☯ TCM Properties
Nourishes and invigorates the body, removes stasis, relieves convulsions, soothes the nerves, warms the Stomach and benefits the Intestines
Traditional Chinese Uses
Hai Xing is the dried body of the starfish Asterias rollestoni (and related Asteroidea), a minor animal substance in Chinese folk medicine, bitter and salty with a neutral nature, entering the Heart, Stomach and Large Intestine channels. It is traditionally used to control stomach acid and ease epigastric pain in chronic gastric and duodenal ulcer, to warm the Stomach and benefit the Intestines, and to settle the spirit and relieve convulsions. Regional use also includes softening and dispersing scrofula and goitre-type nodules and nourishing and invigorating the body while dispelling stasis.
It is generally taken as a powder or in decoction. This is a folk remedy documented in local materia medica rather than a mainstream classical herb, and its use is not standardised in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.
Botanical Description
Hai Xing refers to the dried bodies of starfish in the genus Asterias and related members of the class Asteroidea, and is therefore an animal- rather than plant-derived substance. The body is a flattened five-rayed star typically 10 to 25 centimetres across, with a central disc bearing the mouth on the underside and the madreporite (water-vascular intake) on the upper surface. Each arm carries a longitudinal groove on its undersurface lined with hundreds of small tube feet used for locomotion and prey capture, and the dorsal surface is sheathed in a leathery skin reinforced by small calcareous ossicles and bearing scattered pedicellariae. Source species are collected from rocky and sandy substrates of the coastal seas of China, then washed, sun-dried, and stored for medicinal use.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 6-15g | Daily | — | — | — |
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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