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Photo of ejiao gelatin block, dark brown-black and glossy with translucent edges

Ejiao

阿膠 · Ē Jiāo

Builds blood, stops bleeding, and moistens dryness all at once

Properties

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What it does

Ejiao is donkey-hide boiled down to a gelatin — and TCM considers it one of the most direct blood tonics available. It nourishes Liver blood and Kidney yin, moistens the Lungs for dry cough, and stops bleeding from deficiency. That combination of building blood while simultaneously stopping blood loss makes it uniquely suited to gynecological patterns: heavy periods, spotting between cycles, uterine bleeding, and infertility from blood deficiency. It also calms internal wind from yin deficiency — muscle spasms and tremors that come from dryness rather than excess. The preparation is separate from the decoction: ejiao is dissolved in warm water or rice wine and stirred in at the end.

How to take it

Drink

Do NOT add ejiao to a boiling decoction. Dissolve 3–9g separately in warm water, broth, or rice wine, then stir into the finished decoction or drink straight. Once or twice daily.

Look for it as a key ingredient in Wen Jing Tang (Warm the Menses) for irregular periods with cold in the lower abdomen

Safety

  • Animal product derived from donkey hide. Not suitable for vegans or those avoiding animal products
  • Heavy and cloying. Avoid if you have digestive weakness, loose stools, bloating, or nausea — it can worsen Spleen deficiency
  • Do not boil directly in a decoction. Dissolve separately in warm liquid and add at the end
  • Talk to your doctor before starting medicinal use, especially if you take medication or are pregnant

Where it comes from

Ejiao has been made in Dong'e County, Shandong Province for over 2,500 years — the local well water, unusually mineral-rich, was considered essential to its quality. The classic process: wash and soak donkey hide, remove hair, stew for up to 16 hours, strain, concentrate, add rock sugar, rice wine, and soybean oil, then pour into molds and cut into slabs. Black donkey hide is considered highest quality. Ejiao became part of Chinese court medicine and is referenced in the Divine Husbandman's Classic of the Materia Medica. It remains one of China's most valuable traditional medicines.