The efficacy and function of pufferfish

Diseases require improvement through medicine. Different diseases require different medicine choices. If you want to treat your own diseases well, you need to use the right medicine. The traditional Chinese medicine puffer fish is also very helpful in treating certain diseases. Let’s take a look at this medicinal herb.

[Alias] Red salmon (Classic of Mountains and Seas), croaker (Golden Chamber Synopsis), croaker (Wu Du Fu), salmon (Classic of Mountains and Seas by Guo Pu), pelicans, angry fish, and rule fish (Supplement to Materia Medica), mackerel, blowbelly fish, and mackerel (Bencao Gangmu), pufferfish (Rihuazi Materia Medica), bubble fish (Compendium of Materia Medica), and Huyi fish (Supplement to Gangmu).

[Source] It is the meat of the pufferfish, worm-marked pufferfish and dark pufferfish of the family Turbot. In coastal areas, it can be caught all year round. In the mainland, spring and summer are the main seasons. In addition to cooking, it can also be pickled and dried. When cooking puffer fish, you must remove the internal organs, gonads, and eyes, wash away the blood, scrape off the surface mucus or peel off the skin, and cook it for a longer time to prevent poisoning.

【Original form】① Takifugu argus

[Chemical composition] Every 100 grams of puffer fish meat contains 79.8 grams of water, 18.7 grams of crude protein, 0.26 grams of crude fat and 1.2 grams of ash. It also contains vitamin B1-20 micrograms and B2-100 micrograms.

[Pharmacological action] Tetrodotoxin is extremely toxic. The lethal dose for rabbits (μg/kg) is 200 for oral administration, 10 for subcutaneous injection, and 3 for intravenous injection. The lethal dose for dogs, cats, and rabbits by intravenous injection is roughly the same, at 3 to 4 μg/kg. The lethal dose for a 50 kg person injected subcutaneously may be 300 micrograms. It is a strong neurotoxin that can block the conduction of impulses in nerve trunks, paralyze skeletal muscles and respiratory muscles, and cause respiratory arrest and death. It does not affect the resting potential of nerves and muscles, but can block their excitement. It has no effect on the excitation of smooth muscle and can be used as a tool for pharmacological analysis in studying the effects of drugs on smooth muscle and the transport of cell membranes and sodium and potassium ions. Some studies have also been conducted on other pharmacological effects, and it has been used as an analgesic clinically.

[Toxicity] Tetrodotoxin is found in the testicles, ovaries, liver, spleen, eggs, eyeballs and blood of pufferfish. If it is not handled properly during cooking, it can cause poisoning. Generally, symptoms of poisoning occur within half an hour to three hours after ingestion, with local irritation of the gastrointestinal tract appearing first, followed by dullness of sensation in the lips, tongue, upper and lower limbs, especially in the fingertips, and eventually leading to paralysis of the limbs, difficulty breathing, purple skin, a weak and frequent pulse, and a decrease in blood pressure and body temperature. The pupils are dilated, speech is impaired, and eventually death occurs due to respiratory paralysis. When dying, people are usually conscious. Twelve patients with pufferfish poisoning were subjected to urine toad toxicity tests and electrocardiogram examinations. The results showed that: 1. Pufferfish toxin was not quickly destroyed in the body and could last for 1 to 2 days; 2. Some patients had changes in the cardiac conduction system - atrioventricular block; those with severe poisoning could develop third-degree atrioventricular block and eventually die. First aid treatment: timely gastric lavage, induce vomiting, catharsis, rehydration, correction of electrolyte imbalance and acidosis, and oxygen administration if necessary. People use 4 liang of fresh olives and fresh reed roots, wash them, and mash them into juice for drinking.

【Nature and flavor】 Sweet, warm, poisonous.

【Meridian】 "Compendium of Materia Medica": "enters the foot Jueyin meridian."

【Functions and indications】 ① "Kaibao Materia Medica": "It can replenish deficiency, remove dampness, regulate waist and feet, remove hemorrhoids, and kill insects."

【Note】 People suffering from sores, scabies, or athlete's foot should not take this product.

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From "Bencao Gangmu" (Compendium of Materia Medica): Pufferfish are most common in Wu and Yue today. It looks like a tadpole, the larger ones are more than one foot long, with a bluish-white back with yellow streaks, no scales, no gills, no gallbladder, and a white, rough belly. Usually there are three heads in a group. Those people treasure it very much in spring, especially the plump belly, and call it "Xi Shi's Breast".

The effects and functions of puffer fish have been described in detail above, and I believe everyone has a certain understanding of it. However, whether puffer fish has other therapeutic effects still requires further research.