The red Chinese medicine Xinshi is not the same as cinnabar, but it is the original medicinal material of arsenic.

作者: Chen Dazhen Professor Image source: Professor Zhang Xianzhe“Illustrated Book of Authentic Medicinal Materials”

After introducing before that cinnabar (http://en.whatsintcm.com/post2/) and lead red are both mineral and toxic traditional Chinese medicines, now Let’s introduce another poisonous mineral, arsenic, which is a poisonous traditional Chinese medicine. Arsenic is also known as white arsenic, arsenic, letter stone, etc. Because the left and right radicals of the word “xin” are separated into human words, it is also used in “human words”. As the name of arsenic. In the novel “Water Margin” of the Yuan Dynasty, it became famous because Pan Jinlian was used to poison Wu Dalang. In the “Compendium of Materia Medica” written by Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty, it was recorded: “Arsenic, when it is alive, is arsenic. When it is chained, it is called arsenic.” It explains. After processing, the properties of the medicine are changed, and the names are also different.

The main component of arsenic is arsenic trioxide (As₂O₃), which is mainly produced in crystalline rocks and schists, such as Changhe antimony ore, red silver ore, realgar, and sphalerite. Mineral symbiosis, mainly produced in Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong and other places. It has a pungent taste, is highly toxic when heated, and can be used after mining, grinding the sand, gravel, soil, and impurities into small pieces and then flying them with water. There are two kinds of red and white letter stones. Among them, red letter stones are red because they contain impurities such as arsenic trisulfide (As₂S₃). It is preferably lumpy, with crystalline straight lines, and ruddy in color. Because it contains sulfide, it will turn black when exposed to silver needles. In view of this, ancient people often used silver needles to test whether food is toxic. Another kind of white letter stone has crystal straight lines, white color and better quality. It is mainly made of pure arsenic trioxide (As₂O₃). For detailed information, please see ( < a href="http://en.whatsintcm.com/dt_articles/%E7%A0%92%E7%9F%B3/">http://en.whatsintcm.com/dt_articles/%E7%A0%92%E7%9F % B3/), and it is usually called arsenic or letter stone before purification, and the white one after purification is called arsenic.

Arsenic is highly toxic, and the daily dose for oral administration is 0.003 to 0.006 grams. Because the dosage is very small, excipients are usually added to make it easier to take. Arsenic is highly toxic, so oral administration is mainly used for asthma and cold malaria. , madness, or dysentery and other problems, among which “Taiping Shenghui Prescription” of the Song Dynasty records: “Dry lacquer pills are cured by mixing arsenic with dried lacquer, cinnabar, musk, and croton, grinding them into fine powder, and taking them with soft rice and pills. All dysentery cannot be cured by long-term treatment. “The external part has certain effects on scrofula, hemorrhoid swelling and pain, corns, alopecia areata, eczema, etc.” However, overdose will cause gastrointestinal poisoning symptoms, such as vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. The poisoned person will die mainly from heart failure, and will not have the symptoms of bleeding to death from seven holes as in the novel.

Although arsenic is highly toxic, it has been used to treat cancer in modern times. Its effect is very good, and it has even been approved by the US FDA for marketing. The drug currently used in Taiwan is an injection, with the trade name Asadin (Shending Injection). Its main ingredients Arsenic trioxide (As₂O₃) is mainly used for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). The effect is very good. In terms of use, Pregnant women, lactating women, and people with liver and kidney dysfunction must avoid taking it to avoid serious harm to the body. A while ago, there was a folk rumor in Taiwan that eating vitamin C and shrimp together would turn non-toxic pentavalent arsenic into highly toxic trivalent arsenic, causing poisoning and death. However, this matter has been proven to be false, and Taiwan Relevant health departments also immediately came out to refute the rumors, and this is the best example of ensuring people’s health and drug safety.