Witnessed by: TCM
Toad venom (Bufo gargarizans), of the Bufonidae (Amphibia) family. A squat warty toad with a pair of raised parotoid glands behind the eyes; native range: the Asiatic toads of China, Korea and east Asia, from gardens, paddies and ditches; collected in the warm season. Globally recognized as chan su (蟾酥) in Chinese, and toad venom, dried toad secretion in English. The part used is the dried secretion of the parotoid and skin glands. Dark brown horny discs or cakes, hard and glassy at the break, taking up water slowly to a milky emulsion — it numbs the tongue at once and sets the nose sneezing.
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.
TOAD VENOM
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- toad venom
- Scientific name
- Bufo gargarizans Cantor, 1842
- Family
- Bufonidae (Amphibia)
Form
- Part used
- the dried secretion of the parotoid and skin glands
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- pungent (辛)
Temperature
- TCM
- warm (溫)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Heart
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- relieves toxicity and disperses swelling, stops pain, and opens the orifices to rouse the spirit
Cautions
Contraindications: pregnancy; it must never touch the eye, and it is kept off broken skin and open wounds
Toxicity: highly toxic. Its bufadienolides are cardiotonic steroids that act on the heart like the cardiac glycosides — overdose brings vomiting, arrhythmia and death
Interactions
- TCM
- cardiac glycosides: the bufadienolides of chan su are cardiotonic steroids and add to digoxin-type drugs, compounding the risk of arrhythmia; they also confound serum digoxin assays
This is the card. Sign in for the full four-tradition entry — the aligned TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani reading, actions, dosing and cautions.