An Introduction to the Benefits, Effects, and Contraindications of Abalone Shell (Shijueming)

Shijueming is not a plant seed, but the dried shell of abalone species such as the varied abalone and the wrinkled abalone (Haliotis discus hannai). It gets its name because the shell is as hard as stone and is effective for brightening the eyes, and among the general public it is often called abalone shell. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is a commonly used animal-based medicinal material, cold in nature and salty in taste, mainly entering the liver meridian.

The most prominent effects of Shijueming are calming the liver and subduing yang, and clearing the liver and brightening the eyes. Traditionally it is often used for headache and dizziness, irritability and easy anger caused by ascendant hyperactivity of liver yang, as well as for red, swollen and painful eyes and blurred vision caused by flaming up of liver fire. In terms of combination, Shijueming is often used together with medicinal materials such as chrysanthemum, mulberry leaf, goji berry, and cassia seed to enhance the effect of clearing the liver and brightening the eyes.

Besides being used as medicine, Shijueming is also fairly common in folk dietary therapy; some people like to crush it and simmer it in soup with lean meat and other ingredients to help regulate eye discomfort brought on by excessive liver fire. Because the shell is hard in texture, it needs to be crushed and decocted first when used in a decoction; only after a relatively long period of boiling can the active ingredients be better extracted, and this is a detail that is easily overlooked in use.

It should be noted that Shijueming is cold in nature, so people with deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach and those who are prone to diarrhea should take it with caution, and pregnant women and those with weaker constitutions had best use it under a physician's guidance. Chinese medicinal materials emphasize treatment based on syndrome differentiation; if discomfort persists or worsens, one should seek medical attention promptly, and long-term self-administration is not recommended.