Tung oil is a famous specialty of China and also one of the traditional major export commodities. It is also known as tung seed oil. It is highly toxic and has a cold nature. It is used externally to treat scabies and ringworm and can be used to treat burns. Here are some other effects and selected formulas of tung oil:
Tung oil
Tung oil
[Other names] Tung seed oil (《Compendium of Materia Medica》).
[Toxicity] Highly toxic.
[Nature] Cold.
[Taste] Pungent, sweet.
[Uses] It is the main raw material for making paint and ink. It is widely used as waterproof, preservative, and anti-rust coatings for construction, machinery, weapons, vehicles, fishing gear, and electrical appliances. It can also be used to make oilcloth, oil paper, soap, pesticides, emetics, and insecticides for medical and agricultural purposes.
[Production areas] Yunnan Province is an important production area for tung oil in China, with an annual output ranking sixth in the country. The production areas are distributed in more than 50 counties in Zhaotong, Wenshan, Qujing, Baoshan, Dali, Yuxi, and Dehong, with Zhaotong and Wenshan being the main production areas.
Effects and uses of tung oil
Chinese medicine believes that tung oil has the effects of expelling phlegm, clearing heat and detoxifying, dampness-killing insects, and moisturizing the skin and promoting skin regeneration. It is mainly used to treat throat problems, boils, scabies, carbuncles, burns, frostbite, and chapped skin.
《Compendium of Materia Medica》: "It can be used to treat scabies, ringworm, and sores."
Tung oil effects
Selected formulas
1. Treatment of chronic carbuncles with blood and wind
Grind calcined Hu powder and mix with tung oil to make paper plaster. Grind calcined tung oil lime on a ship with human hair (mix with tung oil and dry), make it into powder, and use tung oil to make a plaster. Apply it to paper and stick it on the affected area with puncture holes. (《Simple Formula》)
2. Treatment of chronic ulcers
Take an appropriate amount of tung oil and fresh mulberry bark. Mash it and apply it to the wound. Change it after it dries, until it heals. (《Compilation of Simple Prescription of Traditional Chinese Medicine》)
3. Treatment of foot chilblains
Mix tung oil and human milk in equal amounts. Apply it several times. (《Simplified Formula from the Vicinity of Lake》)
4. Treatment of red nose caused by alcoholism
Mix tung oil with yellow dan and realgar and apply it. (《Collected Prescriptions》)
5. Treatment of frostbite and chapped skin
Take a bowl of tung oil and a handful of human hair. Heat it and collect the liquid in a bottle. Wash it with warm water to soften it and apply it. (《Emergency Formula》)
Tung oil selected formulas
6. Detoxify arsenic poisoning
Inject three liters of tung oil to induce vomiting and resolve the poison. (《Hua Tuo's Dangerous Disease Formula》)
7. Treatment of burns
Take tung oil and lime. Stir the lime with water until it becomes clear, take the clear water, add a few drops of tung oil, stir it quickly with a bamboo stick, and after half an hour, a white glue-like substance will form. Apply it to the affected area for an exceptionally soothing effect. (《Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine》(4): 63, 1936)
8. Treatment of finger furuncles
Immerse gauze in tung oil and wrap it around the affected area; or soak the affected finger in tung oil. (《Guizhou Herbal Medicine》)
