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Succinum
Amber
琥珀 〔琥珀〕 hǔ pò
Alternate Chinese names: 兽魄 shòu pò; 琥魄 hǔ pò; 虎魄 hǔ pò; 虎珀 hǔ pò
Kingdom: Mineral
Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: This is the fossilized material that results from the hardening of pine resin. It comes in irregular granules, lumps, or stalactitic forms, and sometimes contains plant or insect fossils. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)
Use: Medicinal
Category: Spirit-quieting agents / Heavy settling spirit-quieting agents
Properties: Sweet; balanced.
Channel entry: Heart and liver channels.
Actions and indications:
- Settles fright and quiets the spirit: Patterns of disquieted heart spirit, child fright wind, mania and withdrawal, and epilepsy.
- Quickens the blood and transforms stasis: Blood stasis patterns causing menstrual pain, amenorrhea, external injury, or painful
concretions and conglomerations . - Disinhibits urination and frees strangury: Blood strangury, heat strangury, stone strangury, and dribbling urinary block.
- Additional uses: Hǔ pò may be used externally to close sores and engender flesh. For enduring ulcerated sores that fail to close, combine it with Zhēn zhū (珍珠 Margarita , pearl), Xuè jié (血竭 Daemonoropis Resina, dragon’s blood), and Chì shí zhī (赤石脂 Halloysitum Rubrum , halloysite).
- Modern applications: In recent years, hǔ pò has been given as a powder mixed with Sān qī (三七 Notoginseng Radix, notoginseng [root]) to treat angina pectoris in patients with coronary heart disease. It is also used as a powder to treat kidney stones with bloody urine.
Dosage and method: Oral: 1.5–3.0g per dose; it is taken as a powder, either mixed with honey, taken drenched, or made into pills. Hǔ pò is resinous and does not readily dissolve in water, so it is not suitable for decoctions. It may also be applied externally as a powder.
Warnings: The percolating and disinhibiting action of hǔ pò can damage yīn, so it is contraindicated in yīn vacuity with interior heat, as well as in frequent urination.
Product description: This is the carbohydrate that results from the hardening of pin resin. It comes in irregular granules, lumps, or stalactitic forms, and sometimes contains plant or insect fossils. It is yellow, brown or red in color, with white or yellow streaks, translucent or opaque. It has a hardness of 2–2.5, and a specific gravity of 1.05–1.09. Amber with a pronounced red coloring is called Xuè hǔ pò (血琥珀 Succinum Sanguineum, blood amber). Amber that is brownish black in color is called black amber Hēi hǔ pò (黑琥珀 Succinum Atrum, black amber). This agent is ground to a powder before use.
Quality: The best amber is brittle in substance, reddish in color, and translucent.
Production area: Yúnnán, Guǎngxī.
Etymology: According to legend hǔ pò 琥珀 is so named because when the tiger (hǔ 虎) dies, its soul (pò 魄) enters this stone. The characters are written with yù 玉, the jade radical, to reflect the category of the item.
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