Pharmaceutical Name:

Ootheca Mantidis

Botanical Name:

Tenodera sinensis Saussure
Statilia maculata (Thunb.)
Hierodula patellifera (Serville)

Common Name:

Mantis Egg Case  

Source of Earliest Record:

Shennong Bencao Jing

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:

The egg case is collected in late autumn or spring, and then boiled or steamed and dried in the sun.

Properties and Taste:

Sweet, salty and neutral

Meridians:

Liver and kidney

Functions:

To tonify the kidneys and strengthen yang
To control essence and decrease urination

Indications and Combinations:

Deficient yang of the kidneys manifested as seminal emissions, nocturnal enuresis or leukorrhea. 

*Use with Dragon’s bone (Longgu), Oyster shell (Muli), Dadder seed (Tusizi) and Psoralea fruit (Buguzhi).

Dosage:

3-10 g

Cautions:

This substance is contraindicated in cases with deficient yin with excessive fire, or heat in the urinary bladder with frequent urine.