Cinnabar (ZHU SHA)
Cinnabaris
Pharmaceutical Name:
Cinnabaris
Common Name:
Cinnabar
Part Used:
This is a mineral sulfide of cinnabar that contains mainly mercuric sulfide (HgS). Found in the provinces of Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, it is mined and broken into pieces, purified, then ground with water into a very fine powder.
Properties Taste & Meridians:
Sweet in flavor, cold in property, toxic, acts on the Heart channel.
Functions:
Tranquilizes the Mind and clears Heat and toxins.
Indications & Combinations:
1. For restlessness, feverish sensations in the chest, palpitations, insomnia, and dream-disturbed sleep, it is used with herbs that clear away Heart Heat, such as Rhizoma Coptidis (Huang Lian), Radix Glycyrrhizae Uralensis (Gan Cao), Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Dang Gui), and Radix Rehmanniae (Sheng Di Huang) in “The Cinnabaris Sedative Bolus” (Zhu Sha An Shen Wan). For palpitations and insomnia due to Blood Deficiency, it is used with Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Dang Gui ), Semen Platycladi (Bai Zi Ren), and Semen Ziziphi Spinosae (Suan Zao Ren). For epilepsy, it is used with Magnetitum (Ci Shi) and Massa Fermentata Medicinalis (Shen Qu) in “The Magnetitum and Cinnabaris Pill” (Ci Zhu Wan).
2. For sores, carbuncles, and other skin diseases, it is used with Realgar (Xiong Huang). For sore throat and canker sores of the mouth and tongue, it is used externally with Borneolum Syntheticum (Bing Pian) and Borax (Peng Sha).
Dosage and administration:
0.3–1 g, ground into a powder and infused for an oral dose, or used in pill or powder form. Appropriate amount for external use.
Precautions:
Not to be used for a long time or in large doses. It should be given cautiously to patients with abnormal Liver or Kidney functions.
