Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Unani
White arsenic (Arsenolite), of the oxide mineral (arsenite) family. White, octahedral or earthy crystalline masses and sublimate crusts, odourless and highly poisonous; native range: an oxidation crust on arsenic ores and a sublimate of roasted arsenopyrite — the white trioxide, not the native metalloid. Globally recognized as xin shi (信石), pi shuang (砒霜) in Chinese, shveta malla, somal in Sanskrit, samm-ul-far in Arabic/Urdu, and white arsenic, arsenolite in English. The part used is the purified (shodhita) mineral, in the minutest dose. White, glassy to earthy, odourless and almost tasteless, faintly sweetish — a warning, for it is a deadly poison.
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.
WHITE ARSENIC
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- white arsenic
- Scientific name
- Arsenolite (arsenic trioxide, As₂O₃)
- Family
- oxide mineral (arsenite)
Form
- Part used
- the purified (shodhita) mineral, in the minutest dose
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent · sour
- Ayurveda
- pungent (katu)
- Unani
- acrid
Temperature
- TCM
- hot
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Unani
- hot & dry (4th degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Spleen · Large Intestine
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- externally corrodes and removes rotten flesh, kills parasites and resolves toxic sores; in minute internal dose calms wheezing and checks malarial and other intermittent fevers
- Ayurveda
- krimighna, kushthaghna and jvaraghna in the duly purified minute dose
- Unani
- used as an escharotic and antiparasitic, and in minute dose for asthma and intermittent fever
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pregnancy, children, debility and all deficiency; never used except duly purified and minutely dosed
- Toxicity
- an intensely cumulative protoplasmic poison — even small amounts cause vomiting, purging and cardiac and multi-organ failure; long low exposure gives arsenicosis
- Sourcing status
- legally-restricted
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