Witnessed by: TCM
Otter liver (Lutra lutra), of the Mustelidae (Mammalia) family. A sleek river-dwelling mustelid, webbed and thick-furred, hunting fish in fresh water; native range: the rivers, lakes and streams of China and across Eurasia; the animal now protected and the trade prohibited. Globally recognized as ta gan (獺肝) in Chinese, and otter liver in English. The part used is the liver (dried and powdered). The whole liver dried to a dark brown-black lobed mass, hard and light, with a strong rank fishy odour; ground to a coarse brownish powder.
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.
OTTER LIVER
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- otter liver
- Scientific name
- Lutra lutra (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Family
- Mustelidae (Mammalia)
Form
- Part used
- the liver (dried and powdered)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet (甘) · salty (咸)
Temperature
- TCM
- neutral (平)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Lung · Kidney
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- nourishes yin and tonifies the liver and kidney, and stops cough and staunches the coughing of blood
Cautions
- Contraindications
- cough from an exterior pathogen still unresolved, where a nourishing drug holds it in
- Toxicity
- low intrinsic toxicity; the decisive caution is legal and conservation, not pharmacological
- Sourcing status
- cites-i
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