Is ambergris a spice or a medicinal herb? Expert: It works like musk.

A few days ago, there were media reports that a man in Xiamen picked up something with a fist size and a foul smell while walking along the seaside. Experts identified it as a rare treasure, the famous spice ambergris. How to distinguish ambergris from spices or herbs? On April 17, Professor Wang Guangzhi, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine Resources and Identification, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, was interviewed by a reporter from Science and Technology Daily. According to Wang Guangzhi, recently there has been a rumor that someone found ambergris at the seaside, "but it's not easy to evaluate ambergris because they haven't seen it with their own eyes." Ambergris is the intestinal secretion of cetaceans in the ocean, and sperm whales are the most common.

"Because it is extremely rare, it has been a precious traditional Chinese medicine since ancient times, but also a high-grade spice." He said that in the Compendium of Materia Medica, ambergris can be recorded as "promoting blood circulation, enriching the essence, helping the Yangdao and promoting blood circulation". Traditional Chinese medicine believes that ambergris has the functions of promoting qi and blood circulation, dispersing knots and relieving pain, diffusing water and drenching water. It is often used in the treatment of dizziness and depression, heartburn and abdominal pain, cough and asthma, etc. Which ingredients of ambergris make it so magical? Wang Guangzhi said that modern chemical analysis showed that ambergris mainly contains ambergris alcohol (about 25%), ambergris aldehyde and other compounds, but also contains fecal sterols, epifecal sterols, Cholesterol and other sterols; in addition, there are CALCIUM, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, gallium, zinc, aluminum, manganese, strontium and other metal elements. "Modern pharmacological studies have confirmed that its pharmacological effect is similar to that of musk. A small amount of musk can excite the central nervous system of animals, while a large amount of musk can inhibit it." Because it is difficult to obtain and valuable to use, it has always been expensive, almost equivalent to gold, he said.

And for many netizens, how to identify ambergris is a question. Wang Guangzhi said that at present, ambergris is believed to be a condensate secreted by the intestine of sperm whales and a secretion excreted from the intestine of sperm whales. According to the above sources, it can be known that the fresh ambergris has a fishy odor and is light black. Under the action of sea water, it will gradually become gray, light gray and finally white with the change of time. He said that because of its complex origin and formation process, it is not common. "Personally, in order to identify ambergris, it is necessary to have relevant biological, ecological and chemical knowledge, especially professional practitioners familiar with marine life and marine ecology, in order to accurately identify it."