INDIVIDUAL HERBS

NAME: HU GU - 虎骨 - OS TIGRIS

Pharmaceutical Latin: Os Tigris
Common English: Tiger Bone

CATEGORY

Obsolete Substances: Herbs that Expel Wind-Dampness

PROPERTIES

Taste Temperature Entering Meridians Dosage
Acrid
Salty
Warm
Liver
Kidney
Pills or Powders: 3-15g

ACTIONS AND INDICATIONS:

Actions Indications/Syndromes

Dispels Wind-(Dampness), controls pain and strengthens the sinews and bones

Wind-Damp Bi with atrophied and weak lower back and legs, joint stiffness, migratory pain, spasms of the legs and difficulty moving the joints

Disperses Wind-Cold

Wind-Cold Bi with paralysis, spasms, and Cold pain in the bones

CONTRAINDICATIONS, INCOMPATIBILITIES AND HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS

CONTRAINDICATIONS
  • Use caution for those with Fire from Excess or Deficiency.
  • Hu Gu is a protected species and its use is strictly prohibited.
INCOMPATIBILITIES
HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS

MAJOR COMBINATIONS

Fr. Chaenomelis
Mu Gua
Rx. Achyranthis Bidentate
Niu Xi
Cx. Acanthopanacis
Wu Jia Pi

Hb. Cynomorii
Suo Yang
(Rx. Achyranthis Bidentate)
(Niu Xi)
Rx. Angelicae Sinensis
Dang Gui
Hb. Taxilli
Sang Ji Sheng

As a wine for Wind-Damp Bi with restricted movement and pain of the joints

Long-term illness causing wasting away of the sinews and mal development of the bones

 

NOTES

  1. The bones of a poisoned tiger can turn black and should never be used.
  2. Leopard bone (Os Leopardis) Bao Gu, Zhu Gu (Os Porcus) Dog bone (Os Canis) Gou Gu can be substituted. Bao Gu is pungent, warm, strengthens sinews and bones, expels Wind-Dampness, and stops pain. It is less potent than Hu Gu. Gou Gu is extremely hot. Cook for at least an hour before adding to the decoction.
  3. When one walks too much he injures the sinews, when one stands too much, he injures the bones.
  4. When there is illness in the sinews, there is flexion but not extension. When there is illness in the bones, there is extension, but no flexion.
  5. This herb is good at seeking out concealed Wind and stopping pain.
  6. This herb is best used in treatment of migratory joint pain due to Excess Wind and numbness of the feet due to Deficiency Cold of the Kidney and Liver.
  7. It can be used alone as a medicinal wine to treat Bi syndrome.
  8. The shinbone is preferred, but all of the bones can be used. The skull treats childhood convulsions, warm malarial sores and swellings and head Wind. The tibia is used for Wind in the hands and feet and the vertebrae for any Wind affecting the lower back and spine.
  9. Wines are frequently used to treat leg pains.