There are five species of rhinocerus: African: Ceratotherium simum- White rhinocerus- 2015 there
were 20 000 wild-living animals. Diceros
bicornis- Black rhinocerus- 2015 around 20 animals. Asian: Dicerorhinus sumatrensis-
Sumatran- less than 100 animals remain. Rhinoceros
unicornis- Indian- 2015 around 650 animals Rhinoceros
sondaicus- Javan- 58-68 remaining in Ujung Kulan
National Park in Java, Indonesia. Rhinoceros unicornis Indian
RhinocerusFamily:
Rhinocerotidae
犀角 Xī jiăo Rhinoceros
horn
The use of rhinocerus horn is not recommended due to the lack of appropriate farming
of rhinocerus and dwindling numbers. Substitutes include Bubalus
bubalis- Water buffalo horn and Saigo tatarica-
Saiga antelope horn. FLAVOR: Bitter, sour, salty
CHANNEL: Heart, Liver, Stomach. FUNCTIONS- Penetrates body to Blood level and Cools[3] GROUP: Clearing Internal
Heat- Cool Blood
1. Cool Blood.[1,4] Clears fevers.[1]
2. Clears Heat, relieves Fire toxicity.[4]
Clears Heat sedates Fire.[3]
3. Stops bleeding.[3] Controls convulsive
spasms.[1,3] Clears Heat and arrests
tremors.[4]
3. Clears away Heart Fire to achieve tranquillisation of the mind. Strengthening
Heart- dilating blood vessels.[3]
4. Removes toxic substances and relieves feverish rashes or eruptions. Detoxifies.[1] ACTIONS
INDICATIONS- Notice, there is nothing mentioned about rhinocerus horn
being an aphrodesiac or a cure for cancer.
1. Acute febrile diseases with Heat invasion of the Heart and Ying system:
persistent high fever, unconsciousness and delirium. Heat penetrating into the
Heart and Liver, shown as high fever, restlessness, spasm and convulsion. Low
grade fevers,[1] restlessness and great
thirst,[1] cracked lips and parched
tongue,[1] sore throat,[1]
fatigue.[1] Meningitis. High fever,[1]
with delirium,[1] restlessness,[1]
spasms, hot flushes.[3] Loss of consciousness,
convulsions, manic behavour and delirium.[4]
2. Heat affecting the Nutritive and Blood level:[4]
bleeding due to Blood Heat, such as hematemesis[1,4]
and epistaxis.[1,3,4]Hemafecia.[3]
Bleeding gums.[3] Erythema, purpura,
3. Noxious Heat in epidemic febrile diseases: fever, dark purple macula or eruptions.
4. Purpura,[1] boils and abscesses.[1] CONTRAINDICATIONS: Use only in excessive Heat.[3]
Use with caution on pregnant women.[2,3,4]
Rashes in cases of Qi deficiency or where there is no high fever.[4]
This drug is antagonistic to Aconitum carmichaeli-
Fu zi and Aconitum kusnezoffii- Zhi cao
wu.[2] PATENT COMBINATIONS
- Bleeding due to Blood Heat, such as hematemesis
and epistaxis- use with Rehmannia root, red Peony root and Moutan bark- Decoction
of Rhinoceros horn and Rehmannia- Xia jiao di huang tang.
- Acute febrile diseases with Heat invasion of the Heart and Ying system manifested
as persistent high fever, unconsciousness and delirium- use with dried Rehmannia
root, Scrophularia root and Forsythia fruit- Decoction for clearing away Heat
in the Ying System- Qing ying tang.
- If the Heat has gone into the Heart and Liver, shown as high fever, restlessness,
spasm and convulsion, it is often used with antelope's horn- Purple Snowy powder-
Zi xue dan.
- Epidemic febrile diseases with excessive noxious Heat manifested as fever,
dark purple macula or eruptions. It is often used with Gypsum and Scrophularia
root- Decoction for relieving feverish rash- Hua ban tang.
COMBINATIONS
- High fever, delirium, and convulsions associated with Warm febrile diseases,
with Saigo tatarica- Ling yang jiao.[4] - Loss of consciousness and delirium together with vomiting of
blood, nosebleed, or purpkura due to Heatin the Blood level. Use with Rehmannia
glutinosa- Sheng di huang.[4]
Often Paeonia suffruticosa- Mu dan
pi, Paeonia rubra- Chi shao, Isatis
tinctoria- Da qing ye and Lithospermum
erythrorhizon- Zi cao are added to strengthen the Blood cooling action.[4]
- High fever, loss of consciousness and delirium, vomiting of blood, nosebleed,
and purpura associated with warm febrile diseases, with Coptis
chinensis- Huang lian and Scrophularia
ningpoensis- Xuan shen.[4]
- High fever that worsens at night, dark- red skin blotches, thirst, and a rapid
pulse due to Fire in both the Qi and Blood levels. Used with Calcium
sulphate- Shi gao and Scrophularia
ningpoensis- Xuan shen.[4]
PREPARATIONS:
Horn 2-6 g filed into fine powder and infused with warm boiled water for oral
administration, or ground into a liquid for an oral dose, or decocted separately
and mix its decoction with that of other drugs for an oral dose, or used in
bolus and powder.[2]
0.6-2 g.[1] 1-9 g.[3] ORIGIN: India, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia- Asia
species. East and West Africa- African species. References
[1] Barefoot Doctor's Manual-
1977 Prepared by the Revolutionary Health Committee of Hunan Province. Original
Chinese manual- Victor W. Sidel. Originally published by Dr Joseph Quin and
the Fogarty International centre, Bethdesda (1974). Madrona Publishers Seattle
Washington ISBN 0-914842-52-8
[2] The Chinese Materia Medica A practical English- Chinese Library of Traditional
Chinese Medicine Publishing House of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese
Medicine. Director Hu Ximing ISBN 7-81010-111-X/R-110
[3] Translation notes from Gary Seiford and Hocu Huhn- NSW College of Natural
Therapies. Sydney Australia (1982).
[4] Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica- Dan Bensky and Andrew Gamble- Eastland
Press 1986 Seattle Washington ISBN 0-939616-15-7 Images
1. findfast.org
2. warnai.net
3. kamwo.com
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. Constituents
Rhino horns are composed largely of the
protein keratin, also the chief component in hair, fingernails, and animal hooves.
Many poisons are strongly alkaline (or basic), and may have reacted chemically
with the keratin. Unlike the horns of most animals, which have a bony core covered
by a relatively thin layer of keratin, rhino horns are keratin all the way through-
although the precise chemical composition of the keratin will vary depending
on a rhino’s diet and geographic location. This fact has allowed ecologist Raj
Amin of the Zoological Society of London and his colleagues to take “fingerprints”
of horn samples and determine the animal populations they came from, which has
helped law enforcement officials target and crack down on poaching. Rhino horns
are not, as once believed, made simply from a clump of compressed or modified
hair. Recent studies by researchers at Ohio University using computerized tomography
(CT) scans, have shown that the horns are, in fact, similar in structure to
horses’ hooves, turtle beaks, and cockatoo bills. The studies also revealed
that the centers of the horns have dense mineral deposits of calcium and melanin-
a finding that may explain the curve and sharp tip of the horns. The calcium
would strengthen the horn while the melanin would protect the core from being
degraded by ultraviolet radiation from the sun. As the softer outer portion
was worn away over time by the sun and typical rhino activities (bashing horns
with other animals, or rubbing it on the ground), the inner core would be sharpened
into a point (much like a wooden pencil).[1]
Keratin and eukeratin. The horn also contains other protiens, peptides, and
free amino acids as well as guanidine derivatives and cholesterol. The most
prevalent amino acid is cysteine, with other major ones being tyrosine, histidine,
lysine and arginine. Slat in clude calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate.
Comparison: Shui niu jiao is similar ot
that of Xi jiao, however Xi jiao has more sterols in addition to choesterol,
while Shui niu jiao has guanidine but lacks arginine.[2] References
[1] pbs.org-
Nature
[2] Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica- Dan Bensky and Andrew Gamble- Eastland
Press 1986 Seattle Washington ISBN 0-939616-15-7
Research
Ethnopharmacology of rhinoceros horn. II: Antipyretic effects of prescriptions
containing rhinoceros horn or water buffalo horn.
But PP, Tam YK, Lung LC. Abstract
Aqueous extracts of rhinoceros horn or water buffalo horn demonstrated significant
antipyretic action at 2.5 g/ml i.p. (1 ml/animal) in rats with hyperthermia induced
by subcutaneous injection of turpentine oil. Qingying Decoction, a classic compound
prescription composed of rhinoceros horn and eight herbs, showed significant antipyretic
action at dosages equivalent to 0.5 g/ml of rhinoceros horn extract. Comparable
action was obtained by Qingying Decoction prepared with water buffalo horn. It
is suggested that water buffalo horn can be used as a substitute for rhinoceros
horn in treating hyperthermia, especially when prepared with other herbal materials
according to the principles of compound prescriptions of Chinese medicine.
PMID: 1943172 J Ethnopharmacol. 1991 May-Jun;33(1-2):45-50. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
FLAVOR: Bitter, sour, salty
CHANNEL: Heart, Liver, Stomach. 
