Turtle Shell, derived from the carapace of the Chinese softshell turtle (Trionyx sinensis) and the Chinese pond turtle (Trionyx sinensis var. sinensis), possesses various therapeutic properties and functions. Below is a detailed introduction. 【Source】 Recorded in the Divine Farmer's Classic of Materia Medica 【Pinyin】 BiēJiǎ 【English Name】 TurtleShell 【Alternative Names】 Upper Shell, Turtle Shell, Softshell Turtle Shell, Pond Turtle Shell, Pond Turtle Cover, Softshell Turtle Carapace, Turtle Cover【Aliases】Upper Shell, Turtle Shell, Soft-shelled Turtle Shell, Round Turtle Shell, Round Turtle Cover, Round Turtle Carapace, Turtle Cover
【Source】
Medicinal origin: The carapace of the Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Trionyx sinensis) and the Chinese pond turtle (Trionyx steindachneri) from the family Trionycidae.
Latin botanical/zoological names: 1. Trionyx sinensis (Wiegmann) 2. Trionyx steindachneri Siebenrock
Harvesting and Storage: Capture turtles in spring, summer, or autumn. Cut off the head with a knife, remove the carapace, thoroughly clean residual flesh, and sun-dry.Alternatively, place the turtle body in boiling water for 1-2 hours until the skin on the carapace peels off. Remove, peel off the carapace, thoroughly clean off all flesh, wash, and sun-dry.The head is pointed with a long snout forming a short tubular rostrum; nostrils are located at the tip of the rostrum. The upper and lower jaw margins are covered with a keratinous sheath, lacking teeth. Eyes are small with round pupils; the tympanic membrane is indistinct. The neck can extend over 70 mm in length, with no granular warts at the base. The head and neck can fully retract into the shell.Both carapace and plastron lack keratinized plates, instead covered by leathery skin. Edges feature soft, thick connective tissue known as the skirt. Dorsal skin bears raised papillae forming longitudinal ridges. The dorsal region is slightly convex with 8 pairs of vertebral plates and 8 pairs of costal plates. No pelvic plates are present, and edges lack marginal plates.The dorsal bones are not fully ossified; the ribs fuse with the costal plates, with their tips protruding beyond the lateral edges of the plates. The limbs are relatively flattened. The forelimbs have five digits; the inner three digits possess exposed claws, while the claws of the outer two digits are entirely covered by skin and not visible. The hindlimb claws exhibit the same growth pattern. The digits are webbed and well-developed.Males are flatter with longer tails, the tip protruding beyond the skirt; females have thicker, shorter tails that do not extend beyond the skirt. The cloacal opening is a longitudinal slit. The head and neck are olive green above and yellow below, with yellow markings from the lower jaw to the throat. Black stripes run anterior and posterior to the eyes, and over ten black spots are present on the crown behind the eyes.The dorsal surface is olive green or dark brown with black spots, while the ventral surface is flesh-colored. Large green patches adorn the sides near the skirt edges, with two pea-sized green spots near the tail. The upper surface of the forelimbs is olive green; the underside is pale yellow, and the upper surface of the hindlimbs is lighter in color. The central portion of the tail is olive green, with the remainder being pale yellow.
2. Mountain Softshell Turtle: Body nearly circular. At 9kg body weight, measures up to 36cm × 21cm in length and width; larger specimens may reach 20kg. Dense, rough skin with fleshy, nail-like protrusions of varying sizes across the dorsal surface, edges, neck base, limbs, and tail; larger, denser protrusions on the posterior body. Thick, fleshy skirting along the inner edges.Limbs are robust and laterally compressed. The tail is short, slightly flattened and conical, broad at the base and tapering to a point. Body color ranges from grayish-black, dark green, purplish-black, or dark bluish-black. The head and limbs are jet black or dark green. The ventral surface is jet black with a purplish tinge and dark patches.【Habitat and Distribution】
Ecological Environment: 1. Inhabits lakes, rivers, ponds, reservoirs, and other water bodies.
2. Lives in rivers, streams, and pools within mountainous regions.
Resource Distribution: 1. Widely distributed throughout China except Xinjiang, Ningxia, Qinghai, and Tibet where no records exist.
2. Found in Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, and other areas.
【Cultivation】
Biological Characteristics: The turtle's body color changes according to its habitat, serving as camouflage. It primarily breathes through lungs, leading an amphibious lifestyle. It surfaces to exchange air while resting in water.Timid and quiet-loving, they often climb onto shore to bask in sunny weather. Omnivorous, they prefer animal-based feeds such as fish, shrimp, and animal offal. Feeding is most vigorous and growth fastest at water temperatures between 25-33°C. Feeding ceases below 15°C, and they burrow into bottom mud for hibernation below 12°C.
Cultivation Techniques Softshell turtles are dioecious (separate sexes). Summer marks their breeding season, with mating followed by an annual egg-laying period from May to August. Females typically dig nests in soft sandy shores at night, laying 7-30 eggs per nest before covering them with sand.Natural incubation lasts 50-60 days. Artificial incubation is feasible by collecting eggs and maintaining temperatures between 26-36°C (79-97°F) with humidity at 75%-85%. This shortens incubation to 40-50 days with a hatching rate exceeding 90%.Juvenile turtles require nutrient-rich, easily digestible feed, ideally earthworms, cooked egg yolks, and animal byproducts. Pond water should be changed every 3-5 days. Juvenile and adult turtles have high feeding rates; feed twice daily from May to October.Breeding stock should be stocked at a male-to-female ratio of 4:1 or 3:1. Enhanced nutrition after autumn promotes earlier estrus, mating, and egg-laying.The outer surface is dark brown or blackish-green with a slight sheen, featuring fine reticulated wrinkles and grayish-yellow or grayish-white spots. A central ridge runs along the middle, flanked by eight symmetrical transverse grooves on each side. After the outer skin peels off, sawtooth-like interlocking seams become visible.The inner surface is whitish, with a prominent dorsal spine in the center. The cervical vertebrae curve inward, flanked by eight ribs on each side extending toward the edges. The texture is hard. It has a faint fishy odor and a bland taste.
Microscopic identification: Bone fragments are irregularly shaped and vary in size, appearing grayish-white or grayish-yellow. The surface exhibits dense, net-like longitudinal or crisscrossing patterns with fine punctate pores. Bone depressions are irregularly shaped, elongated prismatic, or slender fissure-like, with faintly visible bone tubules.
【Chemical Composition】
1. Chinese softshell turtle carapace contains collagen, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, trionyx sinensis polysaccharides, along with aspartic acid, threonine, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine,cystine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, lysine, histidine, arginine,proline, serine, and other 17 amino acids, along with over 10 trace elements including calcium, sodium, aluminum, potassium, manganese, copper, zinc, phosphorus, and magnesium.
2. The carapace and plastron of the Chinese softshell turtle contain collagen, peptides, various amino acids, and substantial amounts of calcium and phosphorus.
【Pharmacological Effects】
1. Tonifying Effects: Oral administration of turtle polysaccharide at 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 g/kg for 15-20 days significantly enhances mice's tolerance to hypoxia and cold exposure, prolongs swimming endurance, and exhibits anti-fatigue properties.
2. Immunostimulant Effects: Oral administration of turtle polysaccharide at 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 g/kg for 15-20 days significantly enhances the hemolytic capacity of mouse plaque-forming cells, promotes hemolysin antibody production, and intensifies delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions in mice.
3. Other Effects: Soaking frog sciatic nerve and gastrocnemius muscle specimens in 0.5% or 1.0% turtle polysaccharide Renger solution increases contraction height and striation area while prolonging sustained contraction duration. This product inhibits connective tissue hyperplasia, dissolves nodules, and increases plasma protein levels, suggesting potential use for anemia caused by liver disease.This product inhibits connective tissue proliferation, thereby dissolving nodules; it also increases plasma protein levels and is claimed to be useful for anemia caused by liver disease.
【Toxicity】Toxicity: Oral administration of 100g/kg turtle polysaccharide showed no mortality 14 days post-dose. Gross pathological changes were not observed upon necropsy.
【Identification】Thin-layer chromatography: Apply methanol extract of this product to a silica gel G plate. Develop with n-butanol-95% ethanol- glacial acetic acid-water (4:1:1:2) as the developing solvent. Spray with 0.3% indophenol n-butanol solution, dry at 105°C for 5 minutes. Using arginine and glutamic acid as reference standards, the chromatogram of the sample solution exhibits identical purple spots at corresponding positions to those of the standard solution.【Preparation】Turtle Shell: Soak in water, remove all skin and cartilage, rinse thoroughly, sun-dry. Vinegar-Processed Turtle Shell: First, heat clean sand in a pan until hot. Add clean turtle shell and stir-fry until surface turns slightly yellow. Remove, sift out sand, briefly soak in vinegar, then rinse with water and sun-dry.(For every 100 jin of turtle shell, use 30 jin of vinegar) Essentials of Materia Medica: Commonly used with honey-fried yellow preparation.
【Nature and Flavor】Salty taste; slightly cold nature
【Meridian Tropism】Liver; Kidney meridians
【Functions and Indications】Nourishes yin and clears heat; subdues yang and extinguishes wind; softens hardness and disperses nodules. Indicated for yin deficiency fever; consumptive fever with bone steaming;heat diseases injuring yin; internal movement of deficient wind; minor convulsions; chronic malaria; malaria mother; masses and nodules; amenorrhea. 【Dosage and Administration】Internal use: Decocted, 10-30g, decocted first; made into paste; or incorporated into pills or powders. External use: Appropriate amount, charred until carbonized, ground into powder for application or mixed into poultice.【Cautions】Contraindicated for spleen-stomach deficiency-cold with poor appetite and loose stools, and during pregnancy.
【Formulas】① For bone-wasting fever and emaciation in men and women: One turtle shell, roasted with vinegar until yellow; add 2 qian (approx. 6g) Coptis chinensis rhizome, ground into powder. Decoct with Polygonum cuspidatum root and take one fingertip-sized dose.(Sun Simiao) ② For bone-wasting night fever, wasting disease, joint heat, or coughing with blood: 1 jin (approx. 500g) turtle shell (boiled to remove grease), 4 liang (approx. 200g) North ginseng, 6 liang (approx. 300g) each of Rehmannia glutinosa and Ophiopogon japonicus, 3 liang (approx. 150g) Poria cocos, 1 liang (approx. 50g) aged Citrus reticulata peel.Decoct fifty bowls of water down to ten bowls; decoct the residue again, filter out the clear juice, and simmer over low heat into a paste. Add four ounces of refined honey to bind. Take several spoonfuls morning and evening, mixed with clear broth. (Ben Cao Hui Yan)③ For heat pathogens deeply invading the lower jiao, presenting with deep and rapid pulse, dry tongue with blackened teeth, and tingling fingers—urgently prevent convulsions: Roasted licorice root 6 qian, dried rehmannia root 6 qian, raw white peony root 6 qian, donkey-hide gelatin 3 qian, ophiopogon tuber 5 qian (with core removed), sesame seeds 3 qian, raw oyster shell 5 qian, raw turtle shell 8 qian.Boil with eight cups of water until reduced to three-eighths of the original volume. Divide into three doses. (Er Jia Fu Mai Tang, Wen Bing Tiao Bian) ④ For chronic malaria with persistent attacks: First roast turtle shell, grind into powder. Take one fingertip-sized amount at each of three scheduled times until the course is completed.(From Supplement to Essential Prescriptions for Emergencies)⑤ For warm malaria: 2 ounces each of Zhimu, roasted Biejia, and Changshan; 3 ounces of Digupi; 1 liter of chopped bamboo leaves; 4 ounces of gypsum. Boil with 7 liters of water until reduced to 2.5 liters. Divide into three warm doses. Avoid garlic, hot noodles, pork, and fish.(Complementary Formulas for Emergencies) ⑥ For treating malaria mother: 12 parts roasted turtle shell, 3 parts charred black fungus, 3 parts scutellaria root, 6 parts bupleurum root, 3 parts roasted pillbug, 3 parts dried ginger, 3 parts rhubarb root, 5 parts peony root, 3 parts cinnamon twig, 1 part roasted pennyroyal, 3 parts stone reed (dehaired), 3 parts magnolia bark,Peony root 0.5 part (core removed), Wheat germ 0.2 part, Purple vine 0.3 part, Donkey-hide gelatin 0.3 part (roasted), Honey 0.4 part (roasted), Red saltpeter 1.2 part, Dung beetle 0.6 part (roasted), Peach kernel 0.2 part, Pinellia rhizome 0.1 part, Ginseng 0.1 part, Window insect 0.5 part (roasted).Grind the twenty-three ingredients into powder. Take one dou of ash from a burning stove and one hu and five dou of clear wine. Soak the ash in the wine until half the wine is consumed. Add turtle shell to the mixture and boil until it becomes sticky like glue. Strain the liquid and add all the herbs. Simmer to form nine pills the size of a wuzhi seed. Take seven pills on an empty stomach, three times daily.(Turtle Shell Decoction Pills from Golden Cabinet Essential Prescriptions)⑦ For masses and masses: Turtle shell, Terminalia chebula peel, dried ginger powder. Equal parts, made into pills. Take thirty pills on an empty stomach, then take another dose.(Yao Xing Lun)⑧ For abdominal masses and blood stasis: Turtle shell 1 liang (soaked in boiling water to clean, soaked in rice vinegar overnight, roasted over fire until dry, quenched and roasted again until brittle, ground extremely fine), amber 3 qian (ground extremely fine), rhubarb 5 qian (stir-fried with wine).Grind all ingredients into a fine powder. Take two qian daily in the morning with clear broth. (Zhen Family Prescriptions)⑨ For women with irregular menstruation, abdominal distension, and back pain: Two liang of turtle shell (coated with vinegar and roasted until yellow, remove edges), one liang of Sichuan rhubarb (crushed finely), one and a half liang of amber.Grind the herbs into powder, mix with refined honey to form pills the size of a tung tree seed. Take twenty pills with warm wine. (Sheng Hui Fang: Turtle Shell Pills)⑩ For vaginal discharge of five colors, emaciation, and joint pain: Burn turtle shell until yellow, grind into powder. Take one square inch spoonful mixed with wine, three times daily. (Elbow-Room Prescriptions)11. For unstoppable vomiting of blood: Turtle shell 1 liang (chopped into pieces), clam powder 1 liang (combine with turtle shell, stir-fry in a wok until fragrant and golden yellow), cooked dried rehmannia root 1.5 liang (air-dried). Pound the three ingredients into a fine powder. Take 2 qian per dose after meals, mixed with wax tea. After taking the medicine, rest briefly. (Turtle Shell Powder from Holy Remedies Compendium) 12. For sudden lower back pain preventing bending or stretching: One turtle shell (roasted, pounded and sifted). Take one square inch spoonful after meals, three times daily. (Supplement to Essential Prescriptions for Emergencies) 13. For stony urinary disorders: Turtle shell powder mixed with wine, take one square inch spoonful twice or thrice daily until stones pass. (Essential Prescriptions for Emergencies)14. For severe shortness of breath preventing sleep, with accumulated gas in the abdomen and flanks: One ounce of turtle shell (coated with vinegar and roasted until yellow, removing the edges), half an ounce of apricot kernels (soaked in boiling water, removing skin and tips, then stir-fried with bran until slightly yellow), one ounce of red poria, one ounce of wood fragrant.Grind and sift the herbs into powder. Take 5 qian per dose. Add to one medium bowl of water with half a piece of ginger and one large bundle of lampwick. Simmer until reduced to six parts, strain, and drink warm regardless of time.(〈Sheng Hui Fang〉) 15. For Yin deficiency with nocturnal emissions: Burn and grind turtle shell. Take one character-sized dose each time. Simmer with half a bowl of wine, half a bowl of child's urine, and seven inches of green onion. Remove the onion. Take at noon. Sweating is the measure of effectiveness.(Medical Fortress) 16. For postpartum early-onset wind-cold stroke, diarrhea, and leukorrhea: Turtle shell the size of a hand, Angelica root, Coptis rhizome, and Dried ginger each 2 ounces; Phellodendron bark 1 foot long, 3 inches wide. Finely chop all five ingredients. Simmer in 7 liters of water until reduced to 3 liters. Strain and divide into three doses, taken three times daily.(Turtle Shell Decoction, Thousand Gold Prescriptions) 17. For infantile convulsions: Roast turtle shell until golden, grind into powder. Take one qian with milk, or form into honey pills the size of adzuki beans. (Secret Record of Mother and Child) 18. For intestinal abscesses with internal pain: Burn turtle shell until charred, grind, and take one qian with water three times daily.(Liu Yuxi's Trusted Formulas) 19. For abscesses that fail to heal, including all types of back sores: Burn turtle shell until charred, grind into powder, and apply topically. (Unusual Syndromes and Remarkable Formulas) 20. For hemorrhoids with mouse-like protrusions around the anus causing pain and qi stagnation:Three liang of turtle shell (coated with vinegar and roasted until yellow, removing the skirt and padding), two liang of betel nut. Pound the above ingredients into a fine powder. Before meals, take two qian mixed with congee. (Turtle Shell Powder from Sheng Hui Fang) 21. Treating abscesses and swelling on the male genitalia: One turtle shell. Burn it until charred, grind into powder, mix with egg white, and apply as a poultice.(Thousand Gold Winged Formulas) 22. For toothache: Turtle shell. Dry thoroughly, grind into fine powder, and store in a dry container. When needed, place 0.5g of powder on the surface of tobacco leaves in a pipe, ignite, and inhale as smoke.(Compilation of Selected Works: Otolaryngology)
【Commentaries by Various Authors】
1. Ben Cao Yan Yi: The Classic of Materia Medica does not mention treating exhaustion with turtle shell. Only the Shu edition of Materia Medica states it cures emaciation and bone fever, leading later practitioners to use it. While this has some basis, dosage must not be excessive.
2. Commentary on the Classic of Materia Medica: Turtle shell resolves dispersing conditions because its flavor combines neutrality with pungency. Neutrality softens hardness, while pungency disperses stagnation. Thus the Classic indicates it treats masses, hard accumulations, alternating chills and fever, removes abdominal distension, polyps, genital ulcers, hemorrhoids, and malignant growths;The Supplement records its efficacy against warm malaria because malaria stems from summer heat pathogens. It commonly affects those with yin deficiency and water depletion, where summer heat deeply penetrates, causing pathogens to invade the yin aspect. Thus, when pathogens manifest in the yang aspect, intense heat arises; when manifesting in the yin aspect, severe cold occurs.When vital energy is depleted and the spleen-stomach fails to govern, the pathogen may become entrenched, forming the "mother of malaria." Jia (Glycyrrhiza) nourishes yin, dispels heat, and disperses stagnation, making it essential for treating malaria. It is also superior for bone-deep consumptive fever and yin-deficient alternating chills and fevers. Blood masses causing lumbar pain and hard masses beneath children's ribs—all yin-related blood disorders—are thus appropriately treated by it.It is indispensable for treating relapse of debility and postpartum relapse in women; for emaciation and bone steaming due to debility, nothing else can eliminate it; for postpartum yin collapse, it is especially urgently needed.
3. Ben Cao Hui Yan: Turtle shell (Biejia) eliminates yin deficiency heat malaria and resolves consumptive fever with bone steaming. Wei Jingshan states: Turtle shell is derived from insects, akin to tortoises yet distinct in species. It inherits the nature of ultimate yin, enters the liver, and comprehensively governs diseases of the blood division in the Jueyin channel.When Jueyin blood stagnation and pathogenic obstruction gradually manifest as alternating chills and fever, forming masses, distension, malaria, dysuria, or bone-steaming fever, it is the primary remedy. However, for yang deficiency with weak stomach, indigestion, vomiting, diarrhea, or yin deficiency with weak stomach, difficulty swallowing, coughing, shortness of breath, and impaired qi circulation, its use is ineffective.
4. Ben Cao Shu: Turtle shell is described as nourishing yin, which is correct. However, Dan Xi noted that while it supplements yin, it also supplements qi. This is because qi encompasses both yang qi and yin qi, as evidenced by the Nei Jing. The Classic states: "When yin is deficient, qi is absent; without qi, death ensues."Only the true yin qi, through transformation, gives rise to vitality; where vitality exists, transformation follows. Thus, the Classic of Herbal Medicine first lists its treatment of heart and abdominal masses, hard accumulations, and alternating chills and fever. Similarly, the Supplement to the Classic of Herbal Medicine, Zhen Quan's Materia Medica, and Ri Hua Zi's Materia Medica all mention its use for warm malaria, blood masses, indigestion, cold masses, abdominal masses, cold masses, and breaking up masses and knots.It was not until Danxi that the emphasis on replenishing yin and qi was explicitly articulated, truly grasping its essence. Zong Shuang's observation that the Classic does not mention treating exhaustion, yet it is frequently used for treating deficiency-exhaustion, is well-founded. This aligns with the primary indications in the formulary texts and is indeed accurate.The Qinggu Powder is indeed effective for bone-steaming consumptive fever. Similarly, the Fuying Decoction eliminates bone-steaming fever while simultaneously nourishing essence and blood. Furthermore, the Mai Jian Powder treats young men and women with bone-steaming fever, jaundice, emaciation, foul breath, muscle heat, and night sweats—a condition arising from emotional disturbances.In cases of consumptive fever, there is no instance where it does not stem from blood stasis, and blood stasis invariably originates from internal injury. Generally, consumptive conditions manifest as pain radiating from the epigastrium to the flanks, arising from stagnant blood that fails to dissipate, leaving no fresh blood to nourish the body. Hence, Mai Jian San employs turtle shell alongside dry lacquer to resolve accumulations. Similarly, Qin Jiao Bie Jia San is a formula for penetrating the muscles and reducing fever.
5. The Supplement: Treats warm malaria, blood masses, low back pain, and hardness under the ribs in children.
6. Treatise on Medicinal Properties: Addresses indigestion, masses, abdominal distension, cold masses, consumptive emaciation, expels qi, removes bone heat, consumptive heat in joints, and solid obstructions. Treats women with five-colored vaginal discharge and emaciation.
7.Rihua's Materia Medica: Dispels blood stagnation, breaks up obstructions and evil blood, induces abortion, reduces sores and swellings, treats bruises and blood stasis, malaria, and intestinal abscesses.
8. Supplement to the Materia Medica: Tonifies yin and qi.
9. Introduction to Medicine: Treats chronic malaria, old malaria, amenorrhea in women, and convulsions in children.
10. Compendium of Materia Medica: Eliminates chronic malaria and its root cause, yin-toxin abdominal pain, relapse after convalescence, relapse after eating, measles with restlessness and shortness of breath, difficult childbirth in women, postpartum vaginal prolapse, genital ulcers in men, stony dysuria; draws together ulcerated sores.
11. Jiangxi Materia Medica: Treats osteomalacia.
[Excerpt] Chinese Materia Medica This concludes our introduction to the efficacy and uses of turtle shell. We hope this information proves helpful. Wishing you good health and smooth sailing this winter.