Witnessed by: TCM
Abalone shell, of the Haliotidae (Gastropoda) family. The ear-shaped shell of a marine gastropod, one margin pierced by a row of open respiratory holes; native range: gathered along the rocky coasts of southern and northern China, Korea and Japan, wherever abalone are taken. Globally recognized as shi jue ming (石决明), qian li guang (千里光) in Chinese, abalone shell, sea-ear shell in English, and Concha Haliotidis in Latin. The part used is the whole shell, crushed — raw, or calcined. A flattened oval shell, the outside rough, dull and reddish-brown to greenish, the inside a brilliant iridescent mother-of-pearl; stony hard, heavy, breaking with a chalky fracture; faintly salty, almost odourless.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
ABALONE SHELL
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- abalone shell
- Family
- Haliotidae (Gastropoda)
Form
- Part used
- the whole shell, crushed — raw, or calcined
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- salty (咸)
Temperature
- TCM
- cold (寒)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- drains liver fire and anchors ascendant liver yang, clears heat and brightens the eyes, and dispels superficial visual obstruction
Cautions
- Contraindications
- spleen and stomach deficiency cold with poor appetite and loose stool; not for dizziness or eye disease from blood deficiency without heat
- Toxicity
- non-toxic; a mineral-heavy shell, and a long course burdens a weak digestion
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