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Donkey-hide Gelatin, E Jiao 阿胶

Dioscorides Materia Medica, Mathias, 1563

Donkey Hide Gelatin (E Jiao)
Zoological name:
Equus asinus

Parts used:
Gelatin prepared from boiling ass or donkey skin

Temperature & Taste:
Neutral, Sweet

Classification:
N. Blood Tonic

Uses:
1. Nourishes Blood:
-paleness, dizziness, weakness, feels the cold
-anemia with dizziness (Chinese Pharmacopoeia)
-palpitations associated with Blood deficiency
-Muscular weakness (Chinese Pharmacopoeia)

2. Nourish Blood and Stops Bleeding:
-any type of Bleeding; blood in the Stool or Urine, hemoptysis
-excess menstrual or uterine bleeding
-Uterine Bleeding during pregnancy (Chinese Pharmacopoeia)

3. Nourishes and Tonifies Yin:
-insomnia, numbness, spasms, tremors from Blood deficiency (Chinese Pharmacopoeia)
-Dry cough and blood in the sputum from Lung deficiency or Consumption


Dose:
3–9 grams; dissolved in hot water and added to herbs that have been decocted and strained; or dissolved in Rice wine.

Preparation:
'Soak the donkey-hide, remove the hairs, cut into small pieces, rinse again, decoct with water several times, filter and combine the filtrates. Concentrate the glutinous filtrate (or add a quantity of yellow rice wine, crystal sugar, soya-bean oil, respectively) to thick glue, allow to cool and congeal, cut into pieces, and dry in the air.' (Chinese Pharmacopoeia)

Main Combinations:
1. Blood deficiency with fatigue, pale face, dizziness or palpitation:
i. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Angelica Dang Gui and Codonopsis Dang Shen
ii. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Angelica Dang Gui and Chinese Red Date Da Zao
iii. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Angelica Dang Gui and Dang Gui, Rehmannia Shu Di Huang, Paeonia Bai Shao, Astragalus Huang Qi
2. Bleeding from Deficiency:
i. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Rehmannia Sheng Di Huang
ii. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Chinese Agrimony (Xian He Cao)
iii. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Astragalus Huang Qi, Notoginseng San Qi
3. Dry cough from Heat damaging Lung Yin:
i. with blood-streaked sputum, Donkey-hide Gelatin with Ophiopogon Mai Men Dong, Adenophora Sha Shen
ii. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Almond (Xing Ren), Burdock seed (Niu Bang Zi), honey-fried Licorice (Zhi Gan Cao) (as in Bu Fei E Jiao Tang)
iii. Donkey-hide Gelatin with American Ginseng (Xi Yang Shen), Figwort (Xuan Shen)
iv. severe Lung deficiency with coughing blood, Donkey-hide Gelatin with Cordyceps (Dong Chong Xia Cao), Adenophora Sha Shen, Fritillaria Chuan Bei Mu
4. Yin deficiency with Heat:
i. insomnia, irritability, palpitations from Heat damaging Yin, such as after Fever, Donkey-hide Gelatin with Paeonia Bai Shao, Coptis Huang Lian, Scutellaria Huang Qin (as in Huang Lian E Jiao Tang)
ii. chronic low grade Fever, heat in the palms and soles, night sweating, Donkey-hide Gelatin with Paeonia Bai Shao, Ophiopogon Mai Men Dong, honey-fried Licorice (Zhi Gan Cao)
5. Excess menstrual Bleeding, Uterine Bleeding:
i. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Artemisia Ai Ye and Paeonia Bai Shao (as in Jiao Ai Tang)
ii. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Artemisia Ai Ye and Rehmannia Shu Di Huang, Clove (Ding Xiang)
iii. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Artemisia Ai Ye and Eclipta Han Lian Cao
iv. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Deglued Deer Horn (Lu Jiao Shuang) and Cuttlefish bone (Hai Piao Xiao)
6. Irregular Menstruation from cold and deficiency, Donkey-hide Gelatin with charred Saposhnikovia Fang Feng, dry-fried Ginger (Pao Jiang), Codonopsis Dang Shen
7. Restless Fetus and Threatened Miscarriage:
i. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Dipsacus Xu Duan, Dodder seed (Tu Si Zi)
ii. Donkey-hide Gelatin with Chinese Mistletoe (Sang Ji Sheng), Dodder (Tu Si Zi), Atractyloes Bai Zhu
iii. with bleeding or stabbing abdominal pain, Donkey-hide Gelatin with Artemisia Ai Ye
8. Palpitations or irregular Heartbeat from Qi and Blood deficiency, Donkey-hide Gelatin with Licorice, Cinnamon twig (Gui Zhi), Rehmannia Sheng Di Huang
9. Muscular spasms and contractures, Donkey-hide Gelatin with Paeonia Bai Shao, Ophiopogon Mai Men Dong, Oyster shell (Mu Li), Turtle shell (Gui Ban), honey-fried Licorice (Zhi Gan Cao) (as in Da Ding Feng Zhu)

Major Formulas:
Bu Fei E Jiao Tang
Da Ding Feng Zhu
E Jiao Ji Zi Huang Tan
Huang Lian E Jiao Tang 
Jiao Ai Tang
Jiu Xian San
San Jia Fu Mai Tang
Shou Tai Wan
Wen Jing Tang
Zhi Gan Cao Tang

Cautions:
1. It is heavy, cloying and hard-to-digest. Not used for those with Spleen deficiency with loose stool.

Main Preparations used: