Maifan Stone, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It is a medium-acidic igneous rock known as quartz diorite porphyry. It has the effects of detoxifying and dispersing nodules, removing necrotic tissue and promoting tissue regeneration, dispelling cold and dampness, nourishing the liver and strengthening the stomach, invigorating blood circulation and resolving blood stasis, promoting urination and dissolving stones, and prolonging life.It is primarily used to treat boils and abscesses on the back, acne, eczema, beriberi, heat rash, cracked fingers, melasma, toothache, oral ulcers, rheumatic pain, lower back and lumbar pain, chronic hepatitis, gastritis, dysentery, diabetes, neurasthenia, redness and swelling from trauma, hypertension, senile arteriosclerosis, tumors, and urinary tract stones.
Maifan Stone
Maifan Stone, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It is a medium-acidic igneous rock known as quartz diorite porphyry. It has the effects of detoxifying and dispersing nodules, removing necrotic tissue and promoting tissue regeneration, dispelling cold and dampness, nourishing the liver and strengthening the stomach, invigorating blood circulation and resolving blood stasis, promoting urination and dissolving stones, and prolonging life.It is primarily used to treat boils and abscesses on the back, acne, eczema, beriberi, heat rash, cracked fingers, melasma, toothache, oral ulcers, rheumatic pain, lower back and lumbar pain, chronic hepatitis, gastritis, dysentery, diabetes, neurasthenia, redness and swelling from trauma, hypertension, senile arteriosclerosis, tumors, and urinary tract stones.
Chinese Name : 麦饭石
Aliases : Longevity Stone, Health Stone, Lianshan Stone, Horse-Tooth Sand, Soybean-Pulp Stone
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Sweet in taste, warm in nature; enters the Liver, Stomach, and Kidney meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Detoxifies and disperses nodules; removes necrotic tissue and promotes tissue regeneration; dispels cold and removes dampness; nourishes the liver and strengthens the stomach; invigorates blood circulation and resolves blood stasis; promotes urination and dissolves stones; prolongs life and promotes longevity.
Indications
Boils and abscesses on the back, acne, eczema, athlete’s foot, heat rash, cracked fingers, melasma, toothache, mouth ulcers, rheumatic pain, lower back and lumbar pain, chronic hepatitis, gastritis, dysentery, diabetes, neurasthenia, redness and swelling from trauma, hypertension, senile arteriosclerosis, tumors, and urinary tract stones.
Usage and Dosage
Internal Use: Take 1 part Maifan Stone, add 6–8 parts boiling water, and steep in cold water for 4–6 hours before drinking; steep in hot water for 2–3 hours before drinking; or boil in water for 20–25 minutes. This preparation can be used up to 30 times. External Use: Apply an appropriate amount as a powder; or soak in water for external washing.
Precautions
When applying topically, the stone must be ground into an extremely fine powder; otherwise, it may cause pain.
Chemical Constituents
The main components of Chinese Maifan Stone include silicon dioxide (SiO₂), aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), iron(III) oxide (Fe₂O₃), iron(II) oxide (FeO), magnesium oxide (MgO), calcium oxide (CaO), sodium oxide (Na₂O),potassium oxide (K₂O), titanium dioxide (TiO₂), phosphorus pentoxide (P₂O₅), manganese oxide (MnO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), as well as trace elements such as fluorine, sulfur, nickel, zirconium, strontium,barium, cobalt, chromium, yttrium, scandium, vanadium, copper, zinc, uranium, thorium, and other trace elements.
Pharmacological Actions
1. Effects on Immune Function: Enhances cellular immunity but has no effect on humoral immunity. 2. Antitoxic Effects: Can reduce the toxic effects of excessive fluoride on rats to varying degrees. It has a significant preventive effect against alcohol-induced liver damage and can prevent hepatic steatosis.Maifan stone from Beipiao exhibits strong adsorption capacity for several elements harmful to the human body, such as cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and lead. It also strongly adsorbs chlorpromazine but has a weaker adsorption effect on barbiturates. It demonstrates good adsorption capacity for Escherichia coli, Shigella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. 3. Promotes fracture healing: It shortens fracture healing time and increases the content (or bioavailability) of zinc, iron, manganese, and copper in the callus, thereby enhancing bone strength and improving the quality of healing. 4. Anti-fatigue and hypoxia-tolerance effects. 5. Anticancer effects. 6. Other Effects: It increases the activity of superoxide dismutase in the heart, kidneys, and liver in a dose-dependent manner. It reduces the level of lipid peroxidation in the body. Oral administration for 14 days results in a significantly greater increase in body weight compared to the control group and a significant increase in liver RNA and DNA content. Oral administration of the decoction also significantly reduces spontaneous activity in mice. The decoction enhances the contractility of isolated toad hearts.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Illustrated Compendium of Materia Medica*: “Treats back sores.”
2. *Compendium of Materia Medica*: “Primarily treats all types of abscesses and boils on the back.”
3. *Great Dictionary of Chinese Medicine*: “Relieves pain, drains pus, and treats suppurative ulcers that fail to heal.”
4. *Illustrated Compendium of Chinese Mineral Medicines*: “Protects the liver, strengthens the stomach, promotes diuresis, and dissolves calculi.”
Applications
Related Compatibility
1. For treating back boils: One set of deer antlers (burned to charcoal, allowed to cool, then pounded and sifted into a fine powder); approximately half a jin of wheat-rice stone (thoroughly washed and dried, crushed to the size of a Go stone; if any powder is present, remove it; roast in a clean iron in a red-hot state, then soak in rice vinegar; after a long time, strain it out and roast again; repeat this process nine times, then sift into a fine powder); one da liang of white Polygonum(pounded and sifted into a fine powder). Sift all three ingredients together through fine silk gauze; take one large spoonful of each. Add five he of rice vinegar and simmer over alternating high and low heat. As the vinegar reduces, add more gradually. Continue simmering until the mixture has boiled about fifty times, then stop. The consistency should be as thick as paste; transfer it to a clean, new porcelain container.Apply the ointment to the sore using a piece of old cloth, changing it once daily until pus is discharged. Once the sore has subsided, apply the ointment directly to the affected area. (Deer Antler Ointment from *Qianjin Yueling*, cited in *Yifang Leiju*)
2. For treating skin conditions such as acne, eczema, beriberi, heat rash, skin allergies, hyperpigmentation, and cracked fingers: Take 500 g of maifan stone, wash it thoroughly, place it in a container, add 2 kg of boiling water, and soak for 24 hours. Wash the affected area with this solution daily; repeat the process for 3–5 consecutive days before changing the solution once. This yields significant therapeutic results.If you have a skin condition on your hands, soak them in the maifan stone solution for a few minutes each day, then let the water air-dry naturally for even better results. (*Correspondence Course in Traditional Chinese Medicine*, 1987, 4:48)
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
It can be harvested at any time; wash off the soil, remove any stones, and dry in the sun.
Processing Methods
1. Maifan Stone: Remove impurities from the raw herb, then crush or grind into powder.
2. Calcined Maifan Stone: Calcine the Maifan Stone over a fire, quench with vinegar, peel off the layers one by one, and then crush.
Storage Methods
Store in a dry container, tightly sealed, in a cool, dry place.
Crude Drug Identification
Properties of Crude Drugs
This product appears as irregular lumps or blocks, composed of particles of varying sizes and colors, somewhat resembling a wheat-rice cake. It features a mottled pattern and comes in colors such as grayish-white, light brown, flesh-red, yellowish-white, and black.The surface is rough and uneven. It is relatively heavy, with varying degrees of porosity; when crushed, the fracture surface is irregular, revealing small scales distributed throughout that exhibit a star-like luster, while the luster of other spots is not prominent. It has a faint or nearly absent odor and a bland taste.
Calcined Maifanshi resembles Maifanshi but is smaller and more fragmented; it has a faint or absent odor and a bland taste.
Botanical Information
Morphological Characteristics
It has a porphyritic structure. The mineral composition consists primarily of plagioclase (Na, Ca)[(Si, Al)₄O₈], potassium feldspar (K, Na)[Al, Si₃O₈], and quartz (SiO₂),followed by biotite (K(Mg,Fe)[Al,Si₃O₁₀](OH,F)₂) or hornblende (mostly common hornblende) (NaCa₂(Mg,Fe)₄[(Si,Al)₄O₁₁]₂(OH)₂), as well as trace amounts of apatite and other minerals. The secondary minerals primarily include kaolinite, montmorillonite, and chlorite.The rock occurs in irregular, dense, lumpy masses. Its surface is uneven, with mottled patterns of yellowish-white, yellowish-brown, or grayish-white to dark grayish-black; grayish-white feldspar and quartz grains of varying sizes are clearly visible; secondary minerals are distributed on the surfaces of and between the grains of primary minerals such as feldspar, quartz, mica, and hornblende, and may locally concentrate and develop within rock fractures.The original rock is hard but has become loose due to alteration and weathering.
Distribution Area
Produced throughout the country.