Rhinoceros Horn
(Cornu Rhinocerotis)
This herb is the horn of rhinoceros (family Rhinocerotidae) . It falls roughly into two categories: the Siam horn" and "Guangdong horn". "Siam horn" comes from the Asian unicornis L., or Rhinoceros sondaicus Desmarest, or Rhinoceros sumatrensis (Fischer). The "Guangdong horn" is obtained from the African Rhinoceros bicornis L. and Rhinoceros simus Burchell. The "Siam horn" is produced mainly in India, Nepal, Burmer, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia (Siam is the old name for Thailand and this kind of horn may have been imported to China first from Thailand, hence the name "Siam horn" - Translator's note) . The "Guangdong horn" is produced mainly in the east and south-east Africa. The horn is usually sawed into thin shreds (called shreds of rhinoceros horn), or pounded into thin slices (known as slice of rhinoceros horn), or filed into powder (called powder of rhinoceros horn) for use.
Property:
Bitter and salty in flavour, cold in property, acting on the heart, liver
and stomach channels.
Effects:
Removing heat from the blood, inducing hemostasis, clearing away heart-fire
to achieve tranquil- lisation of the mind, removing toxic substances and
relieving feverish rashes or eruptions.
Used for:
1. Bleeding due to blood heat, such as hematemesis and epistaxis. It is
often used with rehmannia root, red peony root and moutan bark , as in
Decoction of Rhinoceros Horn and Rehmannia (Xijiao Dihuang Tang).
2. Acute febrile diseases with heat invasion of the heart and yin system manifested as persistent high fever, unconsciousness and delirium. It is often prescribed with dried rehmannia root, scrophularia root and forsythia fruit, as in Decoction for clearing away Heat in the Ying System (Qing Ying Tang). If the heat has gone into the heart and liver shown as high fever, restlessness, spasm and convulsion, it is often used with antelope's horn, as in Purple Snowy Powder, (Zixue Dan).
3. Epidemic febrile diseases with excessive noxious heat manifested as fever, dark purple maculas or eruptions. It is often used with gypsum and scrophularia root, as in Decoction for Relieving Feverish Rash (Huaban Tang).
Dosage and administration: 1.5- 6g, filed into fine powder and infused with warm boiled water for oral administration, or ground into a liquid for an oral dose, or decocted in water separately and mix its decoction with that of other herbs for an oral dose, or used in bolus and powder.
Precautions:
This drug is antagonistic to Sichuan aconite root and wild aconite root.
It should be used very cautiously for pregnant women.