Cuttlebone|Sepium

Primarily produced along the coast of Shandong.

Sepiella maindroni de Rochebrune: Flat long oval shape, thick in the middle and thin on the edge, 9~14cm long, 2.5~3.5cm wide, about 1.3cm thick. Back side has porcelain-white spine-like bulge, two sides appear slightly reddish, with unobvious small verrucous spots, abdomen is white with an intricate wavy transverse layered pattern, and a shallow longitudinally-oriented groove at the middle; horn-like edge, translucent, tail is relatively wide and flat, without bone needle. Light, loose texture, easily broken; fractured surface is powdery, appears in loose layers. Slightly fishy odor; slightly salty taste. Sepia esculenta Hoyle: 13~23cm long, about 6.5cm wide. Back side has obvious verrucous spots, slightly arranged in layers; abdomen has dense wavy horizontal layers taken most portion of body, shallow longitudinal groove in the middle; tail is horn-like, edge is gradually wide, rolls upward towards abdomen, with one bone needle at the end tip, often broken and fallen off.

Superior medicinal material is clean and white.

Salty, astringent, warm

Astringes to stop bleeding, astringes essence, relieves vaginal discharge, controls acidity, closes sores. Apply to stomach pain and acid regurgitation, hematemesis, epistaxis, metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, hematochezia, spermatorrhea, red and white vaginal discharge, ulcer, externally used to traumatic bleeding, sore and purulence.