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    Yemama Apothecary

    Bencao Gangmu Reference Library

    Channel-Unblocking, Spinal Reflex-Stimulating & Bone-Knitting Monarch (通络止痛 / 散结消肿通经开窍拔毒治面瘫小儿麻痹骨折剧毒大毒峻药 — 历代通络止痛与神经兴奋第一神毒圣药 / 骨伤科与面瘫第一峻药 / 必须严格砂烫油炙炮制)

    马钱子 / 番木鳖 / 苦实把豆 / 纽扣子 / 毒草 / 油马钱 — Strychnos nux-vomica L.

    Pinyin: Mǎqiánzǐ / Fānmùbiē / Yóumǎqián · Malay: Pokok Kancing Baju / Kancing Baju Hutan / Kacang Butang · Family: Loganiaceae (马钱科)

    Botanical Illustration

    Energetics

    Cold (寒 / 苦寒), Highly Toxic / Extreme Strychnine Toxicity (有大毒 / 剧烈神经毒性 / 极严格微量使用)

    Flavor

    Intensely, overwhelmingly bitter, acrid, tongue-numbing (大苦、辛、大寒、大毒、极麻舌)

    Meridians

    Liver (肝), Spleen (脾)

    Traditional Edict

    Nux Vomica / Poison Nut (Pokok Kancing Baju / Ma Qian Zi / Fan Mu Bie). Flat button-like seeds with silky grey hairs. King of Channel-Dredging and Spinal Motor Stimulation: oil-roasted (You Zhi) cures Bell's palsy, stroke hemiplegia, knits bone fractures.

    Cautions & Contraindications

    • LETHAL TETANIC CONVULSION WARNING: Dose must never exceed 0.6 g daily. Poisoning causes jaw stiffness and convulsive opisthotonos. Antidote: IV Diazepam in dark silent room. ABSOLUTELY CONTRAINDICATED IN PREGNANCY.

    Clinical Applications

    • Peripheral facial nerve paralysis (Bell's palsy), stroke motor sequelae (flaccid hemiplegia), chronic rheumatoid arthritis with joint deformity, and bone fracture non-union.

    Quality Markers

    Strychnine (士的宁 / 番木鳖碱) >= 1.20%-2.20% & Brucine >= 0.80%-1.50% (HPLC Chinese Pharmacopoeia standard)

    Mechanism & Phytochemistry

    1. Strychnine blocks spinal postsynaptic glycine receptors (GlyR a1/b), abolishing chloride inhibition and firing dormant motor neurons. 2. Brucine inhibits COX-2 and stimulates osteoblast ALP for fracture repair. 3. Overdose triggers opisthotonos spasms.

    Preparation & Dosage

    MANDATORY OIL-ROASTING DETOXIFICATION (You Zhi Ma Qian Zi): Clean seeds soaked 7 days, scraped of hairs, deep-fried in sesame oil at 220C until brittle chocolate-brown. Processed powder: 0.3 to 0.6 g daily (MAX SINGLE DOSE: 0.3 g). RAW SEEDS FORBIDDEN.

    Appended Prescriptions

    • 1. The Sovereign Bell's Palsy & Facial Nerve Suite (Qian Zheng Ma Qian San) with Typhonium giganteum (Bai Fu Zi). 2. Refractory Rheumatoid Arthritic Bone Pill with Drynaria roosii.

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    Yemama Apothecary · Petaling Jaya, Malaysia · For educational and clinical reference only