Pharmaceutical Name:

Calculus Bovis

Zoological Name:

Bos Taurus domesticus Gmelin

Common Name:

Ox gallstone
Bos calculus

Source of Earliest Record:

Shennong Bencao Jing

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:

The gallstone of an ox is collected in any season, or the bile of an ox or pig is used instead.  After gathering, the material is dried and made into powder or pills.

Properties and Taste:

Bitter and cold

Meridian:

Liver and heart

Functions:

To clear heat and release toxins
To eliminate endogenous wind and stop convulsions
To resolve phlegm

Indications and Combinations:

1.     Loss of consciousness and convulsions caused by high fever.
*Use with Coptis root (Huanglian), Rhinoceros horn (Xijiao) and Musk (Shexiang) in the formula Angong Niuhuang Wan.

2.      Sore throat or ulcers and boils due to accumulation of toxic heat.
*Use with Natural indigo (Qingdai) and Honeysuckle flower (Jinyinhua).

Dosage:

0.2-0.5 g

Cautions:

This substance is contraindicated during pregnancy.