Common Anticancer Chinese Herbs: Xuejie (Dragon's Blood) and Long Xuejie
This was because ancient Chinese pharmacists did not understand the origin of xuejie. In fact xuejie is not a mineral; it is the resin of a plant.
What is now called qilin xuejie is the dried resin exuded from the fruit and trunk of Daemonorops draco (family Arecaceae/Palmae). Like frankincense and myrrh, it is a resinous Chinese medicinal material, and its effects are very close: xuejie also activates blood and resolves stasis, reduces swelling and stops pain. Qilinjie is also an imported medicinal material, which is why many ancient Chinese pharmacists knew little about it.
It was not until Su Song compiled Bencao Tujing (Illustrated Classic of Materia Medica) in the Song Dynasty that the origin of xuejie was definitively pointed out. Bencao Tujing records: "Qilinjie was not formerly recorded as to the province or soil where it grows; now it comes from the southern barbarian kingdoms and Guangzhou. The tree is several zhang high, graceful and lovely; its leaves resemble those of the cherry but are triangular. Its fatty sap flows out from the wood, dripping down like syrup, and after a long while hardens into jie, red as blood, hence it is also called xuejie (blood-resin). It may be gathered at any time."
However, the statement in Bencao Tujing that the leaves of xuejie resemble those of the cherry is still wrong; this is information the author obtained by hearsay from foreign merchants, having never seen the actual plant.
The real leaves of qilinjie are as shown in the picture below: they are sword-shaped leaves, not cherry-like. It can be seen that in studying Chinese materia medica one must not blindly trust the records of the ancients; one must consult the literature from many sides in order to distinguish the genuine from the false.
But according to Dian Bencao (Yunnan Materia Medica), the xuejie first used in China was the mu xuejie from Yunnan. Mu xuejie, also called long xuejie,is produced in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong in southwest China;it is the resin of Dracaena cochinchinensis (family Agavaceae). The domestic xuejie on the market is now generally standardized under the name Guangxi xuejie.
After Ming-dynasty Admiral Zheng He voyaged to the Western Oceans, he brought back from the Southeast Asian kingdoms the qilin xuejie produced in Indonesia and other countries. From then on, both qilin xuejie and long xuejie were used clinically.
Although xuejie and long xuejie are similar in effect and appearance, and long xuejie is generally used as xuejie, they are essentially two different drugs.
It is generally held that the imported xuejie from Indonesia is superior to the domestic long xuejie in activating blood, resolving stasis, reducing swelling, and stopping pain, while the domestic long xuejie is superior to the Indonesian qilin xuejie in anti-inflammatory and antibacterial action.
The prices of the two differ greatly. Imported qilin xuejie is very precious; at current wholesale market prices it costs 3,000–4,000 yuan per kilogram, while domestic long xuejie is under 1,000 yuan per kilogram. For anticancer detumescence, imported qilin xuejie works better than domestic long xuejie.
Imported xuejie is further divided into raw xuejie and processed xuejie. Raw xuejie consists mainly of lumps obtained by primary processing in the country of origin (Indonesia); it generally contains no added excipients and is of the finest quality, though it is not easy to obtain.
Processed xuejie is made by blending excipients into Indonesian qilin xuejie in Singapore, then processing it; it is mostly tied into square blocks in cloth bags, with golden labels such as "Hand Brand" and "Crown Brand" pasted on the bottom. The quality of processed xuejie also varies, and the average person can hardly tell good xuejie from bad.
Traditional Chinese medicine holds that xuejie "is sweet and salty in taste, neutral in nature, slightly toxic, and enters the heart and liver meridians." In fact this understanding is also wrong; xuejie is non-toxic.
Modern pharmacological experiments have proved that neither the imported qilin xuejie nor the domestic Guangxi xuejie caused any obvious toxic damage when administered to mice for 90 consecutive days. The mice's red and white blood cells and liver and kidney function were normal; pathological examination showed no damage to the liver, spleen, kidneys, intestines, or adrenal glands. So the record that xuejie is slightly toxic is wrong.
Chinese medicine holds that xuejie has the action of "dispelling stasis and fixing pain, stopping bleeding and generating flesh to heal sores. It treats traumatic injuries, internal stasis pain, dysmenorrhea, post-partum abdominal pain due to stasis, persistent external bleeding, scrofula, chronic non-healing leg ulcers, and hemorrhoids."
Xuejie, taken internally or applied externally, has good effects in resolving stasis and stopping pain, stopping bleeding and reducing swelling, and healing sores and promoting flesh growth. It is often used for chronic non-healing wounds from malignant sores and carbuncles, or for non-healing wounds after bleeding from metal wounds. Xuejie has good antiseptic, wound-protecting, and ulcer-healing effects.
The famous Chinese formulas for drawing out toxin, reducing swelling, and healing sores—Yu Hong Gao (Jade Red Plaster)—and the famous orthopedic hemostatic and analgesic formula Qili San (Seven-Centi-Gram Powder) both have xuejie as their chief ingredient.
Yu Hong Gao formula: xuejie 180 g, Danggui (Angelica) 90 g, Gancao (Licorice) 54 g, sesame oil 740 g, Zicao (Lithospermum) 90 g, Qingfen (Calomel) 180 g, Baila (White Wax) 90 g, Baizhi (Angelica Dahurica) 225 g.Preparation: soak Danggui, Gancao, Zicao, and Baizhi in sesame oil overnight, then decoct over gentle heat until the herbs are scorched; strain out the dregs and clarify, then boil until drops form beads in water. Add xuejie powder, Baila, and Qingfen and stir into a plaster. Used for ulcerated sores that will not close. Spread the plaster evenly on gauze and apply to the affected area; not for internal use. (From Quanguo Zhongchengyao Chufang Ji—National Collection of Chinese Patent Medicine Prescriptions)
Yu Hong Gao, also called Shengji Yu Hong Gao (Flesh-Generating Jade Red Plaster), is often self-prepared and used by patients or families of patients with ulcerated surface tumors, but the results are not ideal. Because for cancerous ulcers, Yu Hong Gao alone has little effect; it must be combined with internally taken qi-and-blood-supplementing, righteous-qi-strengthening anticancer herbs or chemotherapy drugs. This plaster may assist the internal medicine or chemotherapy in closing the sore.
Qili San formula: xuejie 500 g, Ruxiang (processed frankincense) 75 g, Moyo (processed myrrh) 75 g, Ercha (catechu) 120 g, Bingpian (borneol) 6 g, Shexiang (musk) 6 g, Zhusha (cinnabar) 60 g. Preparation: of the eight herbs above, except for musk and borneol, levigate the cinnabar with water or pulverize it into an extremely fine powder; pulverize the other five herbs (xuejie and the rest) into a fine powder; grind the musk and borneol finely, blend with the above powders, sift, and mix well. Function: resolve stasis and reduce swelling, stop pain and bleeding. Used for traumatic injuries, blood-stasis pain, and external bleeding. Oral dose: 1–1.5 g, 1–3 times daily; for external use, mix and apply to the affected area. Contraindicated in pregnant women. (Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, 1985)
The water-levigation (shuifei) process for the cinnabar in this formula requires specialized study to master. Cinnabar contains highly toxic impurities; water-levigation removes these impurities, making the cinnabar safer to use.
Although Qili San is commonly known as an orthopedic formula, it is actually quite useful in oncology as well. Qili San can be used to stop bleeding and pain in cancer patients. The reason Qili San uses so much xuejie is precisely that xuejie not only has a good analgesic effect but also has the dual action of resolving static blood and stopping bleeding.
However, this formula should not be taken internally in large amounts. For one thing, musk is too precious—its price is already several to ten-plus times that of gold (nowadays artificial musk is often used instead of natural musk, with inferior efficacy). For another, the Qingfen (calomel) in the formula contains mercury and is highly toxic; excessive internal use is dangerous.
In addition, Yangshi Jiacang Fang uses xuejie alone, pulverized into xuejie powder, to treat intolerable pain from anal fistula. For use, one may mix it with one's own saliva and apply frequently; it is said to work quite well.
In Shengji Zonglu, xuejie and qiandan (lead oxide stir-fried until purple) are mixed in a 2:1 ratio and pounded into a powder. The sore is first treated with saline, then this powder is applied externally to the sore; it also has the effect of healing sores and generating flesh.
The xuejie powder Boxi Fang uses "xuejie (stir-fried) 7.5 g, Qingzhou jujubes 20 (burned to ash), dried Rehmannia half a liang (separately pounded into powder). Grind the two finely into powder; (at time of use) mix with saliva and apply to the sore." Boxi Fang used this formula to treat "scrofula that has ruptured and will not stop discharging pus and water."
Xuejie is also used in emergencies for bleeding disorders; it can be used to treat epistaxis and post-partum hemorrhage.
Bencao Huiyan quotes Guangli Fang for treating the critical, life-threatening condition in women where post-partum blood rushes up to the heart and diaphragm, leading to panting and fullness with life hanging by a thread: "use qilinjie and moyo, each 4.5 g, ground into powder, made into pills with vinegar paste the size of a phoenix-tree seed, and taken." Of course, nowadays such critically ill patients are seldom handed to Chinese medicine for emergency rescue, but we can draw experience from this line of thinking.
Judging from the records in various ancient medical texts, xuejie was mainly used to close and heal wounds after various sores, swellings, external injuries, and traumatic injuries. This may be related to xuejie's hemostatic action; xuejie has a good hemostatic effect, not only externally but also internally.
Modern pharmacology has confirmed that taking xuejie powder internally for gastrointestinal bleeding has an effective rate as high as 95.8%. In patients with gastrointestinal bleeding, after taking xuejie powder, the time for fecal occult blood to turn negative ranged from as short as 17 hours to as long as 148 hours, averaging 2.4 days.
So xuejie is also a commonly used herb for patients with various gastrointestinal tumors accompanied by bleeding. Giving gastric, esophageal, intestinal, or liver cancer patients internal pills or powders containing xuejie can effectively check bleeding and prolong survival.
When used to activate blood, resolve stasis, stop pain, and reduce swelling, xuejie is often combined with ruxiang, moyo, ercha, and other herbs. When used to close sores, it is often combined with the lead-containing mituoseng (litharge). Rihuazi Bencao says xuejie "works well with mituoseng"; Depei Bencao says xuejie, "paired with ruxiang, treats chronic fright convulsions; paired with moyo, resolves abdominal blood clots."
According to Chinese medical theory, the contraindication for xuejie is "those without static blood." But this outdated view, like the belief that xuejie is slightly toxic, is wrong. As long as there is a bleeding tendency, xuejie may be used whether or not there is static blood; some of the side effects the ancients attributed to xuejie do not exist, and xuejie is very safe to use.
Although from the standpoint of modern pharmacology xuejie has no direct antitumor effect, it should still be regarded as an important, commonly used herb in oncology.
Because bleeding and tumor rupture are very common problems in cancer patients, xuejie has a good effect in solving these problems. Xuejie has a clear effect in eliminating the bloody and inflammatory swelling around tumors and in relieving cancer patients' clinical symptoms.