Quan Xie
StarButhus martensii Karsch
Traditionally used for
- Headaches
- Cough & breathing
- Nerves & recovery
- Pain & joints
Cautions & contraindications
- Pregnancy
- Bleeding disorders
- Kidney conditions
- Seizure disorders
- Allergy risk
- Toxic — professional use only
☯ TCM Properties
Extinguishes Wind and Stops Spasms; Unblocks the Channels and Alleviates Pain; Resolves Toxicity and Dissipates Nodules
Traditional Chinese Uses
Quan Xie (scorpion) is an important Wind-calming, Toxin-clearing substance used for conditions involving internal Wind or severe Wind-type obstruction. It treats convulsions, epilepsy, facial paralysis, and intractable headache, as well as stubborn joint pain and numbness from Wind-Phlegm-Damp obstruction. Its strong penetrating action through the channels makes it effective where plant-based herbs cannot reach. It requires professional formulation as it is considered toxic in larger doses.
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Quan Xie is the dried whole body of the Chinese scorpion, Buthus martensii Karsch (also placed in the genus Mesobuthus; Arachnida, Scorpiones, Buthidae), an arthropod 5–8 cm long with a yellow-brown segmented body comprising a fused cephalothorax bearing pincered pedipalps, four pairs of walking legs, and a long flexible “tail” (metasoma) of six segments ending in a curved venom-bearing telson. The species is widespread in dry, rocky habitats of northern China. Live scorpions are captured in spring and summer, fasted briefly, killed by immersion in salt water or boiling brine, and sun-dried whole. The venom contains a complex mixture of neurotoxic peptides. In traditional Chinese medicine the whole dried scorpion is acrid and neutral with toxicity, entering the Liver channel: it extinguishes interior wind to stop convulsions, spasms, tetany, and infantile convulsions, dispels wind to relieve stubborn headache and migraine and facial paralysis, unblocks the channels for joint pain, and attacks toxin to disperse fixed nodules and scrofulous swellings.
Active Constituents
Long-chain neurotoxic peptides (BmK I, BmK AS, BmK AGAP, BmK IT1, BmK IT2, BmKTX)
Cysteine-rich neurotoxic peptides acting on voltage-gated sodium and potassium channelsConcentration: individual peptides of 20 to 80 amino acids with 3 to 4 disulfide bridges and molecular weights of about 6,000 to 9,000 Da; the 2025 Frontiers in Pharmacology review counts over 66 potassium-channel-modulating toxins alone but reports no quantitative content for the dried drug
These are the compounds responsible for both the claimed antiepileptic and analgesic actions and for the drug's toxicity. BmK I causes neuronal loss in defined hippocampal subregions in animals, and individual toxins produce neurotoxicity, cardiotoxicity and autonomic dysfunction. The review is explicit that quantitative toxicokinetic parameters such as LD50 are lacking for most isolated components, and that all reported pharmacological activity is from in vitro or animal work with no human clinical trial data.
BmK86-P1
Thermostable degradation peptide, selective Kv1.2 channel blockerConcentration: isolated by proteomics directly from thermally processed Buthus martensii Karsch medicinal material; IC50 28.5 +/- 6.3 nM against human Kv1.2, inhibiting 88.6 per cent of hKv1.2 current at 1 micromolar
This peptide is the sharpest available answer to the question of whether cooking destroys the venom peptides. Circular dichroism showed its secondary structure changed only slightly between 20 and 95 degrees Celsius and returned to baseline on cooling. So while proteomic analysis of processed scorpions does show degraded toxin fragments, consistent with some thermal loss, at least one nanomolar-potency ion-channel blocker survives the heat processing intact and is present in the drug as dispensed.
Martensine A and martensine B
AlkaloidsConcentration: no quantitative content reported for the drug
Small-molecule alkaloids characteristic of Buthus martensii, listed among the non-peptide constituents of the whole-scorpion drug. Their pharmacology is essentially uncharacterised, and they are not the basis of any of the drug's claimed actions.
Trigonelline
Pyridine alkaloidConcentration: no quantitative content reported for the drug
A widely distributed pyridine alkaloid identified among the small-molecule constituents of the whole scorpion. Unlike the peptides it is a stable, orally absorbed small molecule, but no activity in the drug's traditional indications has been demonstrated for it.
Nucleosides and bases (adenosine, guanosine, uracil, hypoxanthine, xanthine)
Purine and pyrimidine nucleosides and basesConcentration: no quantitative content reported for the drug
A group of small water-soluble constituents that pass readily into a decoction and are orally absorbed, in contrast to the peptides. They are commonly proposed as contributors to the analgesic and sedative effects attributed to the decocted drug, but this has not been demonstrated for scorpion specifically.
Free and protein-bound amino acids
Amino acidsConcentration: more than 17 distinct amino acids identified, including 6 essential amino acids
The bulk soluble fraction of the drug. Hydrolysates of Buthus martensii yield short peptides such as the dipeptides AK and GK, which have demonstrable in vitro activity, which matters because gastric and pancreatic proteolysis is the expected fate of the intact venom peptides after oral dosing.
Volatile fraction (benzaldehyde, phenol)
Volatile aromatic compoundsConcentration: 43 components identified by GC-MS, with benzaldehyde at 19.03 per cent and phenol at 13.22 per cent of the volatile profile
Characterises the odour of the drug and is useful for organoleptic identification. Benzaldehyde and phenol at these proportions of the volatile fraction are not present at pharmacologically meaningful absolute amounts in a normal dose.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Nephrotoxic drugs (NSAIDs, aminoglycosides, iodinated contrast media)
Medicinal scorpion has a documented capacity to cause acute kidney injury on its own. Ma and colleagues report a 48-year-old who presented with three days of diarrhoea and abdominal pain and a markedly raised serum creatinine after taking medicinal scorpion; on clinical, biochemical and imaging grounds the AKI was attributed to the scorpion, and creatinine, urea and uric acid normalised within 12 days on hydration therapy with no recurrence over three months of follow-up. Adding a second nephrotoxic insult to a drug that has produced AKI by itself is an avoidable stacking of risk, particularly since the toxic principle has not been identified and cannot be monitored.
Clinical note: Do not prescribe Quan Xie alongside regular NSAIDs, aminoglycosides, or around contrast imaging. Check baseline renal function, keep courses short, and stop the herb and check creatinine if abdominal pain, diarrhoea or reduced urine output develop.
Wu Gong (Scolopendra) and other arthropod-derived medicinal drugs
Scorpion and centipede are habitually paired in wind-extinguishing and channel-unblocking prescriptions, and both are protein-rich arthropod drugs. Li and colleagues report a 38-year-old woman who presented with cough and fever of more than ten days that did not respond to anti-infective treatment; only the delayed skin rash and a supplementary medication history led to a diagnosis of delayed hypersensitivity to oral centipede and scorpion, which resolved on methylprednisolone 40 mg/day and loratadine with no recurrence at one year. Pairing two arthropod drugs multiplies the sensitising protein load and makes attribution harder.
Clinical note: When prescribing scorpion with centipede, document the start date and tell the patient that fever with rash days later is a reason to stop and report, not to escalate antibiotics. Take a full herbal history in any patient with unexplained fever and rash.
Antiepileptic drugs (carbamazepine, phenytoin, lamotrigine and other sodium-channel agents)
The whole scorpion is dispensed for epilepsy, but its peptide constituents act on the same targets as sodium-channel antiepileptics and do so in opposite directions depending on the peptide. Buthus martensii venom contains both alpha-toxins that slow sodium-channel inactivation and beta-toxins that shift activation to more negative potentials, and the literature on Buthus martensii sodium-channel modulators describes anti-epileptic and pro-epileptic effects side by side. Because the drug is a whole-animal preparation with no assay for any of these peptides, the net effect on a patient stabilised on a sodium-channel blocker cannot be predicted, and no human study has looked.
Clinical note: Do not add Quan Xie to a stable antiepileptic regimen without the neurologist's knowledge. Any change in seizure frequency after starting the herb should be treated as herb-related until shown otherwise.
Warfarin, direct oral anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs
The 2025 Frontiers in Pharmacology review lists anticoagulation among the demonstrated pharmacological effects of scorpion, alongside antitumour, antiepileptic, anticonvulsant and antibacterial actions. No coagulation parameter has been measured in a human taking the drug, no active principle has been assigned to the effect, and the review states plainly that all the pharmacology rests on in vitro and animal work. The concern is therefore real in kind but entirely unquantified.
Clinical note: Treat as a reason for extra INR monitoring rather than a contraindication in warfarin patients, and ask about unusual bruising. Do not rely on the herb having no effect simply because none has been measured.
Raw unboiled scorpion powder taken concurrently with any medication
The question of whether the classical dose is safe turns on two unknowns that the literature does not settle. First, oral bioavailability: the toxins are 6 to 9 kDa disulfide-rich peptides, a class that should be destroyed by gastric and pancreatic proteolysis, and no absorption, distribution or bioavailability data exist for whole-scorpion preparations. Second, heat stability: proteomics of processed scorpions shows degraded toxin fragments consistent with thermal loss, yet BmK86-P1, recovered from that same thermally processed medicinal material, is structurally unchanged from 20 to 95 degrees Celsius and blocks Kv1.2 at 28.5 nM. Against that uncertainty stands a hard clinical fact. Lam and colleagues report a patient who developed chest pain, dizziness, diaphoresis, generalised involuntary limb twitching and hypertonia about 15 minutes after swallowing a teaspoon of Quanxie powder, recovering on supportive care with intravenous diazepam; the authors attribute the toxicity to failure to measure the dose accurately and failure to boil the material before consumption. Something in the raw powder is systemically active within minutes of ingestion, and it has not been identified.
Clinical note: Dispense Quan Xie for decoction, not as a raw swallowed powder, and never let the patient measure it by the spoonful. Buthus martensii is graded toxic in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia; keep courses short, weigh every dose, and treat sweating, chest discomfort or limb twitching after a dose as poisoning requiring urgent assessment.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 3–6 g | — | — | — | ChP 2025. Contraindicated in pregnancy. Corrected from a generic 6-15g decoction filler value generated from tcm_category. |
Dui Yao — Herb Pairs
The classical two-herb combinations this herb appears in, each with an action neither herb has alone.
Expels wind-phlegm while strongly extinguishing wind and unblocking the collaterals.
Facial paralysis; both are toxic.
Core pair of a classical formula — Qian Zheng San, Yang Shi Jia Cang Fang
Together they extinguish wind, transform phlegm and stop spasms in the channels of the face, treating wind-phlegm obstructing the collaterals.
Facial paralysis with deviation of the mouth and eyes; the formula also contains Bai Fu Zi.
Core pair of a classical formula — Qian Zheng San, Yang Shi Jia Cang Fang (Yang Tan)
The two insect medicinals strongly extinguish wind, stop spasms and unblock the collaterals together, more powerfully than either alone.
Convulsions, tetanic spasm, stubborn headache and chronic painful obstruction. Both are toxic; contraindicated in pregnancy.
Named pairing — Zhong Yao Xue national textbook (combined as Zhi Jing San)
Evidence Tier
Limited evidence · 2 studiesRecorded studies by study design, strongest design at the top. This is a study-design tier only, not a GRADE rating: it does not weigh risk of bias, consistency or precision.
Systematic review / meta-analysis
0
Randomized controlled trial
0
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
2
0 verified · 2 unverified
Show 2 studies
- BmK86-P1, a New Degradation Peptide with Desirable Thermostability and Kv1.2 Channel-Specific Activity from Traditional Chinese Scorpion Medicinal Material
- Two Small Peptides from Buthus martensii Hydrolysates Exhibit Antitumor Activity Through Inhibition of TNF-α-Mediated Signal Transduction Pathways
Other / unclassified
0
Verified: design read from PubMed for a DOI that resolves to the cited paper Unverified: taken from the study's recorded description
Clinical Studies
BmK86-P1, a New Degradation Peptide with Desirable Thermostability and Kv1.2 Channel-Specific Activity from Traditional Chinese Scorpion Medicinal Material
Proteomic analysis of thermally processed Buthus martensii Karsch, that is, the traditional medicinal material rather than fresh venom, yielded a novel degradation peptide, BmK86-P1. It inhibited human Kv1.2 with an IC50 of 28.5 +/- 6.3 nM and blocked 88.6 per cent of hKv1.2 current at 1 micromolar while barely affecting other potassium channels, with Lys19 and Ile21 controlling binding affinity. Circular dichroism showed its secondary structure was essentially unchanged from 20 to 95 degrees Celsius and recovered on cooling. This is direct evidence that heat processing does not eliminate potent ion-channel-active peptides from the drug.
Two Small Peptides from Buthus martensii Hydrolysates Exhibit Antitumor Activity Through Inhibition of TNF-α-Mediated Signal Transduction Pathways
Two dipeptides, AK and GK, were identified by LC-QTOF-MS in hydrolysates of Buthus martensii and tested in MGC-803 gastric cancer cells and transgenic zebrafish. They competitively bound TNF receptor, inactivated TNF-alpha/EGFR/STAT3 signalling, lowered c-myc and raised p53 and PTEN. The finding matters for the oral-dosing question because hydrolysates, not intact venom peptides, are what proteolysis of a swallowed scorpion preparation would actually produce.
⚠ Safety & Contraindications
- Pregnancy
- Bleeding disorders
- Kidney conditions
- Seizure disorders
- Allergy risk
- Toxic — professional use only
Contraindications
Contraindicated in pregnancy and in patients with internal wind from blood deficiency.
Safety Warnings
- Dose-sensitive; the Pharmacopoeia range is narrow and should not be exceeded.
- Allergy is possible — a documented cause of anaphylaxis.
⚠ Toxicity Information
Headache, dizziness, hypertension and, in overdose, muscle spasm, dyspnoea and convulsion. Allergic reactions including anaphylaxis are reported.
Historical Texts
Shu Ben Cao
Five Dynasties, 935 to 960 CEKai Bao Ben Cao
Northern Song dynasty, 973 to 974 CEBen Cao Yan Yi
Song dynastyBen Cao Gang Mu
Ming dynasty, 1596References
- Liu MH, Zhu JJ, Lu Q, Qu ZN, Zhou Q, Zhang L, Dai YP, Shi DH. Scorpion (Buthus martensii Karsch) in Chinese medicine: a review of traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacology, and toxicology . Frontiers in Pharmacology (2025) [DOI]
- Lam PK, Wong TW, Chan YC, Mak TWL. Generalised involuntary limb twitching after ingestion of Mesobuthus martensii Karsch (Quanxie) powder . Hong Kong Medical Journal (2014) [DOI]
- Ma R, Zheng B, Han J, Wang J, Cai M. Acute kidney injury caused by traditional Chinese medicinal scorpion: Case report . Medicine (2026) [DOI]
- Li Y, Jin Q, Li Z, Chen M, Xie L. Misdiagnosed centipede and scorpion poisoning characterized by delayed hypersensitivity reaction: A case report . Medicine (2022) [DOI]
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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