Witnessed by: TCM
Tiger bone (Panthera tigris), of the Felidae (Mammalia) family. The great striped cat of the Asian forests and grasslands; native range: formerly from the tigers of China, India and southeast Asia; trade is now prohibited and the drug retired. Globally recognized as hu jing gu (虎脛骨) in Chinese, and tiger shin bone in English. The part used is the shin bone, fried in butter and ground. A dense heavy bone, yellowish-white and faintly oily at a fresh break, roasting in butter to a friable yellow that grinds to a rank-smelling 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.
TIGER BONE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- tiger bone
- Scientific name
- Panthera tigris (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Family
- Felidae (Mammalia)
Form
- Part used
- the shin bone, fried in butter and ground
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent (辛) · sweet (甘)
Temperature
- TCM
- warm (溫)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Kidney
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- dispels wind-dampness and stops pain, and strengthens the sinews and bones
Cautions
- Contraindications
- hot patterns, and yin deficiency with heat
- Toxicity
- low intrinsic toxicity; the decisive caution is legal and conservation, not pharmacological
- Sourcing status
- cites-i
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