hu gu

虎骨·Os Tigridis

tiger bone

About hu gu

Hu Gu (虎骨) is tiger bone, recorded as Os Tigridis. It is acrid and salty in flavour and warm in temperature, entering the Liver and Kidney channels.

Names

Pinyin	hu gu
Chinese	虎骨
Latin Name	Os Tigridis
English Name	tiger bone

Classification

Channels: Kidney, Liver
Flavour: Acrid, Salty
Temperature: Warm

Actions and indications

Dispels Wind-Damp, relieves pain and strengthens the sinews and bones

Wind-Damp Bi with wasted, weak lower back and legs, stiff joints, wandering pain, leg spasms and difficulty moving the joints
Severe, wandering joint pain, classically used when ordinary Wind-Damp herbs were thought too weak

Disperses Wind-Cold

Cold pain deep in the bones, spasms or paralysis from Wind-Cold Bi

Combinations

mu gua + huai niu xi + wu jia pi
Wind-Damp Bi with painful joints of limited mobility, taken as a medicinal wine
suo yang + huai niu xi + dang gui + sang ji sheng
Poorly developed bones and wasting of the sinews after long illness

Dosage

Age	Raw	Granule	Tincture	Concentrate	Frequency
Any Pills or Powders: 3-15g	3-15 g	—	—	—	—

Cautions

contraindication Illegal: the tiger is a protected, endangered species, international trade is banned, and China banned the medicinal use of tiger bone in 1993
caution Most products sold as tiger bone contain no detectable tiger DNA, so buying it brings legal risk with no assurance of what the material is
caution Fire from Excess or deficiency (a classical caution, kept for the historical record)