Witnessed by: TCM
Human placenta (Homo sapiens), of the Hominidae (Mammalia) family. The human placenta — the organ that joins mother and fetus, delivered at birth; native range: the placenta delivered after a healthy birth. Globally recognized as zi he che (紫河車) in Chinese, and human placenta, dried placenta in English. The part used is the whole placenta, membranes and cord removed, blood washed out, then dried. Fresh, a dark purple-red spongy disc; dried, a shrunken yellow-brown translucent shell, brittle, with a strong fishy-fleshy odour that the processing is largely meant to subdue.
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.
HUMAN PLACENTA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- human placenta
- Scientific name
- Homo sapiens Linnaeus
- Family
- Hominidae (Mammalia)
Form
- Part used
- the whole placenta, membranes and cord removed, blood washed out, then dried
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet (甘) · salty (鹹)
Temperature
- TCM
- warm (溫)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Liver · Kidney
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- tonifies the Kidneys and augments essence (jing), nourishes blood and augments qi, and benefits the Lung to stop wheezing
Cautions
- Contraindications
- yin deficiency with heat, unless paired with a cooling drug; heat patterns generally, the drug being warm
- Toxicity
- no intrinsic toxicity recorded. The hazard is not pharmacological: this is unscreened human tissue, and whatever bloodborne infection the donor carried travels with it. Its collection and supply are regulated as human tissue in many jurisdictions — the classical sources are silent on both points
- Sourcing status
- legally-restricted
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