Calculus bovis,[1] niu-huang (牛黃) or cattle gallstones are dried gallstones of cattle used in Chinese herbology. In China and Japan it has been long used to treat various diseases, including high fever, convulsion and stroke.[2]
In Asian countries, calculus bovis are sometimes harvested when steers (Bos taurus domesticus) are slaughtered. Their gall bladders are taken out, the bile is filtered, and the stones are cleaned and dried. The bezoars may also be surgically removed by veterinarians when working cattle become ill. In Western countries, they are usually discarded. Its equivalent in Hindu culture is Gorochana.
Calculus bovis have a color varying from golden yellow to brownish yellow. The shape of a stone is variable and depends on how it was formed, becoming spherical, oval, triangular, tubular, or irregular.
Since natural calculus bovis are scarce, they can be very expensive. There are artificial calculus bovis or bovis calculus artifactus used as substitutes. In China, these are manufactured from cholic acid derived from bovine bile[3] combined with dry bovine bile powder, porcine ursodeoxycholic acid, taurine, bilirubin, cholesterol, etc.[4] Chinese regulations forbid the use of artificial calculus bovis in 42 drugs.[5]
Calculus bovis can cultivated (induced) in vivo by implanting a foreign object and microbials into bovine biles.[6]: 478 It can also be cultivated (precipitated) in vitro from bovine bile by adding ursodeoxycholic acid, cholic acid, and calcium bilirubinate, producing calculus bovis sativus.[7][8] Unlike artificial calculus bovis, either type of cultivated calculus bovis can fully replace calculus bovis under Chinese regulations.[5]
References
edit- ^ Ingredients, AN KUNG NIU HUANG WAN (Bezoar Chest Functioning Pills), Beijing Tong Ren Tang, Peking, China. 1980. PPRC 2015 entry
- ^ Yu, Zhi-Jie; Xu, Ying; Peng, Wei; Liu, Yu-Jie; Zhang, Jin-Ming; Li, Jin-Song; Sun, Tao; Wang, Ping (23 May 2020). "Calculus bovis: A review of the traditional usages, origin, chemistry, pharmacological activities and toxicology". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 254: 112649. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2020.112649. ISSN 1872-7573. PMID 32068140. S2CID 211161780.
- ^ "Cholic Acid". Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- ^ "人工牛黄". (cowgallstones.com). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ a b "关于牛黄及其代用品使用问题的通知". www.sda.gov.cn. 国食药监局. 21 January 2004. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ^ 石元春 (2002). 20世纪中国学术大典：农业科学 (in Chinese) (第一版 ed.). 福州: 福建教育出版社. ISBN 9787533431631.
- ^ 张晓松. "背景：何谓人工牛黄、培植牛黄和体外培育牛黄". 新华网. Archived from the original on 18 February 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ^ "体外培育牛黄说明书". 北京同仁堂. Retrieved 7 May 2017.[permanent dead link]
External links
edit- Niuhuang
- Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China 2015 entries for calculus bovis:
- Bovis calculus. ≥ 5% cholic acid, ≥ 25% bilirubin by dry wright.
- Bovis calculus artifacus, artificial replacement produced from dry bovine bile. ≥ 13% cholic acid, ≥ 0.63% bilirubin by dry wright.
- Bovis calculus sativus, in vitro cultivated replacement produced from bovine bile. ≥ 6% cholic acid, ≥ 35% bilirubin by dry wright.
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