The number one "demon grass" in the Chinese herbal medicine market since the beginning of 2024 is none other than "cat's claw grass".
Cat's claw has attracted more attention, not because of how powerful its efficacy is, not because of any major discoveries in its pharmacology, not because of what kind of disease it is a "special drug", but because the price of cat's claw has skyrocketed like a rocket.
From 2016 to around 2021, it was around 20 yuan/kg, and from the second half of 2021, it gradually rose to 100 yuan/kg by the end of 2023. Since the Spring Festival this year, it has risen to 700 yuan/kg, and money may not be able to buy it.
From the initial 20 yuan/kg cheap medicine, to today's 700 yuan/kg, it has risen more than 35 times, even with this year's Spring Festival as the node, it has also risen 7 times in a short period of time, staging a myth of "herbs" becoming "gold bars".
Cat's claw grass itself probably didn't expect that one day it would be so valuable, why was it hit by the splashing wealth.
Cat's claw growers probably didn't expect that why this grass could grow so fast, and they knew a little bit more.
Cat's claw herbalists probably didn't expect why the price of this grass had risen so sharply, and they knew that they would have more on hand.
Traditional Chinese medicine is silently observing, hoping that it will not rise so violently, and it will not be able to use it if it continues to rise.
Cat's claw grass belongs to the "loose knot medicine" in traditional Chinese medicine, and its rank is in the middle position of the loose knot master, and the other five are: Guizhi Poria Pill, Qing Lung Sanknot Pill, Xiaojin Pill, Nei Xiao Scrofula Pill, and Prunella vulgaris. For daily medicine, cat's claw is usually referred to as a "sister medicine" to Prunella vulgaris, but cat's claw is not as famous as Prunella vulgaris.
Cat's claw grass has a sweet and spicy taste, warm sex, a small poison, and returns to the lung meridian and liver meridian, which can dissolve phlegm and disperse knots, reduce swelling and remove toxin. In the past, it was a common medicinal material of folk herb medicine, mainly for the treatment of various scrofula, modern called pulmonary nodules, lymph nodes, liver cysts, thyroid nodules, breast nodules, etc., can also be used to pull out sores and poison, treat snake bites.
Cat's claw grass is also known as yellow flowering grass, Sansan grass, small buttercup, mainly grows in the southern region and the Central Plains, Henan and Anhui medicinal farmers plant more, the current annual output is about 300-320 tons. In addition to using the rhizome of hay as medicine, it can also be made into Chinese patent medicine, but there are not many types of Chinese patent medicine, and there are only 7 varieties at present, which is relatively niche.
Cat's claw has a ability in the loose medicine: it is different from other loose medicine violently, other drugs may hurt the righteousness, damage the spleen and stomach, cat's claw will not, relatively peaceful, so it is welcomed by traditional Chinese medicine, and its compatibility is mostly seen in:
Cat's claw grass + prunella vulgaris, dissolves phlegm, disperses knots and reduces swelling.
Cat's claw grass + white zombie silkworm, disperse knots and dispel wind and detoxify.
Cat's claw grass + indigo root, clear heat and detoxify.
Cat's claw + clematis, swelling and pain relief.
Folk cat's claw grass, mostly boiled with pig lean meat, because of the small poison, not suitable for long-term use, modern according to pharmacology developed "cat's claw capsule" Chinese patent medicine, mainly used for cold and damp constitution caused by nodules.
Why can the price of cat's claw soar in early 2024 and be speculated at a sky-high price?
1. From the perspective of the planting reasons of cat's claw itself, the yield has been partially reduced due to the drought in the past two years, and its growth cycle takes about 7 months, which is not available for a while, causing the price to rise.
2. Due to the long-term low price of cat's claw, some farmers have reduced the planting area, which has caused the total output of cat's claw to decline, which has pulled up the price.
3. However, the price of cat's claw has risen too fast, mainly because the hype of the Chinese herbal medicine market has been "overdone".
But for TCM and patients, the price increase of cat's claw is bad news. Last year, due to the general price increase of a large number of Chinese herbal medicines, the prices of many Chinese herbal medicines were several times higher than before. TCM had to reduce medication, and patients could not afford it. Now cat's claw is back to last year, which is not a good thing.
I hope that the price of cat's claw grass will return to the normal track as soon as possible, so as to avoid the "chicken feathers" left after the hype.
Source: Dr. Li of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine