Bear Bile
Bear Bile (Left: Golden Jade Bile, Right: Black Jade Bile) (Narrow and thin at the top, enlarged at the bottom, gray-black to brown-black, translucent at the top. Market products are classified into Golden Jade Bile and Black Bile based on the color and texture of the bile core).
【Naming】
【Source】
Shen Nong’s Classic of Materia Medica, Upper Class
【Common Usage Level】
D
【Botanical Source】
The dried gallbladder of the Asiatic black bear (Selenarctos thibetanus Cuvier) or the brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) of the Ursidae family. Other S. spp.
【Characteristics】
The dried gallbladder is long, flat, and ovate, narrow at the top and enlarged at the bottom, 10-20 cm long, 5-8 cm wide at the bottom, with a narrow top and a wide bottom. The top has a slender stalk and traces of rope binding, and the bottom is oval, plate-like, or block-like. The outer skin is gray-black or brown-black, glossy, and wrinkled. After drying, it is slightly flattened. The gallbladder opening is attached to fibrous tissue. The gallbladder skin is thin, and when viewed against the light, the upper part is often translucent. The outer surface is smooth, slightly wrinkled, with depressions, the edges are thicker, and the center is thinner, with a thin, translucent layer. The texture is firm and tough, and the cross-section is fibrous after breaking. The dried bile inside the gallbladder, commonly known as “bile core”, is in the form of blocks, granules, powder, or thick paste. It is glossy and varies in color. The bile core is crisp and fragrant, tastes bitter and then sweet, and turns yellowish-green when dropped into water. Market products are classified into Golden Bile, Black Bile, and Cauliflower Bile based on the color and texture of the bile core, as detailed below in quality identification.
Drained bile: Dried thin flakes or fine powder.
【Identification】
《Zheng Lei Ben Cao》: “If it drips into water and forms a line that does not disperse, it is genuine.” 《Ben Cao Meng Quan》: “If the powder moves quickly in a line, and the line does not disperse, this is an excellent product.” 《Ben Cao Bei Yao》: “The transparent one is good, it has a property of repelling dust. If you sprinkle some dust on the water and drop a little bile, it will open up with a rustling sound.” 《Ben Cao Qiu Zhen》: “It is good if you drop as much as a grain of rice into the water and it rotates like flying.” 《Good and Bad Identification》: “The one that tastes purely bitter without any other taste is a good product. The one that is black in color and shines is a good product. The one that rotates quickly on the surface of the water and dissolves quickly in the mouth without sticking is also a good product.”
1. It tastes bitter and then sweet, cool and sticky to the tongue, and dissolves completely in the mouth. Other biles taste bitter but not cool, nor sticky to the tongue, and have no luster, are not crisp, and have a foul smell.
2. Sprinkle the bile powder on the surface of clear water, and there will be a golden thread hanging straight down to the bottom, called “Golden Thread Bile”. It is even better if the powder rotates rapidly on the surface of the water and disperses the dust on the surface.
3. Take a small grain of bile core and place it on the surface of the water. It will gradually dissolve, and a clear yellow line will drop down without spreading.
4. Bear bile powder does not burn when ignited. Take a small amount of bile core, place it on an iron sheet, and heat it directly. It will only bubble without any fishy smell.
5. Take a small amount of bile core and observe it under a UV lamp. It will show a yellowish-white fluorescence. If it is a fake product made from cattle or sheep bile: take about 0.1 gm of bile core, add 20 ml of 7% acetic acid solution to dissolve it, and observe it under a UV lamp. The solution will show a light blue, cloudy fluorescence.
6. Ancient herbal books say that bear bile can repel dust, and some people use this ability to repel dust to distinguish ink. In fact, elephant bile and many fish biles can also repel dust and separate ink, so this method of identification is only for reference and is not reliable.
7. This product has a slight refreshing or slightly fishy smell, dissolves in the mouth, and tastes extremely bitter, cool, and not sticky to the teeth. The best ones are large, with a golden-yellow, bright bile core and a bitter-sweet taste.
8. Based on experience, market products are divided into Golden Bile and Black Bile according to color and quality. Summer hunts yield more Black Bile and Oily Bile, while autumn hunts yield more Golden Bile. The differences are briefly described below:
Golden Bile: Also known as Golden Amber Bile or Copper Bile, it is made from the bile taken immediately after the bear is killed, and it is a top-grade product. The outer skin is shiny and the granules are crisp. When you pinch it, it makes a rustling sound. The bile core is golden yellow, transparent, and shiny. The fine granules are as shiny as amber, or like the powder of rosin, golden yellow and shiny.
Black Bile: Also known as Iron Bile, it is mostly captured in summer. The time distance between the bear’s death and the removal of the bile is long, and the bear fat invades the bile. It is black, firm, and brittle, or in the form of a thick paste, or further divided into Golden Black Bile and Oily Black Bile. Golden Black Bile also makes a rustling sound when pinched by hand, but the color is black with a gelatinous substance; Oily Black Bile has an oily substance, is soft and moist, and forms a lump, and does not make a sound when pinched.
【Identification Terminology】
1. Golden Thread Bear Bile: One of the methods to identify the authenticity of bear bile. That is, take a glass of clean water, take a small grain of bear bile and put it in the water, you can see the bear bile rotating rapidly on the surface of the water and then carrying a golden thread-like substance slowly sinking without spreading. Other animal biles do not have this phenomenon, but this method cannot identify adulterated products.
2. Golden Bile, Oily Black Bile: The bear bile core is golden yellow, shiny, translucent, and crisp. Commonly known as Golden Bile, Golden Thread Bile, or Copper Bile; black or black-green is called Oily Black Bile, Iron Bile, or Black Bile; yellow-green is called Cauliflower Bile.
3. Gauze Paper Skin: The gallbladder skin of bear bile can be torn by hand into thin filaments, shaped like gauze paper.
4. Yellow Line Sinking: When bear bile powder is put into a glass of water, a yellow line can be seen sinking without spreading, and the one that rotates is of better quality. Pig, cattle, and sheep biles also have this reaction to varying degrees. If you put bear bile in a glass of water and let it stand for 24 hours, if all the dissolved yellow pigment is completely deposited on the bottom of the glass, it is genuine. If the entire glass of water is dyed yellow, or there are undissolved substances, it is fake.
5. Bile Core: Refers to the dried bile contained in the gallbladder of bear bile.
6. Drained Bile: Artificially raised bears, drained and dried products, powder or flakes.
【Chapter】
Vertebrate Class