Btso thal, Purified Mercury ash
Btso thal, Tsotel (“Cooked ash”)Bcud kyi rgyal po (“The King of Essences”)
Zuo Tai (Chinese)
XXX
Minerological name:
Refined Mercuric sulphide
Parts used:
Prepared Mercury sulphide
There are 3 varieties of processed Mercury used in Tibetan Medicine:
- Btso thal, also called Dngul chu btso thal or Dngul chu btso bkru chen mo–Purified Mercury Ash
- Dngul chu dkar btul, also called Dngul chu grang btul–Mercury Bone Ash
- Dngul ngul chu tsha btul–“Heat Tamed Mercury”
Temperature & Taste:
Cool, dry.
Some viewed Mercury and both Heating and Cooling, Drying and Moistening.
The different types of processing changes its effects.
Classification:
Composition:
Btso thal is mainly beta-HgS, while Cinnabar mainly contains alpha-HgS
Traces of various minerals and metals
Uses:
1. Clears Heat, Resists Poison:
–used in formulas against various Poisons
-in Tibetan Medicine for diseases caused by Evil Spirits, “Demons” and negative Planetary influences.
2. Nourishes Essence:
–chronic and severe disease where Essence has wasted
–taken in health, it is regarded as the supreme rejuvenator
3. Clears Wind-Damp:
–obstinate skin diseases including Leprosy
–Chronic joint disease including Rheumatism
-dries up Lymph fluid and Pus
4. Kills Worms:
–used for various types of Worm
5. Leads other Medicines, Opens Channels:
–leads other medicines to all parts of the body and penetrates to the bones
-opens the channels to remove obstructions
6. Enhances effect of other Medicines:
–regarded as potentizing and enhancing the effcts of medicines it is combined with
Dose:
2–5mg (up to 50mg or more in some cases)
Correctives:
1. Milk, Butter and Ghee are considered the best correctives of Mercury. (Ayurveda, Tibet)
2. Sulphur ‘corrects’ Mercury by binding with it. The safest internal compounds use at least twice the weight of Mercury in Sulphur, with Five or 6 times the weight being considered optimal by some practitioners.
Substitute:
1. In some instances, prepared Cinnabar can be substituted.
2. Gold has been viewed as a safe substitute for Mercury for some indications.
Preparation:
Btso thal:
The processing of Mercury is an elaborate process. It is traditionally prepared only at certain times of the year, is best prepared from someone with a lineage of preparing it, and involves the preparation with a number of substances, including metals and minerals. (See below for more)
Main Combinations:
Major Formulas:
Mercury Precious 18 Pill (Dngul chu rin chen bcho brgyad)
Great Cold Compound Precious Black Pill
Precious and Great Multi-Jewel Compound Pill (Rin chen mang sbyor chen mo)
Great Precious Hot Compound (Rin chen tsha sbyor chen mo)
Great Precious Purified Moon Crystal Pill (Rin chen tso bkru zla shel)
Precious Wish Fulfilling Jewel (Rin chen ratna bsam ‘phel)
Cautions:
1. Obsolete in western society. Preliminary research has demonstrated a lack of toxicity when used according to traditional use. However, further research is needed to verify safety and potential toxicity.
2. When used, it should only be acquired from reputable sources and is only used in compound pills which should be used as directed. When used, it is either used for a short period of time (2–3 weeks) before a break in treatment, or in the case of the Precious Pills which may be taken once weekly, fortnightly, or even once monthly on an extended basis.
Toxicity:
1. Evaluation of hepatotoxicity potential of a potent traditional Tibetan medicine Zuotai.
2. [Study on safety of Tibetan medicine zuotai and preliminary study on clinical safety of its compound dangzuo].
3. Mercury sulfides are much less nephrotoxic than mercury chloride and methylmercury in mice.
4. [Dissolution, absorption and bioaccumulation in gastrointestinal tract of mercury in HgS-containing traditional medicines Cinnabar and Zuotai].
Main Preparations used:
See also:
Men Tsee Kang acknowledges successful completion of Tsothel (2001)
-
Extra Info
-
History
-
Research
-
Preparation
GENERAL / REVIEW:
1. The Tibetan medicine compound Tsotel: safety and efficacy Tashi Rabten, 2019
2. Chemical Species, Micromorphology, and XRD Fingerprint Analysis of Tibetan Medicine Zuotai Containing Mercury.
3. Chemical Compositions of Metals in Bhasmas and Tibetan Zuotai Are a Major Determinant of Their Therapeutic Effects and Toxicity.
4. [Chemical Components, Mercury Coordination Structure and Micro-Morphology of Tibetan Medicine Zuotai].
5. Effect of Cys, GSH, and pH on Mercury Release from Tibetan Medicine Zuotai, β-HgS, and α-HgS in Artificial Gastrointestinal Juices.
6. [Overview of current researches on Tibetan medicine “zuotai”].
7. Effect of the Tibetan Medicine Zuotai on Degranulation and Inflammatory Mediator Release in RBL-2H3 Cells.
8. [Recent researches of synthetic mercury sulfide in traditional medicine system].
TOXICITY:
9. The Tibetan medicine Zuotai differs from HgCl2 and MeHg in producing liver injury in mice.
10. [Study on safety of Tibetan medicine zuotai and preliminary study on clinical safety of its compound dangzuo].
11. Mercury sulfides are much less nephrotoxic than mercury chloride and methylmercury in mice.
TREATMENT OF DISEASE:
12. The depressive-like behaviors of chronic unpredictable mild stress-treated mice, ameliorated by Tibetan medicine Zuotai: involvement in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis pathway.
13. Effects of β-HgS on cell viability and intracellular oxidative stress in PC-12 cells.
Btso thal
The exact Preparation of Btso thal is generally not given, however, it is a laborious process involving the use of a number of metals, minerals and herbs. It involves washing, then cooking the Mercury to change its physical characteristics, remove its toxicity, and make it into the most highly revered medicine in Tibetan Medicine. Below are samples of texts indicating basic procedures:
The first is from an online biography of Tenzin Chodrakb:
The liquid metal mercury (dngul chu) is produced through the roasting of more readily available mercury sulfide, or cinnabar (rgya mtshal lcog la), in a heavy furnace, and then cleaned and detoxified through a process called “mercury cooking and washing” (dngul chu btso bkru) or “mercury cooking and refinement into ash” (dngul chu btso thal). The extensive process involves a month-long painstaking process of repeated washing of mercury in different solutions for about a fortnight. The washing is usually followed by another fortnight of cooking the prepared mercury with about a dozen elements such as gold, silver, and sulfur, which eventually decomposes mercury to rid its liquidity and transform it into a pulverizable form. This end-product, which is a pulverizable refined mercury, is called “purified ash” (btso thal), a term that also refers to the ground mercury sulfide used for producing mercury. The pulverizable form is considered cleansed and detoxified through washing and cooking. It is then used in Tibetan pills, especially for the premium range called the Precious Pills, or Rinchen Rilbu (rin chen ril bu). (From the Treasury of Lives)
The following is from Tibetan Precious Pills as Therapeutics and Rejuvenating Longevity Tonics, Barbara Gerke, University of Vienna
“Tsotel is processed with the ash [bhasma] of eight other metals (copper, gold, silver, iron, bronze, brass, tin, lead) and with eight pre-processed mineral or rock components (“sour-water stone”, red mica, gold ore or chalcopyrite, orpiment, magnetite, pyrite or galena, realgar, and silver ore or pyrargyrite)”. (See full article here)
Btso thal Processing:
|
The detoxification of mercury for medicinal use is one of the essential procedures in developing Tibetan medicine formulations. The procedure is a unique method, involving the taming of minerals; separating, sectioning, filtering, diverting, slicing, cleaning, washing, and rinsing substrates; mixing with a khenda (khan ta) or syrup decoction; raising the temperature; and rubbing, frying, burning and boiling the final compounds (Czaja, 2013). The ideal time for making Btso thal is March since, as in Tibetan tradition, March is associated with good fortune and healing. In terms of proper equipment for making Tsotel, physician-pharmacists require precise weight measuring devices; clean grinding implements, such as stone mortar and pestles; and clean processing equipment for mixing, triturating, heating, and stirring ingredients. Substandard equipment can create final products that do not fully detoxify substances and create compounds unsuitable for administration to patients. The ingredients of Btso thal include small amounts of various metals and minerals, such as zinc, calcium, sulfur, and copper, as well as even smaller amounts of silver, coral, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and raw mercury. Herbal ingredients include ginger (Zingiber officinale), long pepper (Piper longum), and cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum). The primary ingredient of mercury undergoes a highly intensive process where it is ground, cooked (both fried and boiled), immersed in other ingredients, filtered, and cleaned in order to form a compound absent of toxic properties. All steps of the process must be overseen by a qualified traditional Tibetan pharmacist who performs this entire procedure by hand. The processed mercury is immediately mixed with ginger powder and stirred |
(these days by machine) for several days before it is filtered and rinsed with scalding water to extract the solid clumps of mercury that have hardened clumps of ginger packed around them. The extracted mercury is then left to dry in the dark before it is once more removed. The extracted mercury is rubbed with sea salt, black salt, and magnesium before it is once again cleansed with scalding hot water. Sodium bicarbonate and peach oil are then used to cook the mercury for several hours, and the mercury mixture is then run under hot water again to sift out the solid mercury clumps. The mercury clumps are immersed in barley alcohol (chang) for several days and then extracted and run under hot water once more. Next, various oils, such as almond oil, are rubbed over the mercury clumps. It is important that the mercury not be left exposed in its raw form in order to ensure that its transmuted form is absent of toxicity. Raw mercury left uncombined and uncompounded will immediately return to its toxic state. This entire procedure typically takes close to a month. The sign that the mercury compound has completed its transformation to a detoxified form is that the raw mercury-like color has changed to a dull green. Likewise, its properties have changed since it no longer flows freely in liquid form. The now fully processed, complexed mercury substance is mixed with calcium sulfate and mustard oil and cooked again for approximately 72 hours, whereupon one can notice the complexed mercury substance and calcium sulfate forming an ash-like compound. This ash-like compound is the final product, Tsotel. (The Tibetan medicine compound Tsotel: safety and efficacy, Tashi Rabten, 2019) |