What Are Ox Gallstones Worth?

MONDAY’S article about gallstone theft at a southeast Queensland abattoir has aroused interest in the cattle byproduct from meat processing plants. Some are saying processors must be making a fortune from them, at beef producers’ expense.

Ox gallstones are in high demand in Hong Kong as a precious Chinese herbal medicine. They are worth as much as HK$19,000 per tael, or US$65 per gram.

Size

After Monday’s story about the theft of gallstones from a Queensland abattoir, a lot of people have been asking what gallstones are worth. Many have said that processors must be making a fortune from them at the expense of Australian beef producers, while others have argued that they are a rare commodity and therefore a worthy investment.

The most important factor in determining the value of gallstones is their size, shape and colour. Whole, smooth, golden specimens attract the highest price. Dark and pitted stones, as well as those with calcium inclusions, are of lower value.

While most of us have seen gallstones in their various forms as they pass through our intestines, few of us are aware of the incredible potential that exists for their trade in China. And this trade is a growing one.

Despite their size, they are relatively light in weight and can be carried for long distances by a single individual without causing any discomfort. They are even used in some traditional Chinese medicine formulas as part of a proprietary herbal mixture.

When Troy first started selling gallstones, he had a tiny container on his desk, containing a few of them. He would take them out and lay them out on a table, assessing their shape, size, colour, and whether they had any lumps or imperfections.

At first, he didn’t make a huge profit. But after a few similar transactions, he began to make a decent living.

In fact, Troy made enough money in a short period of time to pay for his family’s yearly holiday to the Gold Coast–the equivalent of a week’s wages in Sydney. That’s the kind of cash that can change lives and put a smile on any meatworker’s face.

The most important point to bear in mind is that gallstones aren’t as readily available as one might expect, and that they are a very expensive commodity. As one broker from a major Australian trading company told Beef Central, the average cost of a kilogram of ox gallstones is about $20,000 USD.

Shape

When Troy, a meat worker at Katherine, in the Northern Territory, brought his first batch of cattle gallstones to the log cabin, he was a little surprised to find that they were not all as smooth and rust-coloured as he had imagined. As they are the product of a bovine’s digestive tract, there are a number of different shapes that can occur. Some of these include round, egg shaped, square and pyramid shaped stones.

The shape is a crucial factor in the value of Ox Gallstones Chad and it can determine whether they are worth more or less than other types of stones. Whole, smooth and lustrous specimens are the most desirable. Dark and pitted stones, as well as ones that have calcium inclusions or lumps of calcite are of lesser value.

There are also many different types of ox gallstones available in the market, depending on the region of origin. These vary in size, colour and dryness.

After extracting the gallstones from the bovine’s intestine, they are washed thoroughly with cold water to remove blood clots, impurities and to ensure that they do not stick together. The stones are then dried for two to three weeks in a well ventilated and dark environment at a temperature of approx. 20 degrees Celsius. They are moved regularly to avoid them sticking at each other and they are packed in hermetically sealed bags.

In addition to their commercial value, ox gallstones are often used in Chinese medicines as they have numerous medicinal properties. These include sedative, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects.

They can be boiled or heated to create an extract that can be used as an ingredient in various products. They are also frequently injected into patients as part of their treatment for bile duct blockages or other hepatic ailments.

One such example is the Chinese drug called Niu Huang, which uses a combination of ox gallstones and other ingredients to treat hepatic illnesses such as cirrhosis. It can cost up to HK$19,000 per tael (i.e., 65 grams) and is considered a very precious product.

Dryness

Gallstones are hardened clumps of biliary material found in the gallbladder of humans, cows, oxen and bison. They form as a result of a build-up of bilirubin, a substance produced in the body’s liver and digestive tract when red blood cells break down. If these deposits aren’t removed, they can block the bile duct, resulting in complications including inflammation and even death.

Since the 1990s, a growing number of abattoirs have started collecting and selling gallstones for their weight in gold. As the value of gallstones has skyrocketed, so have the profits that slaughterhouses can make from them: a head-to-tail business model that’s allowing the meat industry to squeeze more out of every animal killed.

It’s a trend that’s become so popular that gallstone brokers, sellers and dealers around the world are flocking to Chinese darknet marketplaces and private Facebook groups in search of precious stone stockpiles. They’re paying up to $57 USD per gram for stones that are clean and dry, according to one buyer we spoke to on a butchers’ private group.

The dryness of the stones is a factor that plays a key role in their medicinal properties. Historically, gallstones have been used to treat a host of ailments in humans and animals. In China, ox gallstones were especially prized and were considered to be “more precious than gold” for their medicinal properties.

In TCM, ox gallstones were also used to treat a variety of hepatobiliary diseases associated with jaundice in humans. They were also used to help cure febrile infantile convulsions, polydipsia and diarrhea in children.

As such, the dryness of ox gallstones is considered an important characteristic of this precious medicine. It has been a staple of traditional Chinese medicine for over three millennia.

Moreover, the medicinal benefits of gallstones have been documented in the Chinese materia medica and tomes on ancient medical practices, including Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic (221-206 BCE) and Tao Hong-Jing’s Records of Famous Physicians (c. 510 CE).

This makes ox gallstones one of the most valuable of natural therapeutic agents. Despite their comparatively short supply, domestic producers still can’t keep up with the demand for these treasured stones, which have been gaining popularity as an ingredient in proprietary Chinese medicines. With this market set to continue to grow, the price of ox gallstones will probably rise too.

Colour

Gallstones are hardened deposits of bilirubin and calcium, usually found in the gallbladder or ducts of your bile tract. Doctors sometimes refer to them as cholelithiasis, and they can cause serious health complications.

There are two main types of gallstones – pigment stones and non-pigment stones. Pigment stones are usually dark in color and are made from bilirubin. They can be shaped into different shapes and sizes.

Pigment stones are mainly used for cosmetic purposes and have a higher value than their non-pigment counterparts.

Non-pigment stones have a low price tag and are not commonly used for cosmetic purposes.

Colour of ox gallstones varies depending on the region they originate from and can range from light yellow to golden or orange.

The most prized gallstones are the ones that exhibit a lustrous, smooth surface and a bright golden glow. These stones are especially valued as they are a useful ingredient in the manufacture of Chinese herbal medicine.

MONDAY’S news that an employee at an abattoir in southeast Queensland had been charged with stealing a’magic’ gallstone worth up to $20,000 a kilogram caused considerable interest among beef producers and consumers alike. Some suggested that processors were raking in the cash at the expense of Australian beef producers.

Fortunately for beef producers, gallstones are not a common cattle byproduct. In fact, they are only a small part of the production of the world’s largest meat exporter, Brazil.

What Are Ox Gallstones Worth?