Cinnabar is a commonly used medicinal herb with heavy-calming and sedative properties. It is a sulfide mineral belonging to the cinnabar group, primarily composed of mercury sulfide (HgS). It has the effects of clearing the heart, calming convulsions, soothing the mind, improving vision, and detoxifying.It is commonly used to treat palpitations and easily startled states, insomnia with frequent dreaming, epilepsy and mania, infantile convulsions, blurred vision, mouth ulcers, sore throat, and swollen, toxic sores.
Cinnabar
Cinnabar is a commonly used medicinal herb with heavy-calming and sedative properties. It is a sulfide mineral belonging to the cinnabar group, primarily composed of mercury sulfide (HgS). It has the effects of clearing the heart, calming convulsions, soothing the mind, improving vision, and detoxifying.It is commonly used to treat palpitations and easily startled states, insomnia with frequent dreaming, epilepsy and mania, infantile convulsions, blurred vision, mouth ulcers, sore throat, and swollen, toxic sores.
Chinese Name : 朱砂
Latin Name : Cinnabaris
Aliases : Danli, Zhudan, Chidan, Cishan, Zhenzhu, Huisha, Guangmingsha, Chensha
Authentic Producing Area : Mainly produced in Guizhou, Hunan, and Sichuan
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Sweet in taste, slightly cold in nature; enters the Heart meridian
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Clears the heart, calms fright, soothes the spirit, improves vision, and detoxifies.
Indications
Mainly used to treat palpitations and easily startled state, insomnia with frequent dreams, epilepsy and mania, infantile convulsions, blurred vision, mouth ulcers, sore throat, and swollen, toxic sores.
Usage and Dosage
0.1–0.5 g; typically administered in pills or powders; not suitable for decoctions. Use an appropriate amount for external application.
Precautions
1. Contraindications for Combination with Other Chinese Herbs (1) Incompatible with salt water. (2) Should not be combined with iodine-rich Chinese herbs such as seaweed or kelp, as this may lead to toxicity. 2. Contraindications for Combination with Western Medications (1)Should not be used concurrently with reducing agents such as sodium bromide, potassium iodide, ferrous sulfate, or nitrites, as this may produce mercury bromide, mercury iodide, or elemental mercury, leading to mercury poisoning or drug-induced enteritis. (2) Should not be used concurrently with sedatives or anesthetics, as this may exacerbate central nervous system depression. (3) Should not be used concomitantly with Yingxin Dan, Huxin Dan, Liusheng Wan, ferrous sulfate, or sodium bicarbonate, as this may produce precipitates and increase toxicity to the liver and kidneys. (4) Should not be used concomitantly with pepsin or amylase-polyenzyme tablets, as this may reduce the efficacy of pepsin. The mercury ions contained in cinnabar can inhibit the activity of pepsin. 3. Dietary Restrictions (1) Avoid eating carp and blood products. (2) Avoid iodine-rich foods such as kelp. (3) Avoid using iron utensils. (4) Salt increases the solubility of mercury salts, which can enhance mercury absorption and exacerbate poisoning; therefore, salt intake should be restricted when taking mercury-containing traditional Chinese medicines.
Chemical Constituents
This product primarily contains mercury sulfide (HgS).
Pharmacological Actions
This product has sedative, anticonvulsant, antidepressant, and antiarrhythmic effects.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica*: “Nourishes the spirit, calms the soul and spirit, boosts vital energy, and improves eyesight.”
2. *Compendium of Materia Medica*: “Treats convulsions and epilepsy; neutralizes fetal toxins and smallpox toxins; expels pathogenic factors causing malaria.”
3. *Revised Materia Medica*: “Purges pathogenic heat from the Heart Meridian; calms the heart and alleviates convulsions; … neutralizes toxins; and suppresses mania and delirium.”
Applications
Clinical Applications
1. Used for excess-pattern conditions such as palpitations, mania, restlessness, and insomnia; it is often combined with Dragon’s Teeth to calm the heart and soothe the spirit, as in the “Heart-Calming Pill” from *Essential Principles of Treating Miscellaneous Diseases from the Golden Mirror of Medicine*;If there is excessive heart fire and deficiency of yin and blood, leading to restlessness of the mind, palpitations, and insomnia, it can be combined with Coptis, Licorice, Raw Rehmannia, and Angelica to clear the heart and purge fire, nourish the blood, and calm the spirit, as in the Cinnabar Calming Pill from *Medical Inventions*;For epilepsy, mania, or erratic mood swings, it should be combined with white alum and curcuma to clear heart fire, calm convulsions, resolve phlegm, and open the orifices, as in the Cinnabar Pill from *The Three Books of Shicai*; or combined with magnetite to enhance its heart-calming and spirit-soothing effects, as in the Magnetite-Cinnabar Pill.
2. For cases where summer-heat is latent in the Heart Meridian, manifesting as restlessness, agitation, and thirst, or diarrhea with red urine, it can be combined with Talc and Licorice to clear summer-heat and calm the heart, as in the Yiyuan Powder.
3. For symptoms such as red eyes, dizziness, and blurred vision, as in the Cinnabar Pill from *Taiping Shenghui Fang*.
4. For sores, abscesses, swellings, and toxic conditions, as well as swelling and pain in the throat.When used topically, it has excellent detoxifying and antiseptic effects. The *Mingyi Bielu* states that this substance can eliminate “toxic qi, scabies, goiters, and various sores.” Furthermore, to treat abscesses, swellings, and toxic infections, it is often ground together with realgar and applied externally; to treat sore throat and mouth or tongue ulcers, it is often ground into a powder with borneol and borax and blown onto the affected area.
Related Compatibility
1. Cinnabar combined with Amber: Cinnabar excels at clearing heart fire and calming the mind; Amber excels at calming the heart, regulating the liver, and soothing the mind, while also dispelling heart fire. When used in combination, these two herbs complement each other to treat both the heart and liver simultaneously, resulting in a stronger calming and sedative effect. This combination is suitable for restlessness and insomnia with frequent dreams caused by stagnant fire in the heart and liver, or for restless sleep accompanied by chaotic and disjointed dreams.
2. Cinnabar Combined with Magnetite: Cinnabar has a sweet, slightly cold nature and excels at calming the heart and soothing the spirit, while also improving vision; magnetite has a pungent, cold nature and can regulate the liver, soothe the spirit, and enhance hearing and vision.When used together, these two herbs enhance the effects of deeply calming the mind and improving vision. They also anchor floating yang energy, preventing heart fire from rising to disturb the mind and allowing vital energy to ascend properly. This combination is used to treat palpitations, insomnia, tinnitus, deafness, and blurred vision caused by a lack of communication between the heart and kidneys.
3. Cinnabar combined with Coptis: Cinnabar, with its sweet nature, enters the Heart meridian; its heavy nature calms convulsions and overcomes heat, while its sweetness generates body fluids. It has the effects of clearing the Heart, dispelling heat, calming convulsions, and soothing the spirit. Coptis, with its bitter nature, enters the Heart meridian and serves to clear and descend Heart fire. When used together, these two herbs enhance the ability to clear the Heart and descend fire, allowing Heart fire to be subdued and the spirit to find peace.This combination is suitable for restlessness, palpitations, insomnia, and chest heat caused by excessive heart fire.
4. Cinnabar Combined with Realgar: Both herbs possess detoxifying properties; cinnabar also acts as a preservative, while realgar has antiparasitic effects. When combined, their detoxifying, antiparasitic, and preservative effects are significantly enhanced. This combination is suitable for treating abscesses, swellings, and throat inflammation.
5. Cinnabar combined with芒硝: When applied topically, cinnabar has a good detoxifying effect and is effective in treating toxic sores and abscesses; when applied topically,芒硝 can clear heat and reduce swelling.When ground into a powder and applied topically, these two herbs enhance each other’s ability to clear heat, detoxify, reduce swelling, and relieve pain. In addition to being used as a wet compress during the early stages of abscesses and swellings, the powder can also be blown into the throat to treat mouth and tongue sores, as well as sore throats, caused by heart fire and heat toxins.
Medicinal Identification
Cinnabar and Coptis: The two have similar effects, both capable of clearing heart-fire and calming the spirit. They are often used in combination to enhance therapeutic efficacy for conditions such as restlessness caused by excessive heart-fire. However, since cinnabar also clears heart-fire and calms convulsions, it is more suitable for treating mania, mania-like states, and epilepsy caused by phlegm-heat; coptis is more effective at clearing heat and purging fire, so it is more commonly used for restlessness, mental confusion, or bleeding disorders caused by heat invading the营血 (ying-blood) in febrile diseases.Both herbs can detoxify and treat skin ulcers, and are used for conditions such as damp-heat skin ulcers, damp-heat diarrhea and dysentery, and epigastric fullness with vomiting and nausea.
Related Medicines
Biwen San, Hu Po Bao Long Wan, and Ya Tong Yi Li Wan.
Related Prescriptions
Cinnabar Calming Pills, Qili Powder, and An Gong Niu Huang Pills.
Notes
Patients requiring treatment with traditional Chinese medicine should first consult a licensed TCM hospital, where a TCM practitioner will conduct a professional pattern differentiation and issue a prescription.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
After mining, select the purest specimens, use a magnet to remove all iron-containing impurities, and then wash them with water to remove stones and silt.
Processing Methods
Cinnabar Powder: Take the raw material, use a magnet to remove all iron filings, place it in a mortar, add an appropriate amount of water, and grind into a paste. Then add a large amount of water, stir, and decant the suspension.Repeat the process with the settled coarse powder as described above multiple times until it feels fine to the touch and no shiny specks remain. Discard the impurities, combine the suspensions, let them settle, then decant the supernatant water. Take the precipitate, air-dry it, and grind it into a fine powder.Alternatively, remove iron filings from cinnabar using a magnet, grind it into a fine powder using a ball mill and water suspension, dry it at a temperature below 60°C, and sieve it through a 200-mesh sieve.
Storage Methods
Store in a dry place.
Crude Drug Identification
Properties of Crude Drugs
This product is a vermilion-red, extremely fine powder that is light in weight; when pinched between the fingers, it contains no granular matter, and when tested with a magnet, it attracts no iron filings. It has a faint odor and a bland taste.
Properties of Processed Slices
Cinnabar powder is a bright red or dark red fine powder that is relatively heavy. It is odorless and tasteless.
Botanical Information
Morphological Characteristics
The crystal structure of cinnabar belongs to the trigonal crystal system. Crystals are thick plate-like or rhombohedral; they sometimes appear as highly irregular granular aggregates or dense masses. They range in color from vermilion to brownish-red, sometimes with a lead-gray tint. The streak is red.
Distribution Area
It is found in the provinces and regions of Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Yunnan.