Ox Gallstones Malaysia

In Malaysia, ox gallstones are an expensive commodity that has been in high demand for the last few years. It’s a cattle byproduct that is used as an ingredient in Chinese herbal medicine.

The price of ox gallstones depends on its dryness, colour, texture and size. Full-bodied, lustrous stones with no imperfections are worth the most money.

Price

The price of ox gallstones Malaysia depends on the size, shape, dryness and quality of the stones. Whole, smooth, golden specimens attract the highest prices. Dark and pitted stones are of reduced value. Stones with calcium inclusions (white) are also worth less.

The article in Monday’s Beef Central report describing charges laid against an employee at Lakes Creek abattoir over the theft of gallstones, which were estimated to be worth up to $20,000 a kilogram, has triggered a huge amount of interest in the topic. Many have argued that processors must be making a fortune from the stones, at beef producers’ expense.

But the reality is that the Australian cattle industry produces just 200kg of gallstones each year – a tiny fraction of the global production. Even Brazil, the world’s biggest exporter, manages to produce just 1500kg a year.

There are a number of reasons why Australian cattle producers aren’t able to supply this precious byproduct, but the most obvious one is that they are not very common. Think oysters: you have to open an awful lot of them to get just one natural pearl.

Fortunately, the price of ox gallstones is set high in China, where they are in great demand as a precious Chinese herbal medicine. It is believed that the Chinese pharmaceutical industry requires about 100 metric tons of gallstones each year for use in proprietary Chinese medicines.

A small pellet weighing three grams, or just under a gram of the’stones’, costs around US$195. Several Hong Kong importers are seeking supplies of these precious byproducts for the Asian market.

The’stones’ are harvested from the intestines of slaughtered cattle, and then washed thoroughly with cold water to remove blood clots and impurities before they are dried in a well ventilated environment at a temperature of approx. 20 degrees Celsius for two to three weeks before they are packed in hermetically sealed bags.

These’stones’ can be sold in their natural form or mixed with other ingredients as a propriety Chinese medicine. Those who wish to buy these valuable byproducts should consult with brokers who deal in the commodity.

Origin

One of the most intriguing subjects in the beef processing industry is ox gallstones, which are found in the gall bladders of slaughtered cattle. Gallstones are a natural byproduct of the bile extraction process, and they’re retrieved from cattle at a meat works using an eviscera table.

The best part is that they are harvested in a safe and environmentally friendly way, without the use of dangerous chemicals or other gimmicks. The stones are dried to remove any moisture, and then weighed for the appropriate price and packed in hermetically sealed bags.

They may be small, but they are a valuable commodities in their own right. Those that are shaped and sized correctly, and have a lustrous glow will fetch top dollar in the international market.

While they are not as common as they once were, the supply of this natural byproduct remains in demand. They are a precious Chinese herbal medicine and have an impressive retail value of about HK$19,000 for a single tael, which is about US$65 per gram.

However, their commercial significance is hampered by a shortage of the raw material – gallstones are a coveted and rare commodity with global production of around 200kg. This has resulted in the emergence of synthetic/ artificial gallstones which are made to fill the void.

The true value of the ox gallstones is not quite as obvious as they might sound. This is mainly because they are rare, and they require an enormous amount of time, energy and money to produce.

This is the reason why ox gallstones are in high demand in China, where they can be sourced in their natural form from the slaughtered carcasses of cattle. They can be sold as a proprietary Chinese medicine mixed with other ingredients. They are also in demand as a dietary supplement and are available on the market in tablet form.

Purity

Ox gallstones are a precious Chinese herbal medicine that can be expensive. They are reportedly used to cleanse the heart, rejuvenate one’s spirit, remove phlegm and delirium, and stop convulsions.

They are also said to improve digestion, help menstrual cramps and irritable bowel syndrome, clear toxins in the liver, and reduce aches and pains. They have been used for centuries, as far back as the writings of Shen Nong, dating from 206 BCE.

These stones are very rare, and can only be produced by a small number of cattle, so it is not surprising that they have earned a reputation for being worth a lot of money. That reputation was given a boost by Monday’s report of theft at a meatworks in Northern Territory, where a man was paid more than $20,000 for a kilogram of gallstones.

The purity of ox gallstones is a big part of their value. They must be dry, of a lustrous yellow colour, and not have any impurities or disease-causing bacteria or fungi on them.

During the production process, the gallstones are separated from any waste product including bile and bile tubes and then washed thoroughly with cold water to ensure that they are free from blood clots and other imperfections. They are then dried at a temperature of 20 degC for two to three weeks. The stones are then flipped over regularly for better drying and to prevent them from sticking together.

They are then analysed for their chemical composition using FTIR. The resulting spectral diagram shows five different gallstone types: pure cholesterol, mixed cholesterol, pigment, calcium bilirubinate and bulbiform calcium phosphate crystals.

Of the total GS samples, 10 (9%) showed radially distributed homogenous material, which was classified as a pure cholesterol GS, while a majority of the GS with crescentric layers of dark and light coloured material from the centre to the periphery were categorized as mixed cholesterol GS.

The mean concentrations of the heavy metals Pb2+ and Cd2+ in both the cholesterol and pigment GS were not significantly different from each other (Pb2+: p = 0.39, Cd2+: p = 0.135). The presence of these toxic heavy metals is a major concern, particularly when importing ox gallstones to the Hong Kong market.

Safety

Gallstones are a common medical condition that affects a wide variety of people. They form in the gallbladder, which is an organ located under the liver and stores bile. This bile is essential for the digestion of fat and is released when semi-digested food passes the upper part of the small intestine called the duodenum.

The condition of gallstones is largely determined by the level of cholesterol, bile salts and bilirubin in the bile. The levels of these substances vary greatly throughout the day, and the presence or absence of these substances depends on the amount of dietary fat in the body.

Although gallstones can be a serious health hazard, they are not fatal and most patients recover with no lasting damage to their body. However, they can cause pain and inflammation if the stones become impacted or obstruct bile flow. They can also be a symptom of hepatic artery blockage or pancreatic cancer.

One of the best ways to avoid gallstones is to eat a balanced diet. This requires a low fat and high fibre diet, as well as avoiding foods that contain saturated and trans-fats. Another important factor is ensuring that you drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration.

When the bile is filtered through the gallbladder, it produces gallstones that can form in a variety of shapes and sizes. These may be round, egg shaped, square or pyramid shaped and they can also form as tubes from the bile ducts.

These are typically separated from the bile and stored in a dry environment to allow them to dry. After the drying process, the stones are packed in hermetically sealed bags.

This practice has a number of advantages, including eliminating the risk of bacteria entering the bag. Furthermore, it allows for easier and quicker handling of the stones.

Despite this, there is some controversy about the safety of this method. This is because of the possibility that the stones can clump together and create a dangerous mass, requiring further surgery to remove them.

Fortunately, there are a number of other options to prevent the formation of gallstones and to treat the disease in an effective way. These include avoiding foods that contain too much fat, reducing the intake of sugar and drinking plenty of water. Additionally, patients should consult with a physician to determine the cause of their gallstones and what treatment would be appropriate for them.

Ox Gallstones Malaysia