How much is cicada slough per jin? Learn about its benefits and effects when boiled in water

Cicada slough, also known as cicada shell or cicada casing, is the molted shell of the black cicada (Cryptotympana atrata) of the Cicadidae family after eclosion. It is a medicinal herb with the effects of dispersing wind-heat and improving eyesight, and is generally sold in pharmacies. So how much is cicada slough per jin? What are the benefits of boiling it in water and drinking it?

1. Introduction to cicada slough:

1. What is cicada slough?

Cicada slough is the outer shell shed during eclosion when the mature nymph of the cicada transforms into an adult, also known as “cicada slough” or “cicada skin”. Its main components include chitin and protein. It is sweet, salty and cold in nature, and enters the lung and liver meridians. It is an important pungent-cool exterior-releasing traditional Chinese medicine.

2. Is the cicada a beneficial insect or a pest?

The cicada is a pest. Cicadas are destroyers of trees; they use the needle-like mouthparts beneath their heads to pierce into the branches and trunks of trees, sucking plant sap to sustain life. After mating, the female cicada also uses its spear-shaped ovipositor to insert into the xylem of young tender branches to lay eggs. Each insertion makes a hole, and often many small holes are made along a single branch. After laying eggs, it uses its mouthparts to pierce a ring through the phloem at the lower part of the branch, so that the upper part of the branch cannot obtain water and nutrients, and eventually dries up and dies. When the wind blows, the dead branch falls to the ground. The eggs hatch into nymphs, which burrow into the soil and begin a long underground life, feeding on the sap of tree roots underground. This lasts at least two or three years, and up to seventeen years. Only after living underground long enough do they crawl out of the ground, then “the golden cicada sheds its shell” and ecloses into an adult cicada.

2. How much is cicada slough per jin?

The market price of cicada slough varies. It is generally around 300-400 yuan per jin, but due to differences in place of origin, market and quality, there will be certain price differences. For example, in the Shandong region, the price of whole pieces in the Bozhou region is about 290 yuan per jin, and in the Anguo region about 280 yuan per jin; in the Chengdu region the price is about 295 yuan per jin, in the Kangqiao region about 290 yuan per jin, and in the Puning region about 300 yuan per jin. For water-washed goods, the price in Bozhou is about 400 yuan per jin, in Anguo about 400 yuan per jin, in the Chengdu region about 405 yuan per jin, and in Kangqiao about 410 yuan per jin. So the specific price still needs to be checked at the local market. The above prices are for reference only; the local price shall prevail.

3. What are the benefits of boiling cicada slough in water and drinking it?

Benefit 1: Disperses wind and clears heat, calms the liver and relieves spasms

Children have “tender yin and tender yang” and are of a “pure yang” constitution, and “the liver is often in excess while the spleen is often deficient.” Externally contracted wind-heat or heat toxin easily enters the interior and transforms into heat and fire; when heat is extreme, wind is generated, and convulsions may occur. Cicada slough can disperse wind and clear heat, calm the liver and relieve spasms. Combined with gambir vine (Uncaria rhynchophylla), mint, stiff silkworm, forsythia, honeysuckle, gardenia and schizonepeta, it can often “turn danger into safety.”

Benefit 2: Disperses wind and releases the exterior, soothes the throat and stops cough

Contraction of wind-cold that enters the interior and transforms into heat, or contraction of wind-heat pathogens, causes blockage of the lung defense, resulting in dry throat, itchy throat and frequent coughing. For this situation, cicada slough can be used to disperse wind and release the exterior; once throat wind is eliminated, the cough stops by itself. It can also be combined with greater burdock fruit, mint, forsythia, platycodon root, apricot kernel, perilla leaf, mulberry leaf, schizonepeta, peucedanum root and belamcanda rhizome for better results.

Benefit 3: Releases the exterior and promotes eruption of rashes, dispels wind and stops itching

Measles, scarlet fever and rubella all belong to the category of wind-warm disease. In the early stage, if the rash does not emerge smoothly or if there is itching during the rash stage, cicada slough can be combined with kudzu root, mint, forsythia, honeysuckle and schizonepeta for treatment, with good results.

Benefit 4: Extinguishes wind and stops spasms, calms wheezing and stops cough

In traditional Chinese medicine, asthma is treated by extinguishing wind and stopping spasms to calm wheezing and stop cough. Clinically, cicada slough is commonly combined with earthworm, arisaema with bile, honey-fried ephedra, apricot kernel, gypsum, honey-fried licorice, prepared pinellia, asarum, dried ginger and schisandra for treatment, with remarkable results.

Benefit 5: Dispels wind and removes dampness, promotes urination and reduces swelling

Water hernia in children refers to hydrocele of the testis. Children “often have an excess liver.” It is mostly caused by crying and fright, leading to disordered liver qi, abnormal dispersion and drainage, stagnation of qi movement, loss of the triple burner's qi transformation function, and accumulation of water-dampness along the liver meridian in the genital area, causing the disease. It is common to use 30 grams of cicada shell, decocted in water for external washing and hot compress; generally external use for 3 days can cure it.

In general, the price of cicada slough varies. It depends on where you buy it and which type you buy, so you need to check the local market for specifics. In addition, drinking cicada slough boiled in water can disperse wind and clear heat, calm the liver and relieve spasms, release the exterior and promote eruption of rashes, dispel wind and stop itching, dispel wind and remove dampness, promote urination and reduce swelling, so it is very suitable for patients with various rashes, asthma, and high fever with convulsions in children. However, when drinking it, it is best to do so under the guidance of a physician.