Shi Jue Ming
StarHaliotis diversicolor Reeve
Traditionally used for
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Eye health
- Blood pressure
☯ TCM Properties
Calms the Liver and Subdues Yang; Clears Liver Heat; Brightens the Eyes
Traditional Chinese Uses
Shi Jue Ming (abalone shell, haliotis) is a cold, salty substance that anchors Liver Yang, clears Liver Fire, and brightens the eyes. It is used for headache, dizziness, and hypertension from Liver Yang rising; for red, painful, and light-sensitive eyes from Liver Fire; and for visual disturbances including blurred vision and cataracts from Liver deficiency. Its heavy, anchoring nature and affinity for the Liver and eyes make it one of the most important shells used in Chinese medicine for ascending head and eye conditions.
Used In Formulas (1)
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Shi Jue Ming is the dried shell of marine abalone, principally Haliotis diversicolor (and several allied Haliotis species), a gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae rather than a plant. The animals inhabit rocky subtidal zones along temperate and subtropical coasts of East Asia, grazing on algae. Their distinctive ear-shaped, low-spiralled shell has an iridescent nacreous inner layer and a row of respiratory pores along the outer margin. In TCM, shells are collected, cleaned of soft tissue, sun-dried, and either used raw or calcined; principal constituents are calcium carbonate with trace conchiolin proteins and minerals.
Active Constituents
Calcium carbonate
Inorganic carbonate saltConcentration: the bulk of the shell; mollusc shells are composed mainly of calcium carbonate with only a minor organic matrix
This is what Shi Jue Ming essentially is, and it is the reason the drug behaves pharmacologically like an over-the-counter calcium antacid. It neutralises gastric acid, raising gastric pH, and it supplies divalent calcium ions in the gut lumen that chelate several important drug classes. Every established interaction of this drug follows from these two properties rather than from anything marine or species-specific.
Aragonite and calcite crystal fragments
Calcium carbonate polymorphsConcentration: the shell is a layered aragonite and calcite composite; the crystal fragments are the key microscopic identification character of the powdered drug
Not pharmacologically distinct from calcium carbonate, but of practical importance for authentication. Xu and colleagues showed that Haliotidis Concha can be distinguished from the four other commonly used shell drugs, Arcae Concha, Meretricis Concha, Ostreae Concha and Margaritifera Concha, by the appearance of these crystal fragments under normal and polarised light, since powdered shell drugs are otherwise almost indistinguishable.
Conchiolin and other shell matrix proteins
Structural proteins of the organic shell matrixConcentration: part of the minor organic matrix, which also contains polysaccharides and chitin
The organic fraction is small but is the only part of the drug that is not a mineral, and it is the plausible carrier of the anti-inflammatory and wound-healing activity demonstrated for calcined shell powder. It is also the fraction of theoretical concern for patients with mollusc allergy, although no allergic reaction to the shell drug has been reported and molluscan allergens remain poorly characterised.
Trace and heavy metals
Inorganic trace elementsConcentration: not quantified for the medicinal shell; reviews of mollusc shells as functional materials flag heavy metals and microplastics as the principal safety issue and note species-dependent variability
Haliotis diversicolor is a filter-feeding coastal mollusc that accumulates cadmium from seawater, and the shell is a mineralising sink. Because no toxicological framework or standardised processing exists for shell drugs, the heavy-metal content of any given batch is unknown. This matters for prolonged courses far more than for short ones.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Levothyroxine
Shi Jue Ming is calcium carbonate, and calcium carbonate is one of the best-documented inhibitors of levothyroxine absorption. Singh and colleagues gave 1200 mg of elemental calcium as calcium carbonate with levothyroxine for three months in hypothyroid patients and found mean free and total thyroxine fell and mean TSH rose, returning to baseline after the calcium was stopped; the mechanism is adsorption of thyroxine onto calcium carbonate in the gut at acid pH. Zamfirescu and Carlson subsequently showed that calcium carbonate, calcium acetate and calcium citrate all reduce levothyroxine absorption, so switching the calcium salt does not solve the problem.
Clinical note: Separate the decoction from levothyroxine by at least four hours, and take levothyroxine on an empty stomach as usual. If a patient on levothyroxine starts or stops Shi Jue Ming, arrange a TSH check six to eight weeks later.
Tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones (doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin)
Calcium ions form insoluble chelates with the beta-keto acid group of fluoroquinolones and with the tetracycline ring system, so the antibiotic is not absorbed. Sahai and colleagues showed that chronic administration of calcium carbonate reduced the bioavailability of oral ciprofloxacin in volunteers, and Gugler and Allgayer's review of antacid interactions documents the same effect across the antacid class. Because Shi Jue Ming is dispensed in gram quantities, the calcium load in a single decoction is comparable to a therapeutic antacid dose.
Clinical note: Take the antibiotic at least two hours before or four to six hours after the decoction, or suspend the herb for the course. Do not assume the interaction is trivial because the calcium came from a shell rather than a tablet.
Oral bisphosphonates (alendronate, risedronate)
Oral bisphosphonates already have a bioavailability of well under one per cent, and that fraction is abolished by divalent cations, which chelate the bisphosphonate group in the gut. This is a class effect of all oral calcium salts, and calcium carbonate is the salt in question here. The consequence is silent: the patient takes the drug, absorbs none of it, and the treatment failure only becomes apparent as a fracture or a falling bone density.
Clinical note: The bisphosphonate must be taken on waking with plain water and nothing else for at least 30 to 60 minutes; the decoction belongs later in the day. This is one interaction where timing is not negotiable.
Drugs requiring gastric acidity for absorption (itraconazole, ketoconazole, oral iron salts, atazanavir)
Calcium carbonate is an antacid: it raises gastric pH for a period after each dose. Weak-base drugs such as the azole antifungals and salts such as ferrous sulphate need an acid stomach to dissolve, and their absorption falls when gastric pH rises. This is the well-characterised antacid class effect reviewed by Gugler and Allgayer, and it is independent of the chelation mechanism, so separating doses helps but a large or frequent herb dose can blunt absorption for hours.
Clinical note: Separate by at least two hours and prefer to dose the affected drug before the decoction. For itraconazole capsules, an acidic drink taken with the dose partly offsets the effect; for iron, watch the ferritin response rather than assuming adherence is the problem.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction (pre-decocted) | 6–20 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 【用法与用量】6~20g，先煎。 【性味与归经】咸，寒。归肝经。 — Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, quoted verbatim; route and cautions preserved. Replaces a cleared category-filler value. |
Dui Yao — Herb Pairs
The classical two-herb combinations this herb appears in, each with an action neither herb has alone.
The heavy, sinking action of one anchors ascendant liver yang while the other clears heat and extinguishes wind, together relieving headache, dizziness and tremor.
In this formula Tian Ma and Gou Teng are chief and Shi Jue Ming is a deputy.
Core pair of a classical formula — Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin, Za Bing Zheng Zhi Xin Yi (Hu Guangci)
One clears liver heat from the plant side, the other anchors ascendant liver yang as a heavy shell; combined they clear and settle the liver and brighten the eyes.
For liver heat or liver yang rising with dizziness, headache, red painful eyes and blurred vision. Shi Jue Ming is decocted first.
Named pairing — Lü Jingshan, Shi Jinmo Dui Yao
Evidence Tier
Limited evidence · 1 studyRecorded 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
1
1 verified · 0 unverified
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
Anti-inflammatory and burn injury wound healing properties of the shell of Haliotis diversicolor
The only controlled experimental study of Shi Jue Ming as such. Shell of Haliotis diversicolor was calcined at 300 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes and ground to under 75 micrometres, then tested in RAW 264.7 macrophages and in a full-thickness burn model in male Wistar rats. In vitro the powder reduced inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and enhanced macrophage phagocytosis; in vivo it reduced neutrophil infiltration, promoted wound healing, increased collagen I and increased TGF-beta 1 expression. Note that this validates the Qing-dynasty topical use for ulcers and wounds, not the internal Liver-yang indication for which the drug is usually prescribed.
Historical Texts
Ming Yi Bie Lu
Compiled around 500 CE from Han and Wei period recordsRi Hua Zi Ben Cao
Song dynastyBen Cao Gang Mu
Ming dynasty, 1596References
- Xu Y, Song W, Zhou P, Li P, Li H. Morphological and microscopic characterization of five commonly-used testacean traditional Chinese medicines . Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B (2015) [DOI]
- Hou JY, Fu XJ, Ren X. Mollusk shells as marine bioactive materials: Composition, bioactivities, and prospects for food and health applications . iScience (2026) [DOI]
- Singh N, Singh PN, Hershman JM. Effect of Calcium Carbonate on the Absorption of Levothyroxine . JAMA (2000) [DOI]
- Zamfirescu I, Carlson HE. Absorption of Levothyroxine When Coadministered with Various Calcium Formulations . Thyroid (2011) [DOI]
- Sahai J, Healy DP, Stotka J, Polk RE. The influence of chronic administration of calcium carbonate on the bioavailability of oral ciprofloxacin . British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 1993;35(3):302-304 (PubMed 8471407) (1993)
- Gugler R, Allgayer H. Effects of Antacids on the Clinical Pharmacokinetics of Drugs . Clinical Pharmacokinetics (1990) [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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