Anti-Cancer Herbs ⁽¹⁷¹⁾

Chinese-medicine shihu is the stem of Dendrobium nobile, Dendrobium loddigesii, Dendrobium candidum, Dendrobium chrysanthum, and Dendrobium fimbriatum of the Orchidaceae family. Dendrobium candidum is also called Tiepi Fengdou, and there are now many health products on the market sold under that name. Clinically one may…

Pearl (Zhenzhu), also called Zhenzhu, bangzhu, or zhenzhizi, is produced when the mantle of the pearl oysters Pinctada martensii, Pinctada margaritifera, Pinctada maxima, or Pteria chinensis, or of the freshwater mussels Hyriopsis cumingii or Anodonta, is stimulated; that produced at Hepu in Guangxi is considered…

The toad, also called laihama, is the whole body of Bufo gargarizans (Chinese large toad) or Bufo melanostictus (black-spectacled toad) of the Bufonidae family, found everywhere in China. It dwells in moist grass and is common at night or after rain, feeding on various harmful…

The centipede, also called Wugong (Wugong, Tianlong, Baijiao, Baiwuchong), is the whole body of Scolopendra subspinipes and Scolopendra multidens of the Scolopendridae family. Centipede has a very long history of medicinal use. Shennong Bencao Jing (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica) includes centipede, holding that it "maintains…

The leech (mahuang) is a Chinese herb commonly used in oncology. Whether leech should be used in tumor patients is controversial in academic circles. Some scholars believe hirudin carries the risk of promoting hematogenous metastasis of cancer cells, while others believe leech helps improve tumor…

The scorpion is a venomous insect, but it has also been a Chinese herb used clinically from ancient times to the present. Not only did the ancient Chinese like to use scorpion medicinally, modern pharmaceutical manufacturers do too; Cuban blue scorpion venom (escorazul) is an…

Dilong, commonly called earthworm (qiuyin, qushan, chongshan), is found everywhere. From ancient times to the present, Chinese people have used earthworm medicinally. The earliest Chinese pharmacopoeia, Shennong Bencao Jing (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), classified it as a lower-grade herb; lower-grade herbs "eliminate cold and heat…

Honeysuckle (Jinyinhua) is the flower bud of Lonicera japonica, Lonicera confusa, Lonicera hypoglauca, and Lonicera fulvotomentosa of the Caprifoliaceae family. On the market, honeysuckle is further divided into two types, Jinyinhua and Shanyinhua (wild honeysuckle); the flower buds of Lonicera confusa and Lonicera fulvotomentosa are…

The Chinese medicinal lianqiao is the dried fruit of Forsythia suspensa (Oleaceae). Fruit harvested in autumn when just ripe is called “green forsythia” (qingqiao); fruit harvested when fully ripe is called “old forsythia” (laoqiao or huangqiao). Forsythia heart (lianqiao xin) is made by steaming green…

Yinchenhao (also called yinchen) is the rootless seedling or above-ground part of Artemisia scoparia or Artemisia capillaris (Asteraceae), mostly harvested in the third or fourth lunar month. There is a folk saying: “March yinchen, April hao; May and June it is firewood.” Yinchen can be…