''Calculus bovis'', ''niu-huang'' () or cattle gallstones are dried

gallstone A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of ...

s of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

used in

Chinese herbology Chinese herbology () is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A ''Nature'' editorial described TCM as "fraught with pseudoscience", and said that t ...

. In

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

it has been long used to treat various diseases, including high fever,

convulsion A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term ''convulsion'' is often used as a synony ...

and

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. In Asian countries, calculus bovis are sometimes harvested when steers (''Bos taurus domesticus'') are slaughtered. Their gall bladders are taken out, the

bile Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), also known as gall, is a yellow-green/misty green fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is primarily composed of water, is pro ...

is filtered, and the stones are cleaned and dried. The bezoars may also be surgically removed by

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

s when working cattle become ill. In Western countries, they are usually discarded. Its equivalent in

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

culture is

Gorochana Gorochana (transliterated from "cattle-light"; also ''gi-wang'') are Gallstone, gallstones found in cattle ( ''go''), such as the bulls, cows, buffaloes, and yaks. Its presence in the animals is indicated by the snoring and other nocturnal soun ...

. Calculus bovis have a color varying from golden yellow to brownish yellow. The shape of a stone is variable and depends on how it was formed, becoming spherical, oval, triangular, tubular, or irregular. Since natural calculus bovis are scarce, they can be very expensive. In 2025, the leader of a gallstone trading company in Brazil reported paying between $1,700 and $4,000 an ounce which works out to a single gallstone being worth more than the meat of an entire cow. There are artificial calculus bovis or ''bovis calculus artifactus'' used as substitutes. In China, these are manufactured from

cholic acid Cholic acid, also known as 3α,7α,12α-trihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid is a primary bile acid that is insoluble in water (soluble in alcohol and acetic acid), it is a white crystalline substance. Salts of cholic acid are called cholates. Cho ...

derived from bovine bile combined with dry bovine

powder,

porcine The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities consid ...

ursodeoxycholic acid Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), also known as ursodiol, is a secondary bile acid, produced in humans and most other species from metabolism by intestinal bacteria. It is synthesized in the liver in some species, and was first identified in bile o ...

taurine Taurine (), or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is a naturally occurring amino sulfonic acid that is widely distributed in animal tissues. It is a major constituent of bile and can be found in the large intestine. It is named after Latin (cogna ...

bilirubin Bilirubin (BR) (adopted from German, originally bili—bile—plus ruber—red—from Latin) is a red-orange compound that occurs in the normcomponent of the straw-yellow color in urine. Another breakdown product, stercobilin, causes the brown ...

cholesterol Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body Tissue (biology), tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in Animal fat, animal fats and oils. Cholesterol is biosynthesis, biosynthesized by all anima ...

, etc. Chinese regulations forbid the use of artificial calculus bovis in 42 drugs. Calculus bovis can be cultivated (induced) ''

in vivo Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, an ...

'' by implanting a foreign object and microbials into bovine biles. It can also be cultivated (precipitated) ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...

'' from bovine bile by adding

, and calcium bilirubinate, producing ''calculus bovis sativus''. Unlike artificial calculus bovis, either type of cultivated calculus bovis can fully replace calculus bovis under Chinese regulations.

References

External links

Niuhuang
*

Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea (or the typographically obsolete rendering, ''pharmacopœia''), meaning "drug-making", in its modern technical sense, is a reference work containing directions for the identification of compound med ...

2015 entries for calculus bovis: *
Bovis calculus
≥ 5% cholic acid, ≥ 25% bilirubin by dry wright. *
Bovis calculus artifacus
artificial replacement produced from dry bovine bile. ≥ 13% cholic acid, ≥ 0.63% bilirubin by dry wright. *
Bovis calculus sativus
''in vitro'' cultivated replacement produced from bovine bile. ≥ 6% cholic acid, ≥ 35% bilirubin by dry wright. Traditional Chinese medicine Animal glandular products Cattle {{Pharm-stub