Equus asinus  阿 膠  Ē jiāo   Donkey or Ass hide gelatin           
PART USED: Hide stewed and concentrated into gelatinous masses
Nature: neutral    FLAVOR: Sweet, Pleasant  CHANNEL: Lung, Liver, Kidney
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Tonic- Blood- Hemostatic 
1. Hemostatic.[1,2,3]
2. Nourish Yin and moisturise the Lung.[1] Water Yin, lubricate dryness.
3. Regulate the menstruation and soothe the fetus.
INDICATIONS
1. Blood deficiency
- Generally -with sallow complexion, dizziness and palpitation; for asthenia- syndrome manifested as various types of bleeding, such as hematemesis, hemafecia, hematuria, hemoptysis,[1] metrorrhagia.[1]  Yin Deficiency anemia.[2] Anemia. Palpitation.
Recently used for anemia, leukocytopenia, and thrombocytopenic  purpura.
- Manifested as menoxenia (problems with menstruation) anemia. Threatened abortion. Vaginal bleeding.
2. Febrile diseases with Yin deficiency[1]  with Fire hyperactivity manifested as vexation and insomnia.
  - insufficiency of Yin Blood with muscular spasm.
  - dryness of the Lung with cough and thirst. Dry cough. Discharge of blood from mouth.
  Fever caused Yin damage.
3. Weakness of muscles.
PREPARATIONS: 5-9 g dissolved in water and taken by mouth.[1,3] Solid resin 3-9 g.[2]

References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Research

Hematopoietic effects and mechanisms of Fufang e׳jiao jiang on radiotherapy and chemotherapy-induced myelosuppressed mice.
Liu M, Tan H, Zhang X, Liu Z, Cheng Y, Wang D, Wang F.
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:
Fufang e׳jiao jiang (FEJ), which has been widely used in clinic to replenish qi (vital energy) and nourish blood, is a famous traditional Chinese medicine formula made up of Colla corii asini (donkey-hide gelatin prepared by stewing and concentrating from the hide of Equus asinus Linnaeus.), Radix codonopsis pilosulae (the root of Codonopsis pilosula (Franch.) Nannf.), Radix ginseng rubra (the steamed and dried root of Panax ginseng C.A. Mey.), Fructus crataegi (the fruit of Crataegus pinnatifida Bunge) and Radix rehmanniae preparata (the steamed and sun dried tuber of Rehmannia glutinosa (Gaertn.) Libosch. ex Fisch. & C.A. Mey.). The present study aimed to investigate the hematopoietic effects of FEJ on myelosuppressed mice induced by radiotherapy and chemotherapy systematically and to explore the underlying hematopoietic regulation mechanisms.
METHODS:
The myelosuppressed mouse model was induced by (60)Co radiation, cyclophosphamide and chloramphenicol. FEJ was then administered by i.g. at the dosages of 5, 10, or 20 mL/kg·d for 10d. The numbers of blood cells from peripheral blood and bone marrow nucleated cells (BMNC) were counted. Body weight and the thymus and spleen indices were also measured. The numbers of hemopoietic progenitor cells and colony-forming unit-fibroblast (CFU-F) were measured in vitro. The ratio of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in BMNC, cell cycle and apoptosis of BMNC were determined by flow cytometry. The histology of femoral bone was examined by H&E staining. The levels of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), erythropoietin (EPO), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-3 (IL-3) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in serum were measured by ELISA. IL-1β, IL-3, IL-6 mRNA levels in spleen were detected by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). In addition, bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) were cultured in vitro followed by treatment with different doses of FEJ (2.5, 5, 10 μL/mL) for 48 h. Then the levels of cytokines (IL-6, SCF, GM-CSF) in the conditioned media and their mRNA levels in BMSC were determined by ELISA and RT-qPCR, respectively.
RESULTS:
FEJ could significantly increase the numbers of peripheral blood cells and BMNC, and reverse the loss of body weight and the atrophy of thymus and spleen in a dose-dependent manner. The quantities of hemopoietic progenitor cells and CFU-F in bone marrow were also significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner after FEJ administration. A high-dose FEJ of 20 mL/kg·d could significantly increase the ratio of HSC in BMNC, promote bone marrow cells entering the proliferative cycle phase (S+G2/M) and prevent cells from proceeding to the apoptotic phase. FEJ could also improve the femoral bone marrow morphology. Furthermore, FEJ could increase the levels of GM-CSF and IL-3 and reduce the level of TGF-β in serum, and enhance the expressions of IL-1β and IL-3 mRNA in spleen. Lastly, the levels of cytokines (IL-6, SCF, GM-CSF) in the conditioned media and their mRNA levels in BMSC were elevated after treatment with FEJ.
CONCLUSIONS:
FEJ was clearly confirmed to promote the recovery of bone marrow hemopoietic function in a myelosuppressed mouse model, which may be attributed to (i) improving bone marrow hematopoietic microenvironment; (ii) facilitating the cell proliferation and preventing BMNC from apoptosis; (iii) stimulating the expressions of IL-1β, IL-3, IL-6, SCF and GM-CSF and inhibiting the expression of TGF-β. PMID: 24534527 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2014.02.012 J Ethnopharmacol. 2014 Mar 28;152(3):575-84. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2014.02.012. Epub 2014 Feb 15. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effect of Colla corii asini (E'jiao) on D-galactose induced aging mice.
Wang D, Liu M, Cao J, Cheng Y, Zhuo C, Xu H, Tian S, Zhang Y, Zhang J, Wang F.
Abstract
Colla corii asini (E'jiao), donkey-hide gelatin prepared by stewing and concentrating from Equus asinus L. donkey hide, is a traditional Chinese medicine preparation widely used in clinical hematic antanemic therapy in China. The aim of the present study was to investigate potential anti-aging effect of Colla corii asini and explore related mechanisms in D-galactose (gal) induced aging model mice. The mice were artificially induced aging by subcutaneously injection with D-gal at the dose of 100 mg/kg·d for 8 weeks. Colla corii asini was simultaneously treated to them once daily by intragastric gavage. Appetite, mental condition, body weight, and organ index were observed. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), as well as levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum, brain, and liver were determined by according assay kits. Western blotting analysis was used to detect p16 and p21 expression. Results indicated that Colla corii asini could improve appetite, mental condition, body weight, and organ condition of model mice, improve SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px activities, reduce MDA levels, and modulate age-related genes expression in D-gal induced mice. Therefore, Colla corii asini may have effect to suppress the aging process through enhancing antioxidant activity, scavenging free radicals, and modulating aging-related gene expression.
PMID: 23207764 Biol Pharm Bull. 2012;35(12):2128-32. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov