Arsenic (Pi shi)
Modern sources record safety concerns for this herb. Reference information, not a diagnostic or treatment recommendation.
Modern authoritative sources classify the inorganic arsenic in arsenic mineral (pi shi; arsenic trioxide, As2O3) as carcinogenic. The U.S. NTP Report on Carcinogens lists arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds as known to be human carcinogens, associated with cancers including those of the skin, lung, urinary bladder, kidney and liver. This is reference information drawn from modern sources, not a diagnostic or treatment recommendation.
Recorded in Bencao Gangmu for malaria and phlegm congestion with panting, as an external escharotic for scrofula, abscesses and hemorrhoids, and as an emetic. A toxic mineral substance (arsenic); historical record only.
Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷十·石类下·砒石·主治
- functions_en self-translated from 本草纲目 traditional_functions (public domain; the Chinese tf carries verbatim excerpt_hash citations). No modern work consulted.
- WHO IST-TCM terminology-aligned for the English rendering.
- public pharmacopoeia & physical facts (public-domain reference facts; no proprietary modern source).
Classical source text (Chinese) — English summary above.
传统中医记载：砒黄治疟疾肾气、解热毒、治痰壅、除齁喘积痢、蚀瘀腐瘰疬；砒霜疗诸疟、风痰在胸膈、可作吐药，蚀痈疽败肉、枯痔杀虫。
Nature & flavor: 苦、酸，暖，有毒。
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十·石类下·砒石·释名Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its classification.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十·石类下·砒石·气味Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its nature & flavor.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十·石类下·砒石·主治Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十·石类下·砒石·气味Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its safety notes.