Is pangolin scale really effective for treating gout?
Gout often occurs in middle-aged and elderly people and is a common metabolic disease. There is currently no cure for gout, only relief of gout attacks. It is now widely rumored that pangolin scales are a precious traditional Chinese medicinal material. Are pangolin scales effective for treating gout?
1. Are pangolin scales effective for treating gout?
Pangolin scales can dispel wind and remove dampness, clear heat and eliminate toxins, and when combined with some other medicinal materials, they have a certain effect on relieving gout. Taking pangolin scales appropriately can relieve symptoms to some extent. Gout is a group of diseases caused by purine metabolism disorders, with chronic deposition of fine needle-tip-shaped urate. It specifically manifests as gouty arthritis and joint deformity caused by high urate crystals, with redness, swelling, pain, and heat appearing in local areas of the body. If it is an acute attack, colchicine is the most effective, and symptoms can be relieved 6 to 12 hours after taking the medication. Hormones, phenylbutazone, indomethacin, and others can also be used appropriately to control symptoms. The most important thing is still to pay attention in daily life to controlling the intake of purine-rich foods and to drink more water.
2. The price of pangolin scales
The pangolin is a nationally protected animal. Most of the scales currently on the market come from artificially bred pangolins, and the price is relatively expensive, at around 2000 yuan/kg. Prices vary by market and grade. Some traditional Chinese medicine shops sell them. Pangolin scales are generally not used alone, and the price is often relatively high; processed ones can reach 3000 yuan/kg.
3. The effects of pangolin scales
Pangolin scales are generally used to scrape the body and can remove rheumatic conditions from the body. They can also be ground into powder, processed, and taken orally, with effects such as activating blood and unblocking collaterals, reducing swelling and discharging pus, and promoting lactation. Pangolin scales are generally triangular, and also fan-shaped, rhomboid, or shield-shaped. Depending on the part where they grow, their shape and size also differ. The center is relatively thick, while the edges are relatively thin, with longitudinal growth lines on the back and several transverse wrinkles near the bottom edge on the underside.
4. Why are pangolin scales so expensive?
1. In recent years, the number of pangolins from producing areas in several Southeast Asian countries entering border trade markets has decreased, declining at a rate of 50% per year, so the price of pangolins is relatively expensive.
2. Relevant departments manage border trade markets relatively strictly. Only those holding an operating license from the provincial forestry department can trade in border trade markets, and transactions in border trade markets are rapidly decreasing.
3. The amount of medicinal use in the domestic market is especially large. In addition to clinical use for insufficient lactation, carbuncles and sores, closed menstruation, and joint impediment diseases, pangolin also has effects such as lowering blood viscosity and anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects. Its uses are continuously expanding, and the amount of pangolin used is also continuously increasing.
4. The current scale of pangolin breeding at home and abroad is still relatively small, and it cannot supply bred commercial products in large quantities.
The pangolin is a nationally protected animal, and the wild population is continuously declining sharply. Moreover, the effect of pangolin scales in treating gout is not particularly good, and other drugs can be used as substitutes. If conditions permit, try to use the scales of wild pangolins as little as possible, and do your part to protect pangolins.