Ox Gallstones Qatar

Gallstones from cattle are a precious Chinese herbal medicine. They are sold at the retail level either as natural gallstones or mixed with other ingredients as a propriety Chinese medicine.

After extracting the gallstones from the intestines they are washed thoroughly with cold water to remove blood clots, impurities etc. They are then dried for two to three weeks in a dark and well ventilated environment at a temperature of approx 20 degrees Celsius.

Natural Gallstones

ox gallstones Qatar, also called cow gallstones, are harvested from cattle and used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). They are either sold in their natural form or as a proprietary Chinese medicine with other ingredients.

According to the Chinese herbal literature, ox gallstones have been used for over two thousand years as an effective remedy for many diseases. In addition, they have been known to be a strong tranquilizer and sedative.

In order to prevent gallstones, it is recommended to eat a healthy diet with plenty of vegetables and fruits. It is also important to avoid alcohol, sugars, and bad quality fats. Lastly, it is advisable to drink plenty of water daily.

When the bile passes into the gallbladder, it forms stones that block the ducts. These stones are composed of a variety of materials, including cholesterol, fats, and pigments. They can block the ducts and cause gallstone disease.

These stones can be of varying sizes and shapes. Some can be flat or smooth, while others are lumpy and pitted.

It is believed that the shape of a stone can play a major role in how much it is worth. For example, a pyramid-shaped rock is considered to be more valuable than a dull, pitted one.

Despite the high demand for ox gallstones, there is a shortage of them in the market. Consequently, the prices are extremely high.

For those looking to sell their ox gallstones, we recommend that you contact an experienced trader in your region or country. It is best to check the seller’s experience in dealing with gallstones before making any transactions, as this can save you a lot of time and hassle in the future.

Artificial/Synthetic/Artificial Gallstones

Ox gallstones (Shen Huang; Sheng Huang), which are also known as ox bezoars in Chinese literature, were extensively used as a therapeutic drug in TCM for over two thousand years. They were particularly praised for their anti-pyretic, sedative, and anticonvulsive effects. Besides, they were believed to be a good cure for polydipsia, diarrhea, vomiting “caused by fright,” nocturnal crying, and febrile nightmares.

According to the Chinese medicinal literature, ox gallstones were divided into three types: Sheng Huang (), Zhong Huang (), and Xin Huang (). The first type, Sheng Huang, was soft like an egg yolk and was mainly found in intrahepatic bile ducts; whereas, the other two types were hard and were found in external bile ducts.

The Sheng Huang were found in intrahepatic bile tubes and were usually white and soft, whereas the Zhong Huang and the Xin Huang were found in external bile ducts and were often brownish and hard. The Sheng Huang were very valuable and were used to treat hyperpyrexia induced infantile convulsions, high fever, pneumonia, pyogenic tonsillitis, and bronchitis[4-9].

In addition to gallstones, other components of bile such as bilirubin were also used in China for therapeutic purposes. These components were characterized as ‘pure’ or ‘unconjugated’ bilirubin, which could be obtained by extracting them from ox bile with an organic solvent. The ‘pure’ or ‘unconjugated’ type of bilirubin was then acidified and extracted to obtain pure calcium bilirubinate, which was then widely employed in TCM to treat multiple diseases. In fact, there are more than 154 traditional Chinese herbal preparations that contain this form of calcium bilirubinate as an ingredient. This form of bilirubin has been identified to have several pharmacologically effective properties including anti-pyretic, anticonvulsive, and antihypertensive.

Disease Characteristics

Gallstones, also known as biliary calculi, are hardened, muddy deposits that occur naturally in the gallbladders of cows, oxen and bison. When they block the bile duct, they can cause inflammation, pain and death.

In Asian alternate medicines, gallstones are used to treat a number of ailments in humans as well as animals. They are particularly useful as a sedative and tranquilizer, but they also have anti-inflammatory properties.

The medicinal use of ox gallstones dates back to at least the 3 millennial period in China, and they were popular for treating a wide range of diseases. They were especially prescribed for infantile convulsions, which in ancient literature were characterized by sudden onset, upward gazing of the eyes, lockjaw, rigidity of the neck, limb convulsions and frothy salivation.

They were also prescribed for children as a remedy for polydipsia, diarrhea, vomiting “caused by fright”, and nocturnal crying. These conditions were thought to be caused by a buildup of bilirubin.

While the medical consensus is that a buildup of bilirubin in the body is a bad thing, TCM practitioners tend to take a different view. They believe that a bilirubin-free body can cure many illnesses, and this is why ox gallstones are so popular in Chinese medicine.

As a result, abattoirs around the world have started to cotton on to the market value of cattle gallstones. Slaughterhouses are now drying, preserving and selling the stones as an inexpensive animal byproduct that can earn them a tidy profit in addition to their yearly slaughter.

Gerard, a 19-year-old who works for Sunshine Trading, is one of these young guns who’ve changed the face of the gallstone trade. His company teaches slaughterhouses how to dry and preserve gallstones for maximum profit, buying the out-turn straight from their managers.

Epidemiology

Qatar is a highly populated country, with high influxes of international migrant workers and professionals. This population is highly diverse in terms of age, gender, and ethnicity. The result is a unique demographic profile, which affects the incidence, prevalence, and characteristics of many diseases.

Gallbladder cancer (GC) is a rare disease with wide regional variations in epidemiology, clinicopathological features, diagnosis and management [1]. This is due to the lack of an effective screening strategy and a dismal prognosis for patients who present late with frequent metastases and are treated with surgery, which is the only curative treatment available. GC is also characterized by its low sensitivity for detection and poor prognosis, which makes it important to collect and share information on the disease.

To fill this gap, we conducted a study of a representative sample of GC patients from the Hamad General Hospital in Qatar over a 7-year period to evaluate the epidemiology and risk factors associated with GC. We recruited 35 GC patients and evaluated their demographic and clinical data.

In our sample, 19 patients (54.3%) had gallstones ranging from tiny to 3.8 cm. Among these patients, two (5.7%) had polyps.

These polyps were mainly composed of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPD). The other types were calcite and heparinized albumin-containing crystals.

Compared with the control group, the prevalence of GB polyps was higher in overweight and patients with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. These findings are in agreement with previous studies. However, they do not provide any evidence about the association between gallstone composition and GC. Hence, we suggest that a larger sample size is necessary to fully analyze these issues. Nevertheless, the findings from this study are encouraging and will assist in the understanding of this disease, while contributing to the evidence base internationally.

Conclusions

Gallstones occur when there is a buildup of bile. Normally bile is released from your liver into your small intestine to break down fat and absorb fat-soluble vitamins. If it can’t travel, your bile will back up and block your intestines. This can cause a number of health complications, including jaundice and malabsorption.

In Qatar, ox gallstones are found in large quantities and are sold locally as Chinese herbal medicines without being processed. The stones are extracted from the intestines of cattle. They are washed thoroughly with cold water to remove blood clots and impurities, then dried in a dark and well ventilated environment for two to three weeks at a temperature of approx. 20 degrees Celsius. The stones are moved regularly to avoid them sticking together and then packed in hermetically sealed bags.

Gallstones can form in many shapes and sizes, depending on their composition. Some of them may be round, egg-shaped, square or pyramid shaped. Some are tube-like from the bile ducts, while others are more solid. They can be lustrous, gold colored, dark, pitted, or with calcium inclusions (white). Stones that are whole, smooth, lustrous and golden attract the highest prices. However, dark and pitted stones are also of lower value.

Ox Gallstones Qatar