Snake bile is recorded in the book "Famous Physicians' Records". It refers to the gallbladder of various snakes, such as the Oriental Rat Snake (Zaocys dhumnades). After catching the snake, its abdomen is opened, and the gallbladder is located and tied off with a thread. The gallbladder is then cut above the ligature and dried.
【Processing Method】"The Taiping Holy Beneficence Formula" states: "Bake and dry, then grind into powder." Currently, the raw material is taken, impurities are removed, and it is washed and dried.
【Appearance of the Medicinal Slice】The dried product is brown or greenish-brown, slightly translucent when held up to light, with a yellow-brown or yellow-green interior. It has an extremely bitter taste with a sweet aftertaste.
【Processing Effects】Snake bile is bitter and slightly sweet in taste, and cold in nature. It has the functions of cooling the liver, clearing the lungs, resolving phlegm, and improving vision. After processing, impurities are removed to ensure the cleanliness of the medicine. It is used for conditions such as cough with lung heat, phlegm and wheezing, whooping cough, epilepsy, red and swollen hemorrhoids, skin heat toxins, and acne. For example, Snake Bile Chuanbei Powder is used to treat cough with lung heat and excessive phlegm (as described in the "Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China" in 1985), and Snake Bile Chenpi Powder is used to treat cough with wind-cold, excessive phlegm, and vomiting (as described in the "Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China" in 1977).
