Lu Jiao Shuang (Deer Horn Fragments)

Chinese Herb Actions

Chinese Herb Dosage

• What is the typical dosage of Lu Jiao Shuang, and how is it prepared?

  Commonly cited as roughly 5–10 g in decoction (some secondary sources extend the range toward 15 g, consistent with the broader deer-antler family), or taken as a pill or powder. As a dense, bony material, it is traditionally decocted separately or given a longer simmer to extract its constituents. For sores and slow-healing wounds it is also used topically — ground to a fine powder and sprinkled directly onto the affected area.

  Source: materia medica consensus, cross-referenced against multiple online sources and secondary Bensky-derived summaries. Reference only — not a prescription.

Chinese Herb Contraindications & Cautions

• Are there cautions for Lu Jiao Shuang?

  Lu Jiao Shuang is warm and yang-tonifying, so it is contraindicated in yin-deficiency patterns with heat or effulgent (excess) fire — where it would be expected to aggravate night sweats, hot flashes, or agitation. Because its bleeding-stopping and discharge-controlling actions are specifically suited to deficient-cold presentations, it is not indicated for heat-type or excess bleeding/discharge patterns. As with other tonifying animal substances, it is best used under a qualified practitioner.

  • Dietary/ethical (reference note) — Lu Jiao Shuang is an animal-derived product (the residue of processed deer antler) and is not suitable for vegetarians or vegans; the animal source should be disclosed.
  • Sourcing/species (reference note) — it is prepared from the hardened, mature antler of farmed Cervus elaphus (red deer) or Cervus nippon (sika deer) after the gelatin has been boiled out for Lu Jiao Jiao; species and sourcing are worth confirming with the supplier at purchase.

  Source: materia medica consensus (yin-deficiency-fire contraindication), cross-referenced against multiple online sources and secondary Bensky-derived summaries; sourcing consistent with the Lu Rong / Lu Jiao / Lu Jiao Jiao entries on file. Animal-source and sourcing points are neutral reference disclosures.

Chinese Herb Toxicity & Overdose

• Low. Lu Jiao Shuang is a processed bone/collagen residue with a long history of dietary and medicinal use, and no significant intrinsic toxicity is reported at standard reference doses. The main real-world concerns are not intrinsic toxicity but (a) inappropriate use in heat/yin-deficiency-fire patterns given its warming nature, (b) product authenticity (deer-antler products in this family can be confused with one another and with substituted materials), and (c) allergen potential for those sensitive to bone/collagen-derived material.

  Source: materia medica consensus; deer-antler authentication research (below). Reference note, not a safety guarantee.

Herb-Drug Interactions

• No well-established clinical herb–drug interactions are documented. Given its traditional hemostatic (bleeding-stopping) and astringent use, practitioner awareness is reasonable for patients on anticoagulant or other bleeding-affecting therapy — this is precautionary, not a demonstrated clinical interaction. (Flagged for practitioner confirmation.)

Western / Biomedical Research

Chinese Herb Clinical Studies & Research

Provided as research context — a summary of published biomedical study, not a therapeutic or medical claim.

• Is there modern research on Lu Jiao Shuang (Cornu Cervi Degelatinatum)?

  Yes — a small, mostly preclinical (animal-model) literature, with no controlled human trials identified. Cornu Cervi Degelatinatum is the bony residue left after Cornu Cervi (deer antler) is boiled to extract its gelatin.

  • Authentication (analytical chemistry) — a spectroscopic (FT-IR / 2D-IR) study successfully distinguished Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum (velvet), Cornu Cervi (hardened antler), and Cornu Cervi Degelatinatum (this herb) from one another by their protein (amide I/II) and calcium-phosphate spectral signatures — useful given how easily the three related antler products are confused or substituted in trade.
  • Kidney/Spleen-yang-deficiency model (preclinical) — a 2024 study in a TNBS-induced ulcerative-colitis rat model compared water-processed and vinegar-processed Cornu Cervi Degelatinatum in animals with a “spleen-kidney-yang-deficient” pattern. The vinegar-processed form showed stronger anti-inflammatory effects (reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines), more favorable shifts in gut-microbiota composition, and modulation of the NCK2/PAK4/JNK signaling pathway, with better tissue-repair outcomes than the water-processed form. This is an animal model of a traditional pattern the herb is used for, not clinical evidence in humans.

  Human clinical trials specific to Cornu Cervi Degelatinatum were not identified; the available evidence is limited to authentication chemistry and a single animal-model mechanism study.

  Sources: PMID 20172678, DOI 10.1016/j.jpba.2010.01.045 (Liu et al., Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 2010; FT-IR/2D-IR authentication of Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum, Cornu Cervi, and Cornu Cervi Degelatinatum); PMID 38312676, DOI 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24782 (Li et al., Heliyon, 2024; vinegared vs. water-processed Cornu Cervi Degelatinatum in a spleen-kidney-yang-deficient ulcerative-colitis rat model). Research context, not a therapeutic claim.

Chinese Herb Notes

• How does Lu Jiao Shuang compare with Lu Rong, Lu Jiao, and Lu Jiao Jiao?

  Lu Jiao Shuang sits at the end of the deer-antler processing family — it is what remains of the hardened antler after it has been boiled down and the gelatin (Lu Jiao Jiao) has been extracted out of it. The family runs from strongest tonic to weakest: Lu Rong (soft young velvet) → Lu Jiao (hardened mature antler) → Lu Jiao Jiao (gelatin rendered from it) → Lu Jiao Shuang (this herb, the degelatinated residue). Astringent, bleeding-stopping, and discharge-controlling strength runs the opposite direction: Lu Jiao Shuang is the strongest of the four at this action, precisely because most of its rich tonifying material has already been removed.

  • Lu Rong (velvet of the young, growing antler) — the strongest and most warming; the principal Kidney-yang, essence, and blood tonic, reserved for deep constitutional deficiency.
  • Lu Jiao (hardened, mature antler) — considerably weaker as a tonic than Lu Rong; distinguished instead by invigorating blood and reducing toxic swellings/sores.
  • Lu Jiao Jiao (gelatin/glue rendered from Lu Jiao) — more focused on nourishing essence and blood and on stopping deficient-cold uterine bleeding; gentler and more moistening than raw Lu Jiao.
  • Lu Jiao Shuang (this herb, the degelatinated residue) — the mildest tonic of the four, but the most astringent; best suited to patients needing gentle Kidney/Spleen-yang warming plus a binding, bleeding-stopping, discharge-controlling action rather than rich replenishment.

  No formulas in this site’s own record currently link to this herb (Lu Jiao Jiao appears in You Gui Wan and Yang He Tang instead); this note will be updated if that changes.

  Note: this site’s own identity record lists Lu Jiao Shuang’s channels as Kidney, Liver, Heart, and Pericardium, whereas materia medica consensus (Bensky and the secondary sources checked above) — and the other three herbs in this deer-antler family as recorded in this site’s own record — give only Liver and Kidney. This content is written to the Kidney/Liver consensus action set; the identity field is left unchanged pending owner confirmation.

  Source: materia medica consensus on the deer-antler processing family, cross-referenced against multiple online sources; this site’s own formula-relationship check (none found for this entry); this site’s own identity record comparison (above).