How much does cicada slough cost per jin? Detailed explanation of its effects and functions

“The idiom “the golden cicada sheds its shell” is one everyone has heard; the “shell” refers to the cicada slough, which is left behind after the cicada transforms from larva to adult. In traditional Chinese medicine, the cicada slough is also a medicinal herb with therapeutic value, so how much does cicada slough cost per catty? And what are its specific effects and functions?

How much does cicada slough cost per catty?

Cicada slough currently sells at a normal pace, with prices remaining stable; the current price for ordinary cicada slough is between 290 and 300 yuan, while water-washed goods cost around 400 yuan.

What are the effects and functions of cicada slough?

Cicada slough is used medicinally as the molted shell of the black cicada, an insect of the Cicadidae family, after it emerges as an adult. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that it is cool in nature and sweet and salty in taste, with effects of dispersing wind-heat, promoting eruption and soothing the throat, and clearing the eyes of opacities. Clinically, it can be used to treat conditions such as wind-heat common cold, sore and swollen throat, wind-rash with itching, and convulsions.

The Compendium of Materia Medica records:

The cicada mainly treats all wind-heat syndromes; the ancients used the body, while later generations used the slough. Generally, to treat the viscera and meridians, one should use the cicada body; to treat skin sores and wind-heat, one should use the cicada slough.