Valuing Ox Gallstones Mali

Gallstones are a precious Chinese herbal medicine that are harvested from cattle after bile is filtered without any special processing. These stones are then dried to remove all moisture and ready for sale to buyers.

Many have questioned why meat processing plants seem to be making a fortune from these tiny, light-in-weight objects. They have suggested processors must be stealing gallstones from slaughter cattle, at the expense of beef producers.

Size

There’s been a lot of chat on social media following MONDAY’s story about gallstone theft at an Australian abattoir, with one commenter even suggesting that processors must be making “a fortune” from the stoney delicacy at beef producers’ expense. But while gallstones do have a market value, it’s not something to be sneezed at: they are rare and hard to come by – and can command up to $20,000 per kilogram if found in good condition.

According to Volza’s latest import data, Hong Kong imported 192 Ox gallstones in 2015 (the most recent available), from 41 Importers and 13 Suppliers. The majority of the product is sourced from Europe, but imports also include gallstones from ex-soviet states and regions spanning across South to central America.

In terms of size, the average ox gallstone is roughly the size of a pigeon’s egg – about ten grams. Some are smaller, while others can reach up to 100 grams.

The most desirable stones are whole, lustrous, golden in colour and without any pitting or cracks. However, stones that are dark or tainted by calcium deposits, and those with spots of white dust, are of lesser value.

Similarly, stones that have been stored in an unclean environment and/or have been damaged by air and water are also of lower value. Collectors are encouraged to stash their stones in a dark location and dry them well before shipping them off to buyers overseas; an approach that helps preserve their worth while keeping breakages at bay.

While a lot of the buying and selling of gallstones has moved online through darknet marketplaces and private Facebook groups, there are still some who rely on traditional methods to sell them. Sunshine Trading, for example, rakes in $200kg of gallstones each year from around 50 slaughterhouses throughout Australia – and they’ve developed a patented dropbox to secure them from gutties’ sticky fingers.

While gallstones have long been a source of financial gain for cattle owners, it’s a niche industry that’s been growing exponentially in the past 15 years. In Australia alone, the price has risen from an average of about $5 USD per gram in 2008 to an estimated $60 or so in 2015.

Color

Since Monday’s report about gallstone theft from an abattoir in southeast Queensland, many beef producers have been asking why these oblong crystal-like stones seem to be worth so much money. Some people even believe processors must be making a fortune from them at cattle producers’ expense.

Gallstones form when bile has too much cholesterol in it, usually due to liver disease or blood disorders. The bile then can’t dissolve the extra cholesterol and forms a stone in the gallbladder or in a tube duct called the hepatic artery.

These are often chalk white or greenish-yellow in colour, because of undissolved cholesterol, but they can also contain pigments such as bilirubin. Pigment gallstones are darker in color than cholesterol gallstones and can be either black or dark brown.

The gallbladder is an organ located on the right side of your abdomen that stores and concentrates bile, a fluid that helps your body break down fatty foods in the small intestine. The bile contains chemicals that your body needs to digest food.

But your bile can also contain too much of the chemical bilirubin. This can be caused by liver diseases or other health problems, like infections or blood disorders that cause your liver to make a lot of bilirubin. Your bile also gets concentrated when your gallbladder doesn’t empty completely or often enough.

If your bile gets too concentrated, it can block the flow of bile through your body, causing pain and swelling in the abdomen. This is a condition called cholelithiasis, or gallstone disorder.

Ox Gallstones Mali (also known as Niuhuang) are an important ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine and are available for sale in a variety of forms, ranging from whole pellets to slivers. They are especially in demand for their light yellow, golden or orange color.

They are a byproduct of the bile extraction process at abattoirs and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The most valuable gallstones are those that are smooth, lustrous and golden. However, dark and pitted stones as well as those with calcium inclusions are less valuable.

Weight

A recent story on a Queensland abattoir employee stealing gallstones sparked some interesting responses. One was a rumor that they were worth as much as $20,000 a kilogram.

The truth is that gallstones are a byproduct of the beef industry and have little to do with beef itself. The gall bladder, a small pouch located in the liver, contains the fluid bile that transports fat from the intestine to your bloodstream.

When this bile is not properly channelled, it can clog your ducts. This can cause a number of health problems, including jaundice, malabsorption, and the buildup of fats and other toxins in your bloodstream, which can lead to heart disease.

There are several ways to produce bile, but the most efficient is to enlarge a natural opening in your gallbladder. This is accomplished by a small hole called a sphincter, which opens and closes to allow bile to flow through it.

In the process, bile can collect materials such as calcium or silica, which can form stones and make an impressive display in your gall bladder.

A well-made sphincter can prevent backed up bile from leaking into your bloodstream and leading to a bout of severe vomiting. This is also a good way to preserve your gallbladder. For this reason, it is important to keep a sphincter in good working order by eating a balanced diet and drinking plenty of water. In addition, exercising regularly will help strengthen your sphincter and reduce the risk of bile blockages. If you have any questions about sphincter function, see your doctor.

Specifications

MONDAY’S article about a Queensland abattoir worker being charged for stealing gallstones from an abattoir has prompted an interest in the value of the precious cattle byproduct. One of the responses, as seen on social media, was that processors must be making a fortune from them at beef producers’ expense, because they can sell them for up to $20,000.

Gallstones are formed in the gall bladder of cattle and are retrieved at the abattoir during the bile extraction process on the eviscera table. They are mostly found in older slaughter animals (cows and bulls) but younger ones, like yearlings, are a very rare occurrence.

They may form in a variety of shapes and sizes, with ox gallstones being most common. They are generally round, egg shaped or pyramid shaped and can be either wet or dry. The price of ox gallstones depends on their dryness, colour, texture and whole and broken pieces, as well as size, shape and quality.

Ox gallstones are a precious Chinese herbal medicine and the demand for them is high. They can be sold as natural gallstones or combined with other ingredients to produce a proprietary Chinese medicine.

The Chinese pharmaceutical industry requires about 100 metric tons of gallstones per year for a number of propriety Chinese medicines. However, domestic supply is only a fraction of that, which has prompted the production of synthetic/ artificial gallstones to fill the demand.

Besides the Chinese market, there is an international demand for ox gallstones. In Hong Kong, for example, a small pellet weighing three grams costs around US$195.

There are various types of gallstones, ranging from the calcified variety to those containing pigments and cholesterol. The latter are the most commonly observed type of gallstones and present the most frequent symptom.

These stones are mainly caused by supersaturation of bile with insoluble compounds, most notably cholesterol. The presence of bacteria in gallstones is uncommon but has been shown to be a risk factor for cholelithiasis.

The microhardness and fracture strength of gallstones are influenced by their chemical composition, as well as the presence or absence of bacteria. Measurements of these properties in simulated bile showed that gallstones are relatively sensitive to the composition of bile.

Valuing Ox Gallstones Mali