Sea Clam Shell (Haigeqiao)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Concha Meretricis seu Cyclinae |
| Botanical Name: | Cyclina sinensis Gmelin Meretrix meretrix L. |
| Common Name: | Sea Clam shell |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Shennong Bencao Jing |
| Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The clam shells are collected from the seashore and pounded into powder. |
| Properties and Taste: | Bitter, salty and cold |
| Meridian: | Lung and stomach |
| Functions: | To clear heat in the lungs and resolve phlegm To soften hardness and release nodules |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Phlegm-heat cough manifested as cough with think yellow sputum, asthma, chest pain and hypochondriac pain. *Use with Costazia bone (Haifushi), Swallowwort rhizome (Baiqian), Mulberry bark (Sangbaipi), Capejasmine (Zhizi) and Trichosanthes fruit (Gualou). 2. Scrofula and goiter. *Use with Laminaria (Kunbu), Seaweed (Haizao) and Ark shell (Walengzi) in the formula Hanhua Wan. |
| Dosage: | 10-15 g |
| Cautions: | This substance is normally used in powered form and should be placed in a cloth bag for decoction or removed from the decoction with a strainer. |