Ark Shell (Wa leng zi)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Concha Arcae |
| Zoological Name: | Arca granosa L. Arca subcrenata Lischke Arca inflata Reeve |
| Common Name: | Ark shell |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Mingyi Bielu |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The shells are collected from the sea when the tide is out. After the flesh is removed, the shell is dried and ground into powder. |
| Properties and Taste: | Salty and neutral |
| Meridian: | Lung, stomach and liver |
| Functions: | To resolve phlegm and stagnation To soften hardness and disperse nodules |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Scrofula and goiter. *Use with Seaweed (Hai zao) and Laminaria (Kun bu). 2. Stomach pain and acid regurgitation. *Use with Cuttlefish bone (Wu zei gu). 3. Subcutaneous nodules. *Use with Burreed tuber (San leng), Zedoary (E zhu) and Turtle shell (Bie jia). |
| Dosage: | 10-30 g |
| Cautions: | The raw substance is used for nodules; the baked substance is better for treating acid regurgitation and pain. |