Que Nao

Star

Passer montanus (Linnaeus)

Not yet clinically reviewed

Genus: Passer Species: montanus Pinyin: Que Nao

Sparrow brain雀脑

Traditionally used for

Ears & hearing
Fertility & vitality
Skin

Limited evidence

☯ TCM Properties

Category: tonifying

Temperature: neutral

Taste: sweet

Meridians: kidney

Functions:

Tonifies the Kidneys and invigorates Yang; Moistens the skin and promotes tissue regeneration; Benefits the ears and improves hearing

Traditional Chinese Uses

Que Nao (sparrow brain) is a warm substance used in Chinese medicine to tonify Kidney Yang and sharpen vision. It is used for impotence and male sexual dysfunction from Kidney Yang deficiency, as well as for blurred or declining vision associated with Kidney and Liver deficiency. As an animal-derived substance, it falls within the tradition of Chinese medical use of animal products to directly supplement corresponding functions — using brain tissue to tonify the marrow and sharpen cognitive and visual functions.

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Botanical Description

Que Nao is not a plant but the brain of the Eurasian tree sparrow, Passer montanus (Linnaeus), a small passerine bird (family Passeridae) widely distributed across Eurasia and commonly nesting around human settlements in China. Adults measure about 12-14 cm in length, with a chestnut-brown crown and nape, a distinctive black cheek-patch on white cheeks, a small black bib, and brown streaked upperparts. The medicinal substance consists of the fresh brain tissue removed from killed sparrows, sometimes used together with the head or whole bird. This is a rarely used and largely historical substance, recorded in classical Chinese materia medica but seldom encountered in contemporary clinical practice.

⚠ Drug Interactions

Any therapy in an immunocompromised patient (corticosteroids, ciclosporin, cytotoxic chemotherapy)

Theoretical Evidence: Possible

Que Nao is the brain of the Eurasian tree sparrow, applied in the classical literature externally or instilled into the ear, and there is no pharmacological, analytical or clinical literature on the material at all. The identifiable hazard is microbiological. Free-living Passer montanus is a documented carrier of highly pathogenic avian influenza: four H5N1 viruses of a new genotype were isolated from free-living tree sparrows in China in 2004, and a 2011 nationwide survey again recovered avian influenza viruses from the species. The same bird carries Salmonella Typhimurium, which caused mass mortality in Japanese tree sparrow populations and has been traced from massive sparrow death into a dairy farm outbreak. Uncooked brain tissue from a wild bird of unknown health status, handled and applied to broken skin or into an ear canal, is a plausible route of exposure for any of these, and nothing in the traditional preparation (cotton-wrapped instillation, or charring and mixing with oil) can be assumed to sterilise it.

Clinical note: Do not use. There is no benefit evidence to weigh against the infectious risk, and no legal or quality-controlled supply exists. Wild birds are protected in most jurisdictions: Passer montanus appears on China's state list of terrestrial wildlife of important ecological, scientific and social value, so hunting or trading it requires permits under the Wildlife Protection Law; all wild birds are protected in the EU under the Birds Directive and in Great Britain under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, where the species is also red-listed after a roughly 95% British decline between 1970 and 1998. In practice this means any material offered as Que Nao is either illegally taken or is not what it claims to be.

Historical Texts

Ming Yi Bie Lu

Southern Dynasties (c. 510 CE)

The earliest source given for Que Nao in Chinese materia medica, recording sparrow brain as a treatment for deafness.

Shi Liao Ben Cao

Tang dynasty (c. 720 CE)

Meng Shen records sparrow brain applied externally to frostbite, which becomes the second of the drug's two traditional indications.

Ben Cao Gang Mu

Ming dynasty (1596)

Li Shizhen's sparrow entry repeats both earlier uses, that the brain and marrow treat deafness and are applied to chilblains, and situates Que Nao among the other drugs taken from the same bird: Que Rou, the flesh, and Bai Ding Xiang, the droppings. The routes described are external or instilled into the ear wrapped in cotton, or burnt to ash and mixed with oil; no internal decoction is given. Whatever the classical record, the drug is not usable today: the source bird is legally protected across most of its range and no controlled supply exists.

References

Kou Z.; Lei F. M.; Yu J.; Fan Z. J.; Yin Z. H.; Jia C. X.; Xiong K. J.; Sun Y. H.; Zhang X. W.; Wu X. M.; Gao X. B.; Li T. X.. New Genotype of Avian Influenza H5N1 Viruses Isolated from Tree Sparrows in China . Journal of Virology (2005) [DOI]
Han Yan; Hou Guangyu; Jiang Wenming; Han Chunhua; Liu Shuo; Chen Jie; Li Jinping; Zhang Peng; Huang Baoxu; Liu Yuehuan; Chen Jiming. A Survey of Avian Influenza in Tree Sparrows in China in 2011 . PLoS ONE (2012) [DOI]
Tamamura Yukino; Uchida Ikuo; Tanaka Kiyoshi; Nakano Yoshinori; Izumiya Hidemasa; Takahashi Tatsufumi; Kikuchi Naoya. A case study on Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium at a dairy farm associated with massive sparrow death . Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica (2016) [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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