Hematite, Dai Zhe Shi 代赭石Bloodstone; Lapis Sanguinalis, AmetistusDai Zhe Shi: ‘Red Stone from Dai County’ (TCM) Gairika (Ayurveda) Shadhanj (Unani) Smug po sbal rgyab སྨུག་པོ་སྦལ་རྒྱབ (Tibetan) Mdung rtse smug po མདུང་རྩེ་སྨུག་པོ་ (Tibetan) |
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Hortus sanitatis, 1491
Varieties of HematiteGemmarum et Lapidum Historia, Tollius, 1647
Two different varieties of HematitePhotos by Parent Gery
Mineralogical name:
Hematitum
Tibetan medicine recognise several varieties of Hematite:
- Mdung rtse smug po (Brown Hematite)
- Mdung rtse dmar po (Red Hematite)
Parts used:
Prepared Hematite
‘Found in Iron mines… of a black, yellowish or Iron color; The best is brittle, very black and even, free from filth, and of a Cinnabar–like color’. (Salmon)
Temperature & Taste:
Cold, dry. Bitter, Sweet. Once prepared with Vinegar, it is only Cool, and is slightly Sour.
“Mildly warming, rarefying and considerably desiccant [drying]” (Avicenna).
It is Warm when unwashed, but considered Cold after being washed: “The unwashed Hematite is Hot in the First and Dry in the Third degree. The washed one is Cold up to the Third degree depending on the quality of washing and it is Dry in the Third degree.” (Avicenna)
Classification:
I. Medicines for Internal Wind
Constituents:
Ferric oxide and Silicone dioxide (FeO 51%, SiO2 40%, AlO 5%, CaO 2%, H2O 1%); admixtures may include As, Ti, and Mn
Uses:
1. Clears Heat, Stops Bleeding (West, TCM, Ayurveda, Tibetan Medicine):
-heat-type bleeding including vomiting blood, nosebleed, Bloody diarrhea, excess Menstruation
-spitting blood, Lung ulcers
–Paracelsus recommended it for ‘resolved Menstrua, premature profluvia of Matrix, lax Dysentery, and diarrhea’.
–Pliny and the ancients gave it for all types of blood diseases.
-TCM uses Vinegar Prepared Hematite to stop bleeding; However, regular powdered Hematite was commonly used in the West.
2. Calms the Liver, Stops Wind (West, TCM, Ayurveda):
-Vertigo, Tinnitus, Dizziness, pressure in the eyes, hypertensive headache etc. (Raw Hematite is used: TCM)
-Paralysis, Facial Paralysis in Unani.
–Galen used it for Headaches and Eye pain
-cramps and light-headedness, Aggression, Obsession and Anger in the West; said to promote a happy disposition.
3. Regulates the Stomach, Settles Rising Qi, Stops Vomiting (West, TCM):
-nausea, vomiting, regurgitation and belching from Stomach disharmony; it is best for these conditions with Stomach Heat and rising Stomach Qi.
4. Stops Cough and Wheezing (West, TCM, Ayurveda):
-Asthma from stagnant Qi of the Lungs marked by chest oppression; asthma from weakness of the Lungs and Kidneys
-Cough, Wheezing and Hiccups in Ayurveda. (Raw Hematite)
5. Nourishes Yin, Astringes the Kidneys:
–Aristotle and Pliny used it for Wasting diseases;
–Ebers Papyrus listed it for Diabetes-like disorders.
-Ayurveda uses it as a tonic, promoting strength;
-TCM recognises a strengthening effect on the Kidney.
-painful Urination, taken with wine (Dioscorides)
-corrects the irregularity of Seminal Emission (Avicenna)
-Fractures, especially Skull Fractures (Tibetan Medicine)
-it has also been used for Arthritic disease
6. Externally:
-as a dusting powder to remove excess growth of flesh in wounds (Avicenna)
-Used to remove the proud flesh from wounds, for which it was said to be better than burnt Alum; possibly calcined for this purpose. (The Jewel House of Art and Nature, Sir Hugh Plat, 1653 and others)
-externally with woman’s milk it was applied for sore and red eyes. (Dioscorides)
-inflamed Eyes: for eye problems, the finely powdered stone was mixed with Honey and applied to the eyelids. (Galen)
-Ulcers of the Eye (Avicenna)
–Ebers Papyrus also prescribed it in a fumigation against Scorpion bites.
Dose:
Taken with wine for Dysuria and persistent Menstruation. (Avicenna)
Powder: 1–3 grams
Decoction: 9–30 grams, cooked for 30–60 minutes before adding herbs.
Comment:
In TCM the unprepared product is regareded as stronger to settle Wind and anchor Yang while the calcined product is better to stop Bleeding.
Substitute:
1. “Sometimes Magnetite is burnt to yield blood stone having the same action”. (Avicenna)
2. Red Earth (Chi Shi Zhi) can be used for Bleeding.
3. “According to some experts it has some resemblance with Pyrite in potency but it is relatively more Dry and less Hot in nature”. (Avicenna)
Preparation:
1. Calcined Hemetite:
Sometimes in East and West it is calcined for use. This is stronger to stop Bleeding.
2. Levigated with Plantain water
The fine powder is levigated with Plantain water. This increases its ability to clear Heat and stop Bleeding. (West)
Main Combinations:
Bleeding
1. Bleeding from Heat:
i. Hematite with Licorice juice, Red Earth, burnt Deer horn, Sealed Earth
ii. Hematite with Rehmannia Sheng Di Huang. (TCM)
iii. Hematite with Paeonia Mu Dan Pi, Rehmannia Sheng Di Huang, Crisium Da Ji, Scutellaria Huang Qin
iv. Hematite, Amber, Dragon’s Blood, Red Coral, Alum, Pomegranate flower, Red Earth (equal parts) (The Dispensatory of Ibn at Tilmid)
2. Spitting Blood:
i. take Hematite with distilled water of Purslane
ii. take Hematite powder (1 ½ drams) with distilled water of Plantain (The Secrets of Alexis, 1615)
iii. Hematite with Gum Arabic, Amber, Licorice
iv. Hemoptysis and Consumption, take Hematite with juice of Pomegranate or Knotgrass
3. Diarrhea or Dysentery with Blood:
i. Hematite, Burnet (Di Yu), Sophora flos Huai Hua
ii. Hematite with Amber, Dragon’s Blood, Red Coral, Plantain seed, Tormentil, Pomegranate flower, Nutmeg, Cinnamon (as in Powder Against Bloody Flux)
4. Excessive Menstruation: “It is taken with wine in Dysuria and persistent Menstruation”. (Avicenna)
Gynecology, Obstetrics
5. Metrorrhagia, Hematite with Red Earth (Chi Shi Zhi), Flying Squirrel Feces (Wu Ling Zhi)
6. Uterine Bleeding or prolonged menstruation:
i. Hematite, Typha Pu Huang, Chinese Mugwort carbonised (Ai Ye)
ii. Hematite, Flying Squirrel Feces (Wu Ling Zhi), Cornus Shan Zhu Yu, calcined Oyster shell (Duan Mu Li)
7. To prevent Miscarriage:
i. Hematite with Mastic and Olibanum
ii. Hematite, Pearl, Red Coral, Tormentil, Mastic
8. To stop Postpartum Bleeding, Hematite with Pearl, Red Coral, Cinnamon, Red Earth, Tormentil, Shepherd’s Purse (Wirtzung)
Wind diseases
9. Palpitations with Insomnia:
i. Hematite, Pearl, Amber, Sandalwood
ii. Hematite with Fossil Bone (Long Gu), Mother-of-Pearl shell burnt (Zhen Zhu Mu), Zizyphus spinosa Suan Zao Ren
10. Dizziness, Vertigo, Headache, from rising Liver wind:
i. Hematite with Oyster Shell and/or Gastrodia Tian Ma. (TCM)
ii. Hematite with Self Heal (Xia Ku Cao), Chrysanthemum Ju Hua, Abalone shell Shi Jue Ming.
11. Vertigo:
i. for Yin deficient rising Yang, Hematite, Rehmannia Shu Di Huang, Paeonia Bai Shao, Abalone shell (Shi Jue Ming), Oyster shell (Mu Li)
ii. Hemetite (45 grams), Pinellia Ban Xia (18 grams), Plantain herb (Che Qian Cao) (18 grams), Self Heal (Xia Ku Cao) (18 grams) prepared as a decoction. This was used in a trial and found to have an effectiveness of 95% in auditory Vertigo.
12. Psychosis or Mania:
i. from Wind-Heat and Phlegm: Hematite, Coptis Huang Lian, Rhubarb (Da Huang), bile-prepared Arisaema Dan Nan Xing
ii. from strong Heat, Hematite, Earthworm (Di Long), Gentian (Long Dan Cao), Gardenia Zhi Zi
13. Epilepsy and Infantile Convulsions:
i. Hematite, Pearl, Red Coral, Peony
ii. Hematite, Tabasheer, Cinnabar (TCM)
iii. Hemetite, Earthworm (Di Long), White Dead Silkworm (Bai Jiang Can), Cicada Slough (Chan Tui)
Other
14. Cough, Wheezing:
i. prepared and powdered Hematite is taken with rice vinegar.
ii. from deficiency, Hematite with Walnut, Cornus Shan Zhu Yu, Codonopsis Dang Shen
iii. from Lung Heat, Hematite, Scutellaria Huang Qin, Morus cortex Sang Bai Pi, Trichosanthes fructus Gua Lou Zi
iv. from ‘Kidney failing to grasp Qi’, Hematite, Ginseng, Dioscorea Shan Yao, Cornus Shan Zhu Yu, Psoralea Bu Gu Zhi
15. Liver Heat, Hematite, Scutellaria Huang Qin, Prunella Xia Ku Cao, Gardenia Zhi Zi
16. Belching, Hiccup, Vomiting, Hematite, Inula flos Xuan Fu Hua, Ginseng, Pinellia Ban Xia, fresh Ginger, Licorice, Jujubes (Da Zao) (as in Xuan Fu Dai Zhe Tang)
17. Dysuria: “It is taken with wine in Dysuria and persistent Menstruation”. (Avicenna)
18. Gonorrhea; Cuttlefish bone (2 scruples), Red Coral, Hematite, Amber (1 scruple each), distilled oils of Calamus, of Amber (5 drops each). Powder. (Gazophylacium Medico-Physicum, Woyts, 1746)
Externally:
19. Ulcers of the Eye, mix with egg white and apply (Avicenna)
20. Hot swellings of the eyelids are treated initially with diluted application followed by gradually increasing strength of concentration (Avicenna)
Major Formulas:
Philonium Persicum
Troches of Earth of Lemnos (Trochisci de Terra Lemna)
Powder for Excess Menstruation (Serapion)
Powder of Rose and Hematite
Powder of Plantain Compound
Powder to Break Blood Above and Below (Nicholas)
Powder to Suppress Hemorrhage (Unani)
Powder for Bleeding from the Stomach (Nicolas)
Troches of Red Coral (Samarqandi)
Electuary of Polypody
Zhen Ling Dan
Xuan Fu Dai Zhe Tang
Shen Zhe Zhen Qi Tang
Clarifying Lloydia 15 (Gsal byed a wa bco lnga)
Cautions:
1. Avoid during pregnancy.
2. Avoid overdose and don’t use for more than 2 or 3 weeks without a break.
Toxicity:
1. Hematite often contains traces of arsenic salts so can be toxic in large doses or long-term use. These will be largely removed by washing the Hematite. This probably explains why Avicenna said the unwashed Hematite is warm, but the washed Hematite is cool.
2. Size-Dependent Bacterial Toxicity of Hematite Particles
Main Preparations used:
Prepared Hematite; Burnt Hematite
Dioscorides:
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The best hematite stone is brittle and has a deep color, or is black and hard and even, not containing any impurities or veins. It is astringent, somewhat warming, and reduces the intensity of symptoms. With honey it wears off scars and scabs on the eyes. With woman’s milk it helps sore eyes and broken bloodshot eyes. It is taken in a drink with wine for painful urination, and women’s discharges with pomegranate juice, and for spitting-up blood. Eye salves are made of it, and suppositories and touchstones suitable for eye complaints. It is burnt like Phrygian stone, only the wine omitted. It is properly burnt when it is mildly light and swollen up with bubbles. Some counterfeit it as follows. They take a piece of schistus, thick and round (such as those called the roots of it) and cover it |
in a big-bellied earthen jar containing hot ash. Then they leave it a little while, take it out, and rub it on a touchstone testing whether it has taken the color of hematites, and if it has they put it in jars. If not they cover it again, continuously looking at it and testing it, for if left too long in the ashes it changes color and dissolves. That which is adulterated is confirmed first by the veins running through it, for this is has straight veins but hematites does not; then by the color for this has a bright colour, the hematites a deeper one like cinnabar. It is also found in Sinopican red ochre, and hematites is made from lodestone [magnetic oxide of iron] burnt very well; but that which occurs naturally is dug out of mines in Egypt. |
2. Biosynthesis, magnetic and cytotoxic studies of hematite nanoparticles
3. Evaluation of cytotoxicity of hematite nanoparticles in bacteria and human cell lines.
4. Tumoricidal Effect of Hematite (α-Fe2O3) and SiO2 nanoparticles in Human Rhabdomyosarcoma cell line
5. In vitro cytotoxicity of monodispersed hematite nanoparticles on Hek 293 cells