Scorpions are well-known for being venomous creatures, but did you know that they are also used as traditional Chinese medicine? The dried body of the Buthus martensii Karsch, a species of scorpion in the Buthidae family, is known as Quan Xie in Chinese medicine. It is captured from late spring to early autumn, cleaned of mud and sand, boiled in boiling water or salt water until the body becomes stiff, and then dried in a well-ventilated area.
Source: Shu Ben Cao ("Compendium of Materia Medica"), Xin Xiu Ben Cao ("Newly Revised Materia Medica").
1. "You Yang Za Zu": Scorpions were not found in the southern region, but during the early Kaiyuan period, a chief clerk brought them across the river in bamboo tubes. Since then, scorpions have been frequently found in the southern region and are commonly known as "Chief Clerk Insects". Scorpions are often preyed upon by snails, so they mark their territory and do not leave. The front part of the scorpion is called "Shi" and the back part is called "Chai".
2. "Kai Bao Ben Cao": Scorpions from Qingzhou that are small and compact in shape are considered good.
3. "Ben Cao Tu Jing": Scorpions caught by people nowadays are dried by heat. Tao Yinju's "Collection of Tested Recipes" states: Scorpions have males and females. The sting of the male causes pain in one area only, while the sting of the female causes pain in multiple areas. If it is a male scorpion, it can be treated with well water mud.
Habitat: Scorpions prefer to live in dark and moist places. They hide during the day and come out at night. They are afraid of freezing temperatures and will burrow in the soil during the winter, not feeding for a long time until they become active again after the hibernation period. They are carnivorous and feed on small insects, ants, earthworms, pill bugs, and other juicy soft-bodied animals. They are long-lived and have strong reproductive abilities. The breeding season usually occurs around July.
Toxicity:
1. Scorpion venom (Buthotoxin, also known as Katsutoxin) primarily acts by causing respiratory paralysis. The minimum lethal dose for rabbits is 0.07mg/kg, for mice is 0.5mg/kg, and for frogs is 0.7mg/kg. Rabbits poisoned by scorpion venom show symptoms such as limb stiffness, drooling, respiratory arrest, and increased blood pressure. Frogs experience limb spasms, and mice experience limb and respiratory paralysis after an initial state of excitement. Scorpion venom does not have hemolytic or coagulation effects. It has inhibitory effects on isolated frog hearts and causes constriction of frog hindlimb blood vessels, but it has excitatory effects on isolated rabbit intestines and frog bladders.
2. The efficacy of scorpion soup on experimental tetanus in animals: 15g of Quan Xie, 12.5g of Chi Shao (Paeoniae Radix Rubra), 10g of Da Huang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma), and 7.5g of Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma) are used to make a 200ml decoction known as scorpion soup. Mixing 1-10% scorpion soup with tetanus bacilli for 60-90 minutes does not have bacteriostatic effects, but when mixed with culture medium, it has some inhibitory effects. It does not have neutralizing or destructive effects on tetanus toxin. Whether taken orally or injected subcutaneously, scorpion soup does not have therapeutic or preventive effects on experimental tetanus in guinea pigs or mice. Oral, subcutaneous, or intravenous administration of 0.1-1ml of scorpion soup per mouse, or 0.2-5ml per guinea pig, did not cause obvious signs of poisoning.
3. Toxicity: Toxins extracted from the venom gland of live scorpions from North China can cause salivation and convulsions when injected intravenously into mice at a dose of 0.5-1.0mg/kg. Injection of 0.07-0.1mg/kg into rabbits results in pupil constriction, drooling, and tonic-clonic convulsions, ultimately leading to suffocation and death. The crude venom of scorpions has an ipLD50 of 2.4mg/kg in mice, while the ipLD50 of mammalian neurotoxins I and II in scorpion venom is 0.48mg/kg and 0.63mg/kg, respectively.
