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Alternate Chinese names: 神屋 shén wū; 龟壳 guī ké; 败龟甲 bài guī jiǎ; 败龟版 bài guī bǎn; 龟筒 guī tóng; 龟下甲 guī xiā jiǎ; 龟底甲 guī dǐ jiǎ; 败龟板 bài guī bǎn; 龟甲 guī jiǎ; 龟板 guī bǎn

Kingdom: Animal

Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: Chinemys reevesi (Gray)

Origin in unofficial sources: Chinemys reevesii (Gray)

Use: Medicinal

Category: Supplementing agents / Yīn-supplementing agents

Properties: Sweet, salt; cold.

Channel entry: Liver, kidney, and heart channels.

Actions and indications:

• Enriches yīn and subdues yáng: Yīn vacuity with internal heat; yīn vacuity with yáng hyperactivity; febrile disease with yīn vacuity and stirring wind.
• Boosts the kidney and fortifies the bones: Kidney vacuity bone wilting, nonclosure of the fontanel in infants.
• Secures the menses and stanches bleeding: Flooding and spotting or profuse menstruation.
• Nourishes the blood and supplements the heart: Heart vacuity with fright palpitations, insomnia, and forgetfulness.

Dosage and method: Oral: 15–30g in decoctions. Crush and predecoct. Use the raw form for dizziness. Use the processed form (stir-fried in sand and dipped in vinegar) to treat limp wilting lumbus and knees and to treat bleeding. The gelatinous form extracted from the shells, 龟版胶, enriches yīn, supplements the blood, and stanches bleeding. Also available are wine-processed forms are also available, which are used for wilting patterns. Processing improves the smell and enhances the extraction of active constituents.

Warnings: Contraindicated in spleen-stomach vacuity cold and in cold-damp. Use with care in pregnancy.

Notes: Traditionally only the plastron or under-shell was used (being the most yīn part of the shell). Recent research has shown that the whole shell has the same actions. Accordingly, the Chinese pharmacopoeia has changed the name to 龟甲 guī jiǎ, Testudinis Carapax et Plastrum.

Quality: Clean and undamaged large plastrons without rotting flesh are the best.

Production area: Mainly produced Húběi, ānhuī, Húnán, Jiāngsū, and Zhèjiāng; also produced in Guǎngdōng, Sìchuān, Guìzhōu, Fújiàn, Shǎnxī (Shaanxi), Hénán, and Shanghai.

See: Guī bǎn (龟版 Testudinis Plastrum, tortoise plastron); Guī bǎn jiāo (龟版胶 Testudinis Plastri Gelatinum, tortoise plastron glue)

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