The role and efficacy of gecko

Perhaps very few people know about the animal called gecko, let alone the functions and effects of gecko, which are understood by even fewer people. But for some Chinese medicine practitioners, Gecko is very familiar. Because many Chinese medicine practitioners regard gecko as a treasure, this is mainly because the pharmacological value of this animal is so high that it can often replace some drugs to treat some human diseases.

But for most people, they have never seen the gecko and don’t know anything about it, let alone its functions and effects. This is not surprising, because in reality, animals like geckos are relatively rare. Now let’s introduce in detail the functions and effects of gecko.

Gecko has the functions of nourishing the lungs, nourishing the kidneys, replenishing essence and assisting yang, quenching thirst and relieving stranguria, and relieving asthma and cough. Li Shizhen praised it as "replenishing the lungs and quenching thirst, with the same effect as ginseng", "replenishing the lungs and moistening the bones, benefiting the essence and assisting the yang, curing thirst and relieving stranguria, calming asthma and relieving cough, and it is suitable for those with pulmonary tuberculosis and coughing up blood, as well as those with qi deficiency and blood depletion".

According to clinical observations, the gecko's epidermis is rich in hormones, which can indeed strengthen the mind and body, and is indeed effective for neurasthenia, frequent urination, asthma, and infantile malnutrition. People in the south often cook fresh gecko with pork or other meats, or soak dried gecko in medicinal wine, which can nourish yin and strengthen the lungs after taking.

There is a folk saying that the medicinal effect of gecko lies in its tail, and once the tail is broken off the efficacy will be greatly reduced. According to the identification of the broken tail of the gecko by relevant departments, no special substances were found in the tail of the gecko. Therefore, the statement that the medicinal effect will be lost once the tail is broken off has no scientific basis.

There are many ways to make gecko wine among the people. One is to soak it raw, which is to cut open the gecko's stomach, remove the internal organs, eyeballs, and brain marrow, wipe off the blood, and put it into the wine to soak without washing with water. The other is to soak it dry, which is to use bamboo strips to spread out the limbs of the gecko after it has been cut open and removed the internal organs, dry it over a low fire, and then soak it in wine. This way the gecko will not deteriorate. The finished medicines produced with gecko as the main ingredient include gecko essence, gecko wine, gecko kidney-tonifying pills, gecko Panax notoginseng wine, etc.

Due to its remarkable efficacy, shortage of supply and high price, some unscrupulous people sometimes use geckos and other things to impersonate geckos and sell them, thus deceiving people. The characteristics of genuine geckos are: flat, with a head, neck and trunk length of 9 to 18 cm, with the head and neck accounting for about 1/3, the abdomen and back are 6 to 11 cm wide, and the tail is 6 to 12 cm long.

The head is slightly flat and triangular, and the eyes are mostly sunken. The edges of the jaws are densely covered with fine teeth, but there are no large teeth. The snout is semicircular, the snout scales do not cut through the nostrils and are connected to the nasal scales. There is one upper nasal scale on each side, separated by the frontal scales. There are 12 pairs of upper lip scales and 21 lower lip scales (including chin scales). The back of the abdomen is oval and the abdomen is thin.

The back is gray-black or silver-gray, with yellow-white or gray-green spots scattered or densely packed into inconspicuous stripes, and the spine and ribs on both sides are protruding. All four feet have toes; there are only webbed marks between the toes, and there are suction cups on the bottom of the toes. The tail is thin and solid, with slight bones, the same color as the back, and has 7 obvious silver-gray rings. The whole body is densely covered with round or polygonal, slightly shiny fine scales. It has a fishy smell and a slightly salty taste.

Fake geckos are impersonated by various animals of neighboring families, such as geckos, wart newts, iguanas, stream salamanders, webbed geckos, waxy lizards, etc. Be careful to identify them when purchasing.

Through the detailed introduction above, it is not difficult for us to find that the role and effect of Gecko are so great. It can not only nourish the kidney, but also relieve cough. More importantly, its nourishing effect is very similar to that of ginseng. In addition, gecko can also be used to make medicinal wine, which is actually another manifestation of the role and efficacy of gecko.