Yellow gelatin is a gelatin made from the hides of domestic cattle (Bos taurus domesticus Gmelin) of the Bovidae family and is produced throughout the country.This product has the effects of nourishing yin and moistening dryness, nourishing blood and stopping bleeding, promoting blood circulation and reducing swelling, and detoxifying. It is primarily used to treat consumptive diseases with pulmonary atrophy, coughing up blood, vomiting blood, epistaxis, metrorrhagia and menorrhagia, bloody diarrhea, trauma, boils, abscesses, and toxic sores, as well as burns and scalds.
Yellow Gelatin
Yellow gelatin is a gelatin made from the hides of domestic cattle (Bos taurus domesticus Gmelin) of the Bovidae family and is produced throughout the country.This product has the effects of nourishing yin and moistening dryness, nourishing blood and stopping bleeding, promoting blood circulation and reducing swelling, and detoxifying. It is primarily used to treat consumptive diseases with pulmonary atrophy, coughing up blood, vomiting blood, epistaxis, metrorrhagia and menorrhagia, bloody diarrhea, trauma, boils, abscesses, and toxic sores, as well as burns and scalds.
Chinese Name : 黄明胶
Aliases : Water gelatin, bovine gelatin, marine rhino gelatin, Guangdong gelatin, gelatin
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Sweet in taste, neutral in nature; enters the Lung and Large Intestine meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Huang Mingjiao has the effects of nourishing yin and moistening dryness, nourishing blood and stopping bleeding, promoting blood circulation and reducing swelling, and detoxifying.
Indications
Yellow gelatin is primarily used to treat consumptive diseases with lung atrophy, coughing up blood, vomiting blood, epistaxis, metrorrhagia and menorrhagia, bloody diarrhea, trauma from falls or blows, abscesses, boils, and toxic sores, as well as burns and scalds.
Usage and Dosage
1. Internal use: Dissolve in water or wine; the usual dosage is 3–9 g; or incorporate into pills or powders. 2. External use: Apply an appropriate amount after melting.
Precautions
Due to its greasy and cloying nature, the dosage should not be excessive.
Chemical Constituents
When yellow cowhide is boiled in water, its collagen transforms into gelatin and dissolves in water; collagen itself is insoluble in water, but gelatin is soluble. Upon cooling, gelatin solidifies into a gel-like substance. Collagen contains approximately 18% nitrogen and 18 amino acids, excluding cysteine and cystine; it also contains small amounts of sugars.
Pharmacological Actions
1. Yellow gelatin can significantly increase hemoglobin levels, indicating a blood-nourishing effect. 2. It has a certain anti-fatigue effect. 3. It promotes a certain degree of weight gain in the thymus of mice. 4. Bovine collagen promotes repair and protects against ethanol-induced damage to the gastric mucosa in rats.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Dietary Therapy Materia Medica*: “Applied topically to reduce swelling; effectively treats persistent coughs; stops hematemesis and hemoptysis.”
2. *Supplement to the Materia Medica*: “Treats wind disorders, stops diarrhea, and tonifies deficiency.”
3. *Compendium of Materia Medica*: “Treats hematemesis, epistaxis, hematochezia, hematuria, dysentery, bleeding due to fetal movement in pregnant women, rheumatic pain with wandering pain, injuries from blows or falls, scalds and burns, all types of abscesses, swellings, and toxic sores; promotes blood circulation and relieves pain; moistens dryness; and promotes the function of the small and large intestines.”
4. *Compendium of Medical Essentials: Properties of Medicinal Herbs*: “Tonifies the lungs and clears the metal element; nourishes yin and blood; promotes the flow of fluids; and regulates bowel movements.”
5. *Essential Applications of Medicinal Properties*: “Nourishes essence and tonifies deficiency; moistens dryness and detoxifies.”
6. *Seeking the Origins of Materia Medica*: “To treat hematemesis, take it with powdered mulberry leaves in a decoction of raw rehmannia; to treat hemoptysis, take it with fresh cotton ash.”
Applications
Clinical Applications
1. For treating hemoptysis due to pulmonary atrophy and exhaustion: 2 liang of Huang Mingjiao (roasted and dried) and 2 liang of mulberry flower leaves (air-dried). Pound the two ingredients into a fine powder. Take 3 qian per dose, mixed with fresh Rehmannia root juice; glutinous rice drink may also be used. (*Shengji Zonglu*: Lung-Nourishing Powder)
2. For cough due to lung yin deficiency: 15g of yellow gelatin, 10g of apricot kernels, and 15g of glutinous rice. Decoct in water and take orally. Take twice daily. (From *Chinese Animal Medicines*)
3. For cold-damp beriberi: One piece of cowhide gelatin (finely sliced and stir-fried until it forms beads), ground into a powder. Take one qian per dose, washed down with wine. (From *Compendium of Materia Medica*, citing *Wan’s Formulas*)
4. For rheumatic wandering pain: 1 liang of bovine hide gelatin, half a cup of ginger juice. Melt together into a paste, spread on paper, and apply while hot; replace as soon as it cools. (From *Compendium of Materia Medica*, citing *Miscellaneous Treatises on Health*)
5. For cold-induced heel frostbite with cracking, bleeding, and pain: Burn bovine hide gelatin to ash. Grind this single ingredient into a fine powder and apply it mixed with saliva. (From *Compendium of Divine Remedies*, “Bovine Gelatin Powder”)
6. For all types of abscesses, boils, and toxic sores: 1 liang each of cowhide glue (chopped and stir-fried with clam powder until pearl-like) and licorice root, and 0.5 qian of tangerine peel. Divide into three doses and decoct in water for oral administration.
7. To halt the progression of abscesses and boils, prevent the toxin from invading internal organs, and avert malignant complications: 4 liang of cowhide glue (use high-quality).Add one bowl of wine, simmer in a double boiler until dissolved, and take orally. Continue adding wine until intoxicated; if unable to drink more, add plain hot water. (Formulas 6–7 are from *Essentials of Surgery*)
8. For treatment of scalds and burns: Decoct the gelatin in water until it reaches the desired consistency, then apply to the wound once cooled. (*Compendium of Materia Medica*, citing *Doumen Formulas*)
Notes
Patients requiring treatment with Chinese herbal medicine should first consult a licensed Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospital to receive a prescription following a professional TCM differential diagnosis.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
Cut dried yellow cowhide into small squares, soak and rinse them in clean water for 2 days, stirring frequently and changing the water until the hide becomes soft. Then rinse thoroughly, remove, and place in a copper pot. Add about 5 times the volume of clean water, heat until it simmers gently, and top up with water as needed. Strain the clear liquid every 24 hours,Repeat this process three times. Precipitate the entire filtrate with alum, decant the clear liquid, and return it to the copper pot to heat and concentrate until a drop placed on filter paper does not dissolve. Add auxiliary ingredients such as yellow wine or rock sugar to set the gelatin, pour it into a gelatin tray, allow it to cool, cut into small pieces, and air-dry.
Processing Methods
1. Yellow Gelatin: Take a block of yellow gelatin, soften it over low heat, and cut it into 6-mm cubes.
2. Yellow Gelatin Beads: Place clam powder in a pot and heat over medium heat. When the clam powder becomes loose and crumbly, evenly sprinkle the yellow gelatin cubes over it. Stir-fry until the mixture puffs up into beads with no soft center inside. Remove from heat, sift out the clam powder, and let cool.
Storage Methods
Store in a dry, airtight container in a cool, dry place. Protect from moisture.
Crude Drug Identification
Properties of Crude Drugs
This product appears as square or irregular fragments, is brownish-yellow with a luster, has a hard and brittle texture, and features a glossy, translucent cross-section. It has a faint odor and a slightly sweet taste.
Properties of Processed Slices
Yellow Gelatin Beads: Spherical in shape, with a yellowish-white or pale yellow surface; crumbly in texture, with a faint odor and a slightly sweet taste.
Botanical Information
Morphological Characteristics
Body length: 1.5–2 m; average weight: approximately 280 kg. The build is robust and sturdy, with a large head and broad forehead; the nose is wide and the mouth large. The upper lip features two large nostrils; the skin between them is hard and smooth, hairless, and is called the nasal mirror. The eyes and ears are both relatively large.It has one pair of horns on its head, set apart on either side. The length and size of the horns vary by breed; they are curved, unbranched, hollow, and contain bony horn marrow. The limbs are well-proportioned, with four toes, each bearing a hoof; the two rear toes do not touch the ground and are known as “suspended hooves.” The tail is relatively long, with a tuft of hair at the tip. The coat is predominantly yellow, with no mixed hair.
Distribution Area
They are raised throughout the country.