever with night sweating, it is often combined with Yin Chai Hu (Stellaria root), Zhi Mu (Anemarrhena rhizome), Qing Hao (Artemisia annua), Di Gu Pi (Lycii cortex), etc., as in Qing Gu San (Clear Bone Powder). For late-stage warm-heat diseases with fluid depletion and residual heat, presenting as night fever and early morning coolness, it is often combined with Qing Hao, Zhi Mu, Sheng Di Huang (Rehmannia root), and Dan Pi (Moutan cortex), as in Qing Hao Bie Jia Tang (Artemisia and Turtle Shell Decoction). For late-stage heat disease with liver yin injury and internal movement of deficient wind causing finger twitching, it is often combined with Mu Li (Oyster shell), Gui Jia (Tortoise shell), Sheng Di Huang, and E Jiao (Donkey-hide gelatin), as in Er Jia Fu Mai Tang (Two-shell Restore Pulse Decoction). For yin deficiency with hyperactive yang causing dizziness and blurred vision, it is often combined with Sheng Di Huang, Mu Li, and Ju Hua (Chrysanthemum flower).
2. Used for masses and accumulations such as chronic malaria, malaria with enlarged liver and spleen, pain in the hypochondrium, or masses caused by qi, blood, phlegm, and dampness stagnation. It is often combined with Chai Hu (Bupleurum), Wu Gong (Centipede), and Da Huang (Rhubarb), as in Bie Jia Jian Wan (Turtle Shell Decoction Pill). For women with blood stasis causing amenorrhea and abdominal masses, it can be combined with Tao Ren (Peach kernel), Da Huang, San Leng (Sparganium rhizome), and E Zhu (Curcuma rhizome).
Additionally, externally applied Carapax Trionycis can treat burns from water and fire and chronic non-healing ulcers.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoct 9–24 g, crushed and decocted first; can be made into paste, pills, or powder. External use: appropriate amount, calcined to preserve nature, ground into powder and mixed or applied as a paste.

[Cautions] Contraindicated in cases of spleen and stomach deficiency cold with poor appetite and loose stools, and in pregnancy.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: Carapax Trionycis contains collagen, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, Trionyx sinensis polysaccharides, and various amino acids and trace elements including calcium, sodium, aluminum, potassium, manganese, copper, zinc, phosphorus, and magnesium.
2. Pharmacological effects: Carapax collagen can significantly increase hemoglobin content in mice; oral administration of Carapax powder inhibits transplanted solid tumor MH134 in mice, reducing tumor diameter and significantly decreasing tumor weight.
3. Clinical reports: (1) Hepatosplenomegaly: equal parts of Carapax Trionycis and Pangolin scales are ground into fine powder; 4 g per dose taken after meals with honey is preferable. In 100 cases treated, 78 showed significant reduction or normalization of liver and spleen size, and platelet counts rose above 100,000/mm3. [Shaanxi Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1989, (7):315] (2) Tuberculous ulcers: 50 g Carapax Trionycis ground into powder mixed with medical Vaseline; 100 sterilized gauze pieces prepared. After disinfecting ulcer area, Carapax ointment gauze strips are gently packed into the ulcer base with a probe and changed every other day. Over 50 cases treated with satisfactory results. [Liaoning Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1982, 6(3):48]