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Knowledge baseHerbs

(Bai) Jiang Can僵蠶

Bombyx BatryticatusSilkworm

  • Slightly toxic

Also known asBombyx Mori · Silkworm Larva

Category
Herbs that extinguish internal Wind
Nature
neutral
Taste
pungent, salty
Channels entered
Liver, Lung
Dosage
3–10 g

Usual doses

Dosage
3–10 g
Powder
1–3 g
Tincture
2–4 ml

Actions & indications

Extinguishes Wind and stops spasms and convulsions
  • Childhood convulsions and facial paralysis
  • Seizures due to Liver Wind or especially Wind-Phlegm-Heat
Dispels Wind, disperses Wind-Heat and stops itching and pain
  • Headache, red eyes, a sore, swollen throat and itching skin lesions such as Wind-Rash from externally contracted Wind-Heat or Liver Wind
  • Loss of voice
Transforms Phlegm, softens hardness, eliminates toxins and dissipates nodules
Phlegm-Heat scrofula, goiter and other Phlegm nodules

Contraindications

  • Not indicated in the absence of an externally contracted pathogen.
  • Avoid in patients with anemia.

Incompatibilities

  • Antagonistic with Rx. Platycodi Jie Geng.
  • Antagonistic with Poria Fu Ling.
  • Antagonistic with Rz. Dioscoreae Hypoglaucae Bei Xie.
  • Antagonistic with Ootheca Mantidis Sang Piao Xiao.

Combinations

Notes

  • The dried larva of the silkworm, killed and hardened by infection with the fungus "Beauveria Bassiana".
  • It eases the swelling and pain that arise when Phlegm accumulates together with internal Wind and spasm.
  • Its main clinical use is for hot Phlegm.
  • One text notes its use for subcutaneous nodules from Wind-Phlegm, for scrofula, and for intermittent fevers caused by Phlegm and abdominal masses.
  • It is reported to resolve metrorrhagia.
  • Research indicates it suppresses the growth of cancer cells.
  • According to one source, for painful abdominal masses—whether mobile or fixed—50g of the powdered herb can be blended with a bowl of horse urine and both taken orally and applied to the affected area; the result is said to be excellent.
  • For tongue cancer, 3g of the herb is pounded together with honey-fried Rz. Coptidis Huang Lian into a powder and applied directly to the tongue.
  • This herb, together with Scorpio Quan Xie and Scolopendra Wu Gong, dispels Wind and stops spasm, and the three are frequently combined in severe cases; all three can also reduce swelling and disperse clumping. Jiang Can is chosen mainly for Phlegm-Heat and for throat Bi. Wu Gong is pungent and warm and the most potent of the three, better suited to opisthotonos, convulsions and rigid spasm, while Quan Xie is pungent and neutral, more suited to Heat, extinguishes Wind and stops spasm more strongly, and works best for tremor of the hands and feet, twitching and torticollis. Both Wu Gong and Quan Xie attack toxin and treat Heat-toxin sores, scrofula and Phlegm nodules.
  • Powdered and mixed with vinegar for external application, it is an effective treatment for acute mastitis.
  • Jiang Can and Periostracum Cicadae Chan Tui both dispel Wind and relieve spasm and are often paired for headache, throat swelling and convulsions caused by Wind-Heat in the Lung and Liver channels; Jiang Can additionally transforms Phlegm and disperses clumping, while Chan Tui vents rashes and clears superficial visual obstruction.
  • Dry-fried Chao Jiang Can has a diminished capacity to dredge Wind and travel the channels, but its actions of transforming Phlegm and dispersing clumping are enhanced, making it better suited for childhood convulsions, seizures, cramping, scrofula and Phlegm nodules.

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