Identification Characteristics of the Money White Flower Snake and its Counterfeits

The Money White Flower Snake is a commonly used precious Chinese medicine, which has the effects of dispelling wind and dampness, promoting blood circulation, relieving pain, and attacking toxins. It is commonly used to treat hemiplegia, numbness of limbs, and joint pain, among other symptoms.

In recent years, it has been found in the market that the adult products of water snake Natrix annularis Hallowell from the Colubridae family, Dinodon rufozonatum (Cantor) from the Colubridae family, Bungarus fasciatus (Schneider) from the Elapidae family, or adult products of silver ring snake and king ring snake are being used as substitutes for the Money White Flower Snake. Market surveys have found that the sources of the Money White Flower Snake are extremely complicated. In addition to the several counterfeits mentioned above, young individuals of other species from the Colubridae family or spliced products of young individuals are also used as counterfeits. In the absence of effective chemical identification methods, the combination of morphological identification and microscopic identification is still the ideal means of identification. In order to facilitate comparison and ensure the safety and efficacy of clinical medication, the identification characteristics of the Money White Flower Snake and its counterfeits are reported as follows.

1. Morphological Identification Characteristics

1.1. Money White Flower Snake

This product is disc-shaped, with a diameter of 3-6 cm and a snake body diameter of 0.2-0.4 cm. The head is in the center, and the tail is thin and often tucked into the mouth. The back is black or gray-black, shiny, with 28-58 white ring patterns, alternating black and white, with white patterns widening gradually from the back to the abdomen, about 1-2 scales wide. There are 3-5 black patterns, with a prominent central ridge on the back, and the ridge widens to form a hexagonal shape. The back scales are in 15 rows throughout the body; the anal scales are intact; the subcaudal scales are in a single row, numbering 37-55; the ventral surface is yellowish-white, with slightly larger scales. It has a slight fishy smell and a slightly bitter taste.

Microscopic Identification Characteristics: Yellowish-white, nearly elliptical; bluntly rounded at the free end; no scale ridge; reticulated area: the reticulated tangent line extends, with reticulation holes measuring 10-59 μm in length and 6-21 μm in width; fine undulations.

1.2. King Ring Snake

It is disc-shaped, with a diameter of 2-5 cm, and the head is in the center. The whole body has 23-33 transverse ring patterns, with black and yellow patterns, with a density of about 3-5 scales, and the transverse ring patterns encircle the abdomen. There is a prominent ridge on the body, with a row of scales at the ridge forming a hexagonal shape. The back scales are in 15 rows throughout the body; the anal scales are intact; the subcaudal scales are in a single row, numbering 29-39. It has a slight fishy smell and a slightly salty taste.

Microscopic Identification Characteristics: Light yellow, nearly angular; slightly concave at the free end; with scale ridge; reticulated area: irregular reticulation, with reticulation measuring 5-61 μm in length and 6-27 μm in width; no undulation area.

1.3. Dinodon rufozonatum

It is disc-shaped, with a diameter of 2-5 cm, and the head is in the center. The whole body has narrow red and black ring patterns, with about 90 red or red narrow transverse ring patterns, each pattern being 1-2 scales wide, and the black patterns are slightly wider than the red patterns. The transverse ring patterns encircle the abdomen, and there are black-brown spots on the ventral side. There is a prominent ridge on the body, with a row of scales at the ridge not widening and forming a hexagonal shape. The back scales are in 15-17(19)-19(21) rows; the anal scales are divided into two; the subcaudal scales are in a double row, numbering 48-88 pairs. It has a slight fishy smell and a slightly salty taste.

Microscopic Identification Characteristics: Gray-yellow, nearly angular; bluntly rounded at the free end; no scale ridge; reticulated area: smaller reticulation, nearly circular, with reticulation holes measuring 5-8 μm in diameter; sparse undulations.

1.4. Natrix annularis Hallowell

It is disc-shaped, with a diameter of 2-5 cm. The whole body has more than 60 ring patterns, alternating gray-brown and light yellow patterns, with the light yellow patterns slightly wider than the gray-brown patterns. The transverse ring patterns encircle the abdomen. There is a prominent ridge on the body, with a row of scales at the ridge not widening and forming a hexagonal shape. The back scales are in (16)17-19 rows; the anal scales are divided into two; the subcaudal scales are in a double row, numbering 39-78 pairs. It has a slight fishy smell and a slightly bitter taste.

Microscopic Identification Characteristics: Light yellow, nearly elliptical; slightly concave or slightly flat at the free end; with scale ridge; reticulated area: polygonal reticulation, with reticulation holes measuring 20-129 μm in length and 17-75 μm in width; no undulation area.

1.5. Adult Products of Silver Ring Snake

It is disc-shaped, with a diameter of 2-5 cm, and the head is in the center (processed from the head of another snake); the body ridge is black-brown; the whole body has fewer than 27 transverse ring patterns, with wider white ring patterns; the ventral surface is yellowish-white, asymmetric on both sides. It has a slight fishy smell and a slightly salty taste.

1.6. Adult Products of King Ring Snake

It is disc-shaped, with a diameter of 2-5 cm, and the head is in the center (processed from the head of another snake). The whole body has fewer than 22 transverse ring patterns, with wider spacing between the transverse ring patterns. It has a slight fishy smell and a slightly bitter taste.