Ox Gallstones Australia – A Thief Stole 414.2 Gallons of Valuable Gallstones From an Abattoir in Toowoomba on Monday

Gallstones can form in a variety of shapes and sizes, including round, egg-shaped, square or pyramid shaped or as a tube from the bile ducts.

These valuable stones are used in Chinese herbal medicine and can be worth up to $30,000 per kilogram. Buying and selling these precious stones has become an extremely lucrative business.

Value

A thief has been arrested after stealing 414.2 grams of cattle gallstones from an abattoir in Toowoomba, estimated to be worth almost $4500. A 38-year-old man was charged with theft, reported The Courier Mail on Tuesday.

A handful of cattle gallstones can be sold at a high price as they are in demand as an alternative Chinese herbal medicine to treat heart and liver conditions, the Australian media reports. One pound of them can fetch up to $20,000 a kilogram.

However, these precious stones are rare and must be pristine to hold any value at all. According to Beef Central, only 200 kilograms of bovine gallstones are produced by the entire Australian cattle industry each year.

The value of ox gallstones depends on their quality, shape, size and dryness. They are 75 per cent water when they are retrieved from the gut, and must be stored in a dark place to avoid losing their valuable content.

Some brokers say there is a huge demand for cattle gallstones from China, where they are used as a natural form of herbal medicine to treat hepatitis and liver and heart diseases. They are sold as either natural or combined with other ingredients for a proprietary form of Chinese medicine.

Brokers say the quality of these stones is like a diamond and they can be very expensive. They are also very hard and difficult to break up, unless the stone is broken into small pieces.

But they are also a valuable commodity to some meat processing plants, which are likely to collect them in great quantities. Despite being rare, beef processors are known to pay good money for the pristine, undamaged, gall stones they pick up from the kill floor.

Despite this, some of the best-quality stones can be found for a fraction of their weight in gold. This is because a gall stone can lose a lot of its value when it begins to dry out, said Mrs Murtagh.

But they are worth their weight in gold when sold to the right buyers. And with a few precautions, they can be a valuable source of income for meat processing plants.

Origin

Ox Gallstones Australia, also known as bezoars, are a valuable Chinese herbal remedy that has been used for centuries. They were first discovered in Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic, which was written during the Qin and Western Han Dynasties (206 BCE to 221 CE).

In ancient China, bezoars were considered an important part of the healing process, particularly when it came to removing phlegm, cleansing the body, removing poisons, and curing convulsions. They were also believed to strengthen the heart and liver.

Traders collect cattle gallstones during the slaughtering process at meat processing plants and sell them for their medicinal value. The price depends on the size and quality of the stones as well as other parameters.

Gallstones are hard crystalline masses that form in the gallbladder or in bile ducts from digestive fluids like bile pigments, calcium and cholesterol. They are normally retrieved during the bile extraction phase of the slaughtering process at abattoirs.

They are a very rare by-product of the slaughtering process and are worth much more than their weight in gold when they are sold to the right buyers. A one-carat stone, if it is not chipped or broken, can be worth up to AUD $20,000 per kilogram in the Australian market alone.

A lot of these stones are now being bought and sold by individuals in the Asian market online. They can be found in darknet marketplaces and private Facebook groups.

In order to maximise their value, these stones need to be stored and dehydrated in a dark environment. The bilirubin in the stones can become photosensitive and degenerate in light. This makes them ideal for storing and drying in a darkened space, such as an old egg carton or biscuit tin.

Traders often use forceps to extract the stones from the gallbladders of dead animals. Then, they are dried and sold for their medicinal value.

While cattle gallstones are a very rare by-product of slaughter, they have become a highly profitable and lucrative commodity in the Asian market. They have been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine to treat heart and liver issues.

Purpose

MONDAY’S reported theft of valuable cattle gallstones from an abattoir in Toowoomba has had beef producers sitting up and wondering how much these ‘gold mines’ are worth. They are alleged to be worth up to AUD $20,000 a kilogram and are used in Eastern medicine as a treatment for a range of ailments from headaches to sexual dysfunction.

They are also said to have anti-inflammatory, detoxifying and cholesterol-lowering effects. However, in many cases gallstones are silent and do not cause any symptoms. This can lead to them being a good source of natural antioxidants and vitamins A, C, D, E and K.

Since Chinese medicine practitioners believe that these stones have healing properties, they are highly valued in the market. Prices vary based on the size, shape and colour of each individual stone.

In China, the ox gallstone has been used for medicinal purposes for over three millennia and is still considered to be an important part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). These are small, hard masses made up of digestive fluids which form in a cow’s gallbladder.

These small stones are made up of bilirubin, a chemical that is believed to have therapeutic properties. This makes them an attractive commodity in the Chinese market as it is believed that they can treat a variety of diseases and illnesses including heart disease, hepatitis and liver conditions.

The ox gallstone is known to be a popular herbal remedy for various heart and spirit ailments, as well as removing headaches and boosting the immune system. Traditionally, these stones are dried, crushed and then mixed with other herbs to create pills that are taken daily.

While these pills are not as effective as natural gallstones, they do contain a wealth of nutrients and can be an excellent treatment for many health conditions. These include high cholesterol, hepatitis, liver problems, swollen glands, headaches and sexual dysfunction.

If you have any questions about gallstones, please get in touch with us through our reader comment facility below and we will be happy to help.

Sunshine Trading, the family business owned by Gerard Murtagh, has become Australia’s market leader in gallstones. They supply more than 50 abattoirs throughout Australia with ‘Gallstone and Bile Retrieval Units’: waist-high stainless steel boxes that lock the gallstones inside until they are ready for shipment.

Safety

Gallstones are an important by-product of the meat industry. They have a commercial value in China, where a one-carat stone is worth $1000 US and a small pellet of ox gallstones costs around $65.

In Australia, the entire cattle industry produces only 200 kilograms of bovine gallstones annually, so these precious stones are rare and hard to find. Ox gallstones are particularly valued because they have been used as an ingredient in Chinese herbal medicines for centuries.

The market for ox gallstones is high, especially in Hong Kong. These precious stones are sold as natural, or combined with other ingredients, as a proprietary Chinese medicine.

When purchasing ox gallstones, you need to ensure that the company you are dealing with has a reputation for producing quality products and delivering them in a timely manner. Also, it is recommended that you choose a supplier who is certified and licensed to sell their products.

According to Sunshine Trading director Gerard Murtagh, the company “has taken a number of precautions to protect its stones from breakage and damage”. The firm recommends that collectors dehydrate the gallstones in a dark location–bilirubin is photosensitive and degenerates in light–before shipping them overseas; ideally wrapped in tissues and nestled inside egg cartons or biscuit tins.

After they are dried, the stones are then packaged in hermetically sealed bags. They are kept in a dark environment at 20degC. This helps the stones dry faster and prevents them from sticking to each other.

There are many different factors that determine the value of individual stones, such as their dryness, colour, texture and size. Whole, smooth, lustrous golden specimens attract the highest prices. However, dark and pitted stones as well as those with calcium inclusions(white) are of lower value.

Several abattoirs in Australia have a locked box for the collection of their own gallstones, so rapacious gutties can’t get away with pilfering them. But even so, there are still tales of gutties getting caught red-handed.

Ox Gallstones Australia – A Thief Stole 414.2 Gallons of Valuable Gallstones From an Abattoir in Toowoomba on Monday