Ma Qian Zi马钱子
Strychni Semen · Nux Vomica · Strychnine Tree Seed · Fan Mu Bie
Overview
- ·.*
The flat, disc-shaped seed of Strychnos nux-vomica, bitter and warm, and marked — the strongest toxicity grade the pharmacopoeia uses. It opens blocked channels and stops pain with a force that little else in the materia medica matches, which is why it survived in the trauma and rheumatology tradition for entrenched joint disease, numbness and paralysis, and for stubborn sores and swellings.
It is also strychnine. The dose that works and the dose that kills are close enough together that the pharmacopoeia writes the daily amount in tenths of a gram, restricts it to pills and powders, and forbids the raw seed internally: only the sand-roasted or oil-processed form is dispensed, and only by a practitioner licensed to handle toxic medicinal substances. Poisoning produces violent convulsions and can kill within an hour. Treat every sentence of this entry as a description of a controlled poison that happens to have a medical history.
Nature & Flavor
Bitter · Cold · Very toxicChannels
Liver · SpleenTypical Dosage
0.3–0.6 gActions
3 core actions
- Opens the channels, stops painEntrenched wind-damp joint disease that has stopped responding to ordinary treatment, with fixed pain, deformity and restricted movement; numbness and paralysis after injury or stroke, in the classical record. This is the action that kept the herb in use, and it is inseparable from its toxicity — the same alkaloids do both.
- Disperses masses, reduces swellingTraumatic injury with swelling and fixed pain; abscesses, chronic non-healing sores and painful nodules, classically treated by external application. Jiu Fen San 九分散 and the trauma powders of the bone-setting tradition are built around it.
- Processing is not optionalThe raw seed is roasted in hot sand until it swells and darkens, or fried in oil, and the fine hairs are removed. Processing lowers the strychnine content and is the only reason an internal dose exists at all. Raw Ma Qian Zi is for external use in a compounded preparation and nothing else.
In Formulas
Formulas containing Ma Qian Zi
No published formula lists this herb yet — the library is growing.
Indications & Clinical Uses
- Chronic, fixed wind-damp joint pain with deformity, unresponsive to gentler treatment
- Numbness, weakness and paralysis of the limbs, in the classical record
- Traumatic injury with swelling and severe fixed pain
- Chronic sores, abscesses and painful nodules, chiefly by external application
- All of the above under the care of a practitioner licensed for toxic medicinals
Western Medical Keywords
Searchable condition terms
Contraindications
Cautions
Ma Qian Zi is strychnine. It is graded — strongly toxic — and the gap between an effective dose and a fatal one is very small. It must never be self-administered, never taken raw, and never given outside the pharmacopoeia range by anyone other than a practitioner licensed to handle toxic medicinal substances.
- What poisoning looks like. Strychnine blocks the inhibitory signalling that normally damps down the spinal cord. Symptoms begin fifteen to thirty minutes after swallowing: a bitter taste, restlessness and anxiety, a stiff jaw and neck, twitching, then generalised convulsions in which the whole body arches backwards while the person stays fully conscious. Light, noise or touch sets off the next spasm. Death comes from paralysis of the breathing muscles and from exhaustion, and can occur within one to two hours.
- How little it takes. Reported adult fatalities have followed roughly 5–10 g of the raw seed, and deaths from as few as seven seeds are recorded. Purified strychnine is lethal to an adult in the region of 30–100 mg. This is why the daily dose is written as 0.3–0.6 g of the processed seed.
- Never raw internally, never decocted. Raw Ma Qian Zi is for external compounded use only. Because the alkaloid content of a batch varies, an unassayed home preparation is dangerous even at a nominally correct weight.
- Cumulative. Strychnine accumulates with repeated dosing, so early signs — twitching eyelids, a tight jaw, muscle jerks, difficulty swallowing — can appear on day five of a course that seemed fine on day one. Any of these means stop immediately and seek medical attention. Courses are kept short with deliberate breaks.
- Do not combine with central stimulants. Avoid it alongside stimulant medicines or stimulant herbs, and avoid alcohol. Anything that lowers the seizure threshold makes strychnine more dangerous.
- Who must not take it. Contraindicated in pregnancy and while breastfeeding, in children, in the elderly and the frail, in liver or kidney impairment, in epilepsy or any seizure disorder, and in uncontrolled hypertension or significant heart disease.
- Suspected poisoning is an emergency. Call emergency services, keep the person in a dark, quiet room, and avoid touching or moving them unnecessarily, because stimulation triggers spasms. Do not induce vomiting. Say the word strychnine to the responders — it changes the treatment.
- Legal status. Strychnine and strychnine-containing products are controlled or prohibited in most Western jurisdictions, and Ma Qian Zi is generally not lawfully available to practitioners outside China. In China it is administered under the regulations for toxic medicinal drugs. Confirm the position with your own regulator before assuming access.
Contraindicated in pregnancy: Contraindicated in pregnancy and during breastfeeding. Strychnine is a convulsant that crosses the placenta, and the herb's channel-opening, mass-breaking action is itself a reason to avoid it. There is no dose considered acceptable in either setting.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only
References
- Ben Cao Gang Mu《本草纲目》(classical source, public domain) — where the seed enters the Chinese materia medica.
2. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
3. 《中华人民共和国药典》— 0.3–0.6 g a day, processed, pills and powders only; 孕妇禁用.
4. 《医疗用毒性药品管理办法》— the Chinese regulations under which 马钱子 is handled as a toxic medicinal drug.
5. Strychnine poisoning is described in standard clinical toxicology references; management is supportive and requires emergency care.
Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.