Can Snake Gallbladder Be Eaten Raw? A Detailed Explanation of Its Appearance, How to Eat It, and Its Benefits and Effects

Many areas of Zhejiang have the custom of swallowing snake gallbladder raw, believing that eating snake meat and swallowing snake gallbladder can cool the body and dispel summer heat. All snake gallbladders can be used as medicine, especially the gallbladders of the banded krait, many-banded krait, the "checkerboard snake," the cobra, the king cobra, the five-pace snake, and the pit viper, which are especially precious medicinal raw materials. So can snake gallbladder be eaten raw? How is it best eaten? What are its benefits and effects?

Can snake gallbladder be eaten raw?

It absolutely must not be eaten raw.

Although from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, snake gallbladder does have some recorded effects in clearing heat and detoxifying, considering patient safety, TCM practitioners today rarely use snake gallbladder when writing prescriptions. There are many other safe medicinal materials that can replace it for clearing heat and detoxifying. For example, for scabies, dandelion, chrysanthemum, and skullcap can all be used instead of snake gallbladder to achieve the same effect.

In addition, if snake gallbladder is to be taken internally, it must undergo strict processing. Some proprietary Chinese medicines now contain snake gallbladder ingredients, but those have all been strictly tested and prepared by pharmaceutical factories. Doctors absolutely do not advocate eating unprocessed raw snake gallbladder. There is also a folk tradition of soaking snake gallbladder in liquor and drinking it, which is also not recommended. First, there is no evidence that soaking in liquor can completely kill parasites; second, raw snake gallbladder has a certain toxicity, and aside from the risk of parasites, there is also a risk of poisoning.

Eating snake gallbladder raw can easily cause toxic disease, ranging from nausea, vomiting, and dizziness in mild cases to life-threatening danger in severe cases. This is because snake gallbladder contains substances such as bile toxins, histamine, bile salts, and cyanide. After entering the human gastrointestinal tract, its toxic components are absorbed and enter the liver, then are excreted by the kidneys. Among poisoning patients, the incidence of acute renal failure and liver damage is the highest, followed by involvement of organs such as the stomach, intestines, heart, and brain. If not treated promptly, the mortality rate is very high.

Therefore, do not believe rumors and rashly consume raw snake gallbladder or raw snake blood, lest you endanger your life and health. If you truly need to take snake gallbladder products, you should choose products from legitimate manufacturers that have undergone strict processing.

How is snake gallbladder eaten?

In daily life, many people do not know the correct way to take snake gallbladder, and incorrect consumption may lead to poisoning or even endanger life. The most common wrong method when eating snake gallbladder is eating it raw, and this method is quite harmful: first, snake gallbladder itself is highly toxic, and eating it raw may cause poisoning, leading to kidney failure and liver damage. Second, snakes carry many parasites, and eating it raw may cause parasitic infection. Below, readers are introduced to some correct ways to take snake gallbladder.

Soaking in high-proof liquor

Snake gallbladder can be soaked in high-proof liquor (60°-65° is suitable) for more than one month, and then the snake gallbladder liquor is drunk. This can have a sterilizing effect and avoid infection by intestinal infectious pathogens such as Salmonella.

High-temperature processing

It can be steamed before consumption: put the snake gallbladder into a pot and steam it thoroughly before eating. This method uses high temperature to kill the parasites and bacteria in the snake gallbladder. In addition, dried snake gallbladder that has undergone high-temperature processing can also be purchased for consumption, which can likewise avoid parasitic infection.

What does snake gallbladder look like?

Snake gallbladder is the gallbladder in a snake's body that stores bile. Snake gallbladder is oval or ovate, and the sac body is relatively straight. Bile duct shape: the snake gallbladder duct is slender, soft yet tough in texture, and attached to the sac body.

1. Cobra gallbladder: oval in shape, with both ends bluntly rounded. The surface of the gallbladder skin is smooth, the gallbladder stalk is slightly flat, laterally positioned, and long, and the bile duct clings tightly to the gallbladder wall. The bile is orange-yellow and viscous. The taste is bitter followed by sweet, with a cool, stimulating sensation.

2. Banded krait gallbladder: roughly triangular or oval in shape, with a slightly thick gallbladder stalk. The bile is golden yellow and slightly viscous. In summer the bile is dark green, while in winter it is white or pale red with a yellow tinge. The viscosity of the bile also changes with the season. The taste is bitter and sweet.

3. Many-banded krait gallbladder: oblong-oval in shape, with both ends slightly pointed; the base of the bile duct at the tip is thick and upturned, forming an obvious flat-headed hook. The bile is orange-yellow. The odor is slightly fishy, and the taste is bitter first and then sweet.

4. Five-pace snake gallbladder: also called qishe. It is the gallbladder of the sharp-nosed pit viper, a viperid animal. It is relatively large and oval in shape, with a relatively thick bile duct, a relatively thin gallbladder wall that is not smooth, and many veins. The gallbladder is full and plump, with wrinkles. The bile is pale yellow, rice yellow, or yellowish-white, and relatively thin. The odor is slightly fishy, and the taste is bitter and cool-sweet.

5. Black-tailed rat snake gallbladder: it is the gallbladder of the black-tailed rat snake, a colubrid animal. Its shape resembles a white bean or the end of a peanut. The gallbladder surface is rough and not smooth, with reticulated veins. The bile duct emerges from the middle of the gallbladder, with no main duct, appearing as multiple small branches, and it is not easy to squeeze out the bile. The bile is greenish-brown and viscous. The taste is bitter and astringent followed by sweet.

6. Gray rat snake gallbladder: also called guoshu rong snake. It is the gallbladder of the gray rat snake, a colubrid animal. It is oblong-oval in shape, with one end bluntly rounded and one end slightly pointed. The base of the bile duct is located at the pointed end. The surface of the gallbladder skin is smooth; the bile is grass green or pale green. The taste is bitter and astringent.

7. Oriental rat snake gallbladder: it is the gallbladder of the oriental rat snake, a colubrid animal. It is long-tubular in shape, with a relatively large gallbladder that is full and plump, and the gallbladder surface is smooth. The bile is green or pale green. The taste is bitter first and then sweet.

8. King rat snake gallbladder: it is the gallbladder of the king rat snake, a colubrid animal. It is oblong-oval in shape, with both ends pointed. The bile duct is relatively thick, and the gallbladder wall is relatively thick. The bile is dark green. The odor is slightly fishy, and the taste is bitter and cool-sweet.

9. Three-banded rat snake gallbladder: it is the gallbladder of the three-banded rat snake, a colubrid animal. It is mostly oblong-oval in shape. The gallbladder skin is relatively thick, the base of the bile duct is relatively thick, and the bile is dark green, with a small number of gallbladders having orange-yellow or light red bile. The odor is fishy, and the taste is bitter and cool-sweet.

The benefits and effects of snake gallbladder

Snake gallbladder has been a Chinese medicinal material since ancient times and is widely used in clinical practice. From ancient times to the present, it has always been highly regarded among the people. The earliest record is seen in the Han dynasty Mingyi Bielu, including the gallbladder of the python, the gallbladder of the pit viper, and the gallbladder of the qishe, which is unique to China.

Snake gallbladder is cool in nature and bitter with a slightly sweet taste. It has the effects of promoting the flow of qi and dispelling phlegm, dispelling wind and removing dampness, and treating cough with excessive phlegm, red and swollen eyes with pain, heat toxin of the skin, sores of the mouth and eyes, cough due to lung heat, stomach pain due to stomach heat, red eyes due to liver heat, acute rheumatic arthritis, and hemorrhoids. It can regulate and tonify the human nervous system and has good therapeutic effects on neurasthenia, high fever with delirium, and infantile convulsions. It can regulate the human endocrine system and immune system and delay aging of the body.