Ox Gallstones Botswana

Gallstones form when your bile contains too much of a chemical called bilirubin. Your liver makes this substance when red blood cells are broken down.

The bile is then stored in your gallbladder until it’s needed. When you eat, your body signals your gallbladder to empty the bile into your duodenum to mix with food.

Size

The size of Ox Gallstones Botswana varies and can range from small to very large. However, the average size is about a pigeon’s egg. This can be a very valuable commodity, as they have long been used in Chinese herbal medicine.

These stones can come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes. They can be round, egg shaped, square or pyramid shaped and may also come as a tube from the bile ducts. They are often used in Asian alternate medicines and have long been valued for their astringent, diuretic and antibacterial properties.

They are also known as “bezoars” and are a natural byproduct of the liver and gallbladder in cattle, cows and oxen. They are often used in a mixture of other ingredients, which can include rhino horn, buffalo horn, deer musk and other herbs.

In order to make their way into the Chinese herbal market, these stones have to be sourced from healthy, BSE-free cattle. They must be washed thoroughly with cold water in order to remove blood clots and other imperfections, and then dried.

After drying they are packed in hermetically sealed bags. These are then flipped to the other side regularly for better drying.

This ensures that the stones do not stick together and get damaged during shipment. It is important to avoid chipping or cracking them, as this will significantly decrease their value.

These stones must be stored in a dark and well ventilated place at 20 degrees Celsius for two to three weeks. This helps to remove most of the bilirubin from the stones, which is photosensitive and degenerates in light.

The price of these stones varies depending on their dryness, colour, texture and size. Whole, smooth stones with a lustrous appearance attract the highest prices.

Another factor is the stone’s condition, such as whether it’s broken or not. Stones that have been chipped or cracked will be of lower value, and can only be sold to a small number of buyers.

These days, the white market for cattle gallstones is dominated by Sunshine Trading: a family business that has become an institutional juggernaut in Australia, selling up to 200 kilograms of them each year to abattoirs nationwide at a profit. The business is led by Gerard Murtagh, whose entrepreneurial vision was the driving force behind the padlocked boxes that now sit over every gutting table at slaughterhouses across the country.

Color

If you’ve ever watched Beef Central or other Australian meat processing news outlets, you may have seen a rumour floating around that gallstones are worth $20,000. This isn’t entirely accurate, but it does suggest processors are making a fortune off them.

The truth is that gallstones are a very rare commodity. It takes a lot of cattle to produce just one natural gallstone. They’re a bit like oysters, which take an awful lot of oysters to get just one pearl. And the price of gallstones is highly dependent on quality, shape and other parameters.

Ox Gallstones are derived from ox bile and can form in many shapes and sizes. They can be round, egg shaped or square. They also come in a variety of colors and can be as large as a hens egg.

Often, the stones are made of a material called bilirubin. This is a substance that can be found in the blood, and it’s used by your body to help dissolve cholesterol.

When there’s too much bilirubin, your gallbladder can’t empty properly. This can cause cholelithiasis, which is when the bile doesn’t empty completely, and stones build up in the gallbladder.

Your biliary tract is made up of your gallbladder and your bile ducts. These tubes help with your digestion by carrying bile from your liver and pancreas to the duodenum, where it’s broken down into digestive juices.

Gallstones can form when the bilirubin is too concentrated or when there’s an infection in your bile ducts. It’s important to have a regular bile test so you can be sure there’s no blockage.

Ox gallstones are in high demand for use in Chinese medicine and are sold as natural or combined with other ingredients as a proprietary Chinese medicine. They’re priced at HK$19,000 for a tael, which is about US$65 per gram.

These ox gallstones have a golden yellow color, a smooth, lustrous surface, and can be whole or broken pieces. They’re a valuable addition to Asian alternate medicines, and they can also be used as an herbal supplement. They’re also considered safe and effective for most people.

Shape

Ox Gallstones Botswana

These are stones that form in the gallbladder of ox or cow. They look like stones of different shapes and colours, some can be as big as a hens egg, but the average gallstone will be the size of a pigeons eggs, weighing around 10 grams.

They can be round, egg shaped or pyramid shaped. Those that are whole, smooth and lustrous golden specimens attract the highest price, while dark or pitted stones are worth less.

Those with calcium inclusions(white) are of reduced value as they can be difficult to break. They also degrade faster than those without them.

The market for ox gallstones is a lucrative one, and the demand is growing. Gerard Murtagh, director of international sales at Sunshine Trading, says it’s an ideal time for slaughterhouses to stockpile them as Chinese demand for bilirubin-based medicines rises.

As an alternative medicine, the gallstones are highly sought after by the Chinese community and can fetch high prices on darknet marketplaces. Buyers can pay anywhere from HK$19,000 for a tael to US$65 per gram, based on a retail value.

It’s also a lucrative business for gutties to snag these treasured stones at abattoirs, as a recent spate of gallstone burglaries shows. In Australia alone, gutties have been known to pocket a kilo or more of these precious rocks for themselves.

In the past, it was a common sight to see meat workers sitting on their gutting tables, armed with a pair of scales, bringing in a handful of gallstones. The stone dealers would inspect each one, assessing its shape, size, colour and any imperfections; then lay them out on the table in order of most to least valuable.

Once the buyers made their selections, they would pay the meatworkers their chosen price for each gram. Troy, who worked at a Katherine abattoir in northern Territory for years, estimates he made between $8,000 and $10,000 a year from gallstone sales.

The sale of ox gallstones is not an official industry in Australia, but a lucrative sideline for some. It’s estimated that rapacious gutties at abattoirs can pocket anywhere between $4 and $60 USD per gram, while unscrupulous traders on darknet marketplaces will pay upwards of $50,000 for a kilogram.

Weight

Gallstones are a common problem in overweight and obese individuals. They can block your bile ducts, leading to an enlarged gallbladder (gastrolithiasis) and potentially life-threatening conditions such as jaundice and pancreatitis. Fortunately, the good news is that there are many ways to lower your risk of developing them, including eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and losing weight.

The average gallstone weighs around 10 grams and is the size of a pigeon’s egg. However, they can be much larger than this, with some weighing in at up to 100 grams!

Despite their small size, they are worth a fair bit of money. This has prompted a number of individuals to set up online businesses, in hopes of making the big bucks.

In fact, the average price for a single gallstone has been estimated to be between USD$50 and $250. This is a lot of money, but it’s still a fraction of what you’d pay for a diamond.

One of the most interesting aspects of ox gallstones Botswana is their manufacture and use as a medical device or as an ingredient in Chinese herbal medicine. As such, they are in high demand in China and the world at large.

If you’re a meat processor or farmer with a hunch, the next time you see a gallstone on the scales, take note of its name and see if it can’t be the most cost-effective way to reduce your production costs and enhance your bottom line. It’s an innovative and lucrative business that can help you to stand out from the competition, but it’s best to be safe than sorry.