The efficacy and function of lamprey

For many Chinese people, traditional Chinese medicine is very trustworthy because it has a long history and few side effects. Lamprey is a common Chinese medicinal material, which has many benefits for human health. So how can we eat lamprey? Let’s learn about it below.

【English name】 lamprey

[Alias] Seven-star fish, seven-eye eel, seven-star fish, seven-star eel

[Source] Medicinal material source: the whole lamprey of the family Lampreydae.

[Original form] Lamprey has an eel-shaped body, smooth and scaleless. The tail is laterally flattened and the body length can reach over 60cm, which is about 5.2 times the head length. The head is cylindrical, the mouth is nearly circular and suction cup-shaped, and the edges are densely covered with papillae. The eyes are well developed and located in the front of the head. There is one nostril, located between the two eyes on the back of the head. There is a row of 7 separate gill openings behind the eyes on each side of the head. The anus is located at the back of the body and has a thin tubular protrusion. There are 75 myometrium from the last gill opening to the anal red. 2 dorsal fins. The first dorsal fin is low and short, with its starting point approximately equal to the tip of the snout and the tip of the tail. The second dorsal fin is relatively large and very high in the middle; the front and rear parts gradually lower, and the rear part is connected to the caudal fin, and the fin rays are soft and dense. The anal fin is very low, starting from behind the anus and connected to the lower lobe of the caudal fin. The tail fin is ipsilateral, with upper and lower lobes approximately equal in length. No pectoral and pelvic fins. Body grayish green. The abdomen is light yellow or grayish white, the upper part of the dorsal fin is black, and the caudal fin is dark black.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: It lives in the sea for part of the time and then returns to the gravel bottom of shallow rivers to lay eggs in April and May after growing up. The eggs are extremely small, with 80 million laid each time, and all the parents die after spawning. The hatched eels drift with the water, often hiding in the mud and sand and coming out at night to feed. After 4-5 years, they begin to metamorphose, live in the sea for several years, and then swim upstream to lay eggs. It is a carnivorous fish that often attaches itself to the body of a large fish with a suction cup. It then uses the keratinous teeth on its tongue inside the suction cup to scratch the fish's body and suck its flesh and blood.

【Chemical composition】 Contains vitamin A.

【Nature and flavor】 Sweet; warm

【Meridian】 Liver; Kidney

【Functions and indications】Nourish and strengthen; promote blood circulation and activate collaterals; improve eyesight. Main symptoms: facial paralysis; night blindness; dry cornea

[Usage and Dosage] For internal use: Cook and eat 1-2 pieces. For external use: take appropriate amount and mash it for application freshly into the mouth.

[Discussions by various scholars] "Jilin Chinese Herbal Medicine": nourishing and strengthening. To treat facial paralysis: mash the seven-star fish and apply it on the affected area. Apply it on the right side if it is tilted to the left, and apply it on the left side if it is tilted to the right.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

Now you know the function of lamprey. We didn’t know that lampreys are such valuable things before, which shows that our knowledge is not broad enough. So in the future, learning more about it can be a good way to maintain health. In fact, if you want to maintain your health, there is knowledge everywhere in life.