What Is Chicken Treasure? A Detailed Explanation of Its Price Per Gram and Medicinal Value

In recent years, there have been many animal "treasures" that collectors have hyped up intensely, and their market collection value has been continuously rising. Among them, “chicken treasure” is one of them. So what is chicken treasure? How much is it worth per gram? What medicinal value does it have?

1. What is chicken treasure?

Chicken treasure, originally named chicken yellow, has no clear academic explanation for “chicken treasure.” One theory refers to gallstones in chickens, also known as chicken treasure, which are dried gallstones from domestic chickens. Intact chicken yellow is mostly oval in shape, light in weight, with a golden to yellow-brown surface, fine and glossy. It is the result of a gene mutation in animal internal organs and generally grows in the abdominal cavity.

2. Medicinal value of chicken treasure

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that chicken treasure has a clear fragrance, a slightly bitter taste followed by sweetness, and a cool nature. It enters the stomach, heart, spleen, and bladder meridians. Taken internally, it treats impotence, premature ejaculation, spermatorrhea, irregular menstruation, high fever with loss of consciousness, mania, infantile convulsions, twitching, esophageal cancer, stomach disease, nausea, and other conditions. Used externally, it treats sore throat, mouth sores and carbuncles, boils, toxic sores, uremia, and other conditions. It is an important raw material for many fine medicines.

3. What is the price of chicken treasure?

Because natural chicken treasure is very precious, and the chicken must be over 2 years old for there to be a one-in-a-million chance, it is extremely rare, and the price is relatively high. Collectors are mostly medicinal material buyers, biopharmaceutical companies, and others. The international price of chicken treasure is even higher than gold, and it can sell for as much as over 9000 yuan per gram.

The reason “chicken treasure” is rumored to command sky-high prices lies in its rumored medicinal value, but medical experts say its medicinal value is still unclear, and the price of “chicken treasure” is artificially hyped. Relevant doctors say: in fact, there is no such medicine as “chicken treasure,” nor are there related records. When it comes to the “treasures” in animal digestive tracts, the ones everyone is more familiar with are “cow treasure,” “dog treasure,” and “horse treasure.” These three are hailed as the “three treasures of Chinese medicine.”

In addition, some experts say that there is no concept of “chicken treasure” at all, and the so-called market price has been completely hyped up. Do not blindly believe the reference prices given by so-called “appraisal institutions.”

Note: If you find something unusual on an animal, be sure to have it identified first to avoid harm to your body from accidentally eating it.

4. Which animals have treasures?

The “treasures” in animal digestive tracts that everyone is more familiar with are generally cow treasure, dog treasure, and horse treasure. These three are also hailed as the three treasures of Chinese medicine. Cow treasure is the gallstone of the bovine animal the ox or water buffalo; dog treasure is the stomach stone of canine animals; horse treasure is a stone formed in the gastrointestinal tract of a diseased horse; chicken treasure is also a gallstone of chickens.

1. What is horse treasure?

Horse treasure was first recorded in the “Compendium of Materia Medica”: commonly known as horse dung stone, horse treasure is an uncommon Chinese medicine and is a stone in the gastrointestinal tract of the equine animal the horse. It can be collected throughout the year. After slaughtering a diseased horse, feel for stones in its gastrointestinal tract, take them out, wash them clean with water, and dry them in the shade. Horse treasure is spherical, oval, or flat-round, varying in size, with a diameter of 6-20 cm and a weight of 250-2500 grams, but there are also those as small as a bean. The surface is gray, bluish-gray, or oily brown, smooth, slightly glossy, or attached with messy fine grass patterns. It is hard and heavy, and distinct concentric layer patterns can be seen on the cross-section. The central part often has metal or other granular foreign matter. It has no odor or a slight musky odor.

2. What is cow treasure?

Cow treasure is the gallstone in the liver of the bovine animal the ox, a chordate mammal. The one produced in the gallbladder is called “gall yellow” or “egg yellow,” the one produced in the bile duct is called “duct yellow,” and the one produced in the hepatic duct is called “liver yellow.” Traditional Chinese medicine believes that cow treasure has a clear fragrance, a slightly bitter taste followed by sweetness, and a cool nature. It can be used to reduce fever, detoxify, and calm convulsions. Taken internally, it treats high fever with loss of consciousness, mania, infantile convulsions, twitching, and other conditions. Used externally, it treats sore throat, mouth sores and carbuncles, and uremia. Natural cow treasure is very precious, and its international price is higher than gold. Most of what is used is so-called artificial cow treasure.

3. What is dog treasure?

Dog treasure is also called dog stone, dog gold, or golden egg. It is a stone in the stomach, gallbladder, kidney, or bladder of a dog, and is spherical or oval-spherical. Its taste is sweet and salty, and its nature is neutral. Its effects are to descend rebellious qi, open stagnation, remove accumulation, and detoxify. The “Compendium of Materia Medica” states: “Dog treasure grows in the belly of a mangy dog, shaped like white stone, with a bluish tint, and its patterns are layered. It is also a rare thing.”

Dog treasure is spherical or oval, varying in size, generally 1.5-5 cm in diameter. The surface is grayish-white or grayish-black, slightly glossy, with many roundish protrusions. It is heavy, solid, and fine, and can leave a mark when scratched with a fingernail. When broken open, it shows concentric ring-like layer patterns, and the area near the center is looser, but in most cases it cannot be separated. It has a slight fishy odor and a slightly bitter taste, and when chewed it feels powdery rather than gritty. Generally, a dog treasure weighs about 2-7 grams after removing the core. Those that are white and fine, can be scratched with a fingernail, and have layered patterns on the cross-section are considered the best.

Whether this “chicken treasure” is actually worth money, I think still depends on the individual. If you think it has collection value, then it does, but you should also be careful not to blindly believe in it. So far, there has been no dedicated research on chicken treasure. Therefore, I suggest everyone treat this issue rationally.