Gui Lu Er Xian Jiao
Quick Facts
- What it is: Gui Lu Er Xian Jiao is a classic Chinese herbal syrup made from tortoise shell, deer antler, ginseng and goji berries, used as a deep tonic for tiredness and weakness.
- Main uses: Long-term tiredness and weakness, Sore, weak low back and knees, Night sweats, Low sex drive
- Best for: People under a trained Chinese medicine practitioner who match the traditional pattern of deep depletion
- Active ingredients: Collagen and gelatin, Calcium and minerals, Amino acids, Ginsenosides, Goji polysaccharides and carotenoids, Deer antler growth factors including IGF-1
- Forms: Hard glue block, Bottled syrup, Pills or tablets, Granules, Capsules
- Time to effect: Tradition says several weeks; no trial has measured it.
- Side effects: Mostly bloating, nausea and loose stools; ginseng may affect sleep, bleeding, blood sugar and blood pressure.
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What is Gui Lu Er Xian Jiao?
Gui Lu Er Xian Jiao is a thick, sweet, glue-like syrup used in Chinese herbal medicine. It is sold as a single drug (TCM formula). It is also known as Tortoise Shell and Deer Antler Syrup.
It is made by boiling four things down into a hard, gummy block: tortoise shell, deer antler, ginseng root and goji berries. The block is cut up and melted in warm water or warm rice wine.
In Chinese medicine it is given to people who feel worn out and weak. Common reasons for using it are a sore, weak low back and knees, tiredness after a long illness, night sweats, and low sex drive.
Here is the short verdict. This formula has a long, steady place in one tradition, but good human trials are thin, so long use in tradition is not proof that it works.
How does Gui Lu Er Xian Jiao work?
In Chinese medicine terms, this syrup is said to feed both yin and yang (two opposite kinds of body energy in that system). It is also said to build up jing (a deep store of vitality). Those ideas come from the tradition, and they are not measured by modern lab tests.
Modern chemistry gives some clues, but only clues. Here is what the parts are known to hold:
- Deer antler: growth factors and hormone-like substances - Tortoise shell: mostly collagen (a building protein), calcium and other minerals - Ginseng: ginsenosides, which change how nerves and blood sugar behave in lab tests
None of this shows what the finished syrup does inside a person. A substance that acts in a test tube often does nothing useful in the body. Treat any talk of how it works as an idea, not a fact.
What forms does Gui Lu Er Xian Jiao come in?
The classic form is a hard block or bar of glue. You cut off a piece and melt it in hot water, warm rice wine, or hot porridge.
Other forms you may see:
- Ready-made syrup in bottles - Small pills or tablets - Powder or granules in sachets - Capsules from Western supplement brands, often with different amounts of each herb
Quality varies a lot between makers. Some imported Chinese patent medicines have been found to hold heavy metals such as lead or mercury, or hidden drug ingredients. Buy only from a seller who tests each batch and will show you the results.
Where it comes from:
This formula comes from Chinese medicine and dates to the Ming dynasty, in the 1500s. Later Chinese formula books kept it and passed it on, and it is still made and sold across China and East Asia today.
It was written up as a tonic for people who felt used up: weak legs, sore back, poor memory, thin build, low fertility. Tortoise and deer were picked partly for their symbolic long life in Chinese thought.
One modern problem is the source animals. Several tortoise and turtle species used for gui ban are now rare or protected by law.
Who should avoid Gui Lu Er Xian Jiao?
- Do not use if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant.
- Do not use if you are breastfeeding.
- Do not use if you have a hormone-sensitive cancer, such as breast, womb, ovarian or prostate cancer, unless your cancer team agrees.
- Do not use if you have a fever, a cold, flu or any other active infection; wait until you are well.
- Do not use if you take warfarin or another blood thinner, unless your doctor agrees and checks your blood.
- Do not use if you take an MAOI antidepressant such as phenelzine.
- Do not use if you have had a transplant or take medicine that damps down your immune system.
- Do not use if you have high blood pressure that is not under control.
- Do not use if you have diabetes, unless you can test your blood sugar often and your doctor agrees.
- Do not use if you have poor digestion with bloating, loose stools or a coated tongue, as this rich syrup usually makes that worse.
- Do not give it to a child or a teenager, because of the hormone-like substances in deer antler.
- Do not use it if you avoid animal products, as it is made from tortoise shell and deer antler.
- Never buy a product made from a protected or wild-caught tortoise or turtle species.
- Do not take it in the week before planned surgery, because of the bleeding risk from ginseng.
When should you see a doctor?
See a doctor before you start if you are on any regular prescription medicine, or if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, a bleeding problem, liver or kidney disease, or any cancer.
Stop and see a doctor if you get unusual bruising or bleeding, nosebleeds, a pounding or racing heartbeat, bad headaches, or a rise in your blood pressure readings. Do the same if your blood sugar drops low.
Get urgent help for a rash with swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or any trouble breathing, as this can be a severe allergic reaction.
Do not use this formula to put off a proper check for lasting tiredness, back pain, dizziness, ringing in the ears or fertility problems. These all have treatable medical causes that need finding.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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