What are the effects and functions of realgar? A detailed explanation
Realgar, also known as yellow food stone, stone yellow, yellow stone, etc., is a sulfide mineral of the realgar group, mainly containing arsenic disulfide. It is distributed in Hunan, Guizhou and other places. As a medicine it has the effects of detoxifying and killing parasites, drying dampness and eliminating phlegm, and stopping malaria. It has therapeutic effects on carbuncles, swellings and boils, snake and insect bites, abdominal pain from parasitic infestation, convulsions, malaria and other conditions. Let us now take a look at the effects and functions of realgar!
The medicinal effects of realgar
[Nature and flavor] Pungent flavor, warm nature.
[Meridian entry] Liver and large intestine meridians.
[Effects] Detoxifying and killing parasites, drying dampness and eliminating phlegm, stopping malaria. Mainly treats carbuncles, swellings and boils, snake and insect bites, abdominal pain from parasitic infestation, convulsions, and malaria.
Related discussions on realgar
1. "Shennong Bencao Jing": Mainly treats cold and heat, scrofula, malignant sores, gangrene and hemorrhoids, dead flesh, and kills the poison of all insects.
2. "Bielu": Treats scabies mites, hidden sores, eye pain, nasal polyps, and severed tendons and broken bones. Treats severe wind in all joints, accumulations, lump qi, abdominal pain from noxious factors, kills the poison of all snakes and vipers, and neutralizes Veratrum poison.
3. "Bencao Gangmu": Treats malaria with cold and heat, latent summerheat diarrhea and dysentery, addiction formed by drinking wine, convulsions, head wind and dizziness, dissolves blood stasis in the abdomen, and kills consumptive worms and gan worms.
The pharmacological effects of realgar
1. Antibacterial effect: Realgar water infusion (1:2) has varying degrees of inhibitory effect on various dermatophytes in test tubes. At a concentration of 1/100 tested on soybean solid medium, it has an inhibitory effect on the growth of human-type and bovine-type tubercle bacilli and smegma bacilli. Fumigation with a mixture of Acorus tatarinowii, mugwort leaf and realgar for more than 2 to 4 hours has a bactericidal effect on Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
2. Insecticidal effect: Mice infected with cercariae of Schistosoma japonicum were given a mixture of realgar, areca nut, asafoetida and cinnamon at 0.2 mL/20 g starting 3 days before infection, and continued administration for 12 days after infection. The adult worm reduction rate reached 75.27%, the animal no-worm rate reached 14.29%, and the no-female-worm rate reached 42.86%.
Medicinal selected prescriptions of realgar
1. To treat snake-like sores and injuries from snakes, bees, centipedes, poisonous insects and rabid dogs: Grind realgar into powder, mix with vinegar and apply slowly, and also take it with wine.
2. To treat red nose: Realgar 5 qian (transparent and in pieces, without stone, red in color is best), sulfur 5 qian, old small powder (genuine). Grind together into fine powder, combine in one place, and apply mixed with human milk.
3. To treat tetanus: Realgar 1 qian, Saposhnikovia divaricata 2 qian, Aconitum kusnezoffii 1 qian. Grind the above into fine powder, take one zi per dose, and administer with warm wine. It can be taken when the interior is harmonious until recovery; it must not be taken when the interior is not harmonious.
4. To treat abdominal and hypochondriac masses: Realgar 1 liang, white alum 1 liang. Grind into powder, mix with flour paste into a paste and spread and apply.
5. To treat scabies and ringworm all over the body: Realgar and Cnidium monnieri in equal parts, both ground fine, mercury reduced by half. Mix and pound evenly with lard, add mercury and grind again until no stars are visible. Wash with warm water morning and evening, then apply the medicine.
6. To treat carbuncles and gangrene with rotting and all sores with toxin outbreak: Realgar 5 qian, talc double the amount. Grind the above into powder, after washing sprinkle on the sore, and cover and protect externally with cotton. For those that are broken and rotting after washing, use this to apply.
7. To treat epilepsy with sudden falling, often cured and often recurring: Realgar (water-ground), arisaema cum bile (both ground fine), and castor bean kernel in equal parts. Grind together evenly, make pills with rice paste, the size of mung beans. Take 1 qian after breakfast every morning, administered with plain water.
8. To treat hemorrhoids with intestinal bleeding: Realgar 1 qian 5 fen, gallnut 1 liang, white alum 2 qian. Grind together into powder, make pills with dark plum flesh. Take 1 qian per dose, administered with plain water on an empty stomach.
The toxic and side effects of realgar
There has been a report of 1 case of death from acute poisoning after oral administration of arsenic-containing realgar, with the main symptoms of poisoning being vomiting and diarrhea. Realgar sold on the market is mixed with arsenic trioxide, and care should be taken in selection for medicinal use. The red-yellow type shaped like a chicken comb is relatively pure; if it is white crystalline or red outside and white inside when crushed, these are signs of containing arsenic trioxide, and it must be used with special caution. For emergency treatment after poisoning, use Fangji 3 qian or raw licorice 1 part and mung bean 2 parts, decoct into a thick juice and take frequently. The toxicity of realgar is much lower than that of arsenic trioxide, but long-term use easily causes arsenic poisoning. When realgar is heated, it is oxidized by oxygen into the highly toxic arsenic trioxide. Medicinal realgar also contains about 1% arsenic trioxide, so special attention must be paid during use.
Contraindications and cautions for realgar
1. Realgar should be used cautiously for oral administration.
2. Realgar must not be used for a long time.
3. Those with yin deficiency and blood deficiency and pregnant women should avoid taking realgar.
Clinical application of realgar