By Eric Brand

We are having a beautiful summer in Colorado, and yesterday by my house I saw two young deer with magnificent antlers forming. The antlers were still in their young, velvet stage so the two bucks were still getting along, foraging for food together. A bit later in the year their antlers will ossify and this friendly springtime companionship will fade… soon that pair will be battling for mates with those antlers.

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Now, I am normally one to simply take in the beauty of majestic wild creatures in nature, but in my heart of hearts I will admit that a little part of me can’t help but assess the size and grade of those antlers. I guess I’ve spent too much time in China. I seem to recall the saying “you know you’ve spent too much time in Asia when the footprints on the toilet seat are your own.” I wonder if a similar expression exists for TCM: “you know you think too much about Chinese medicine when you go for a hike and think you are in a pharmacy.” Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t reach for a tranq dart or anything, I was just admiring the beauty of the creatures in their natural habitat. I promise.

Why the mystique about velvet antler (Lu Rong) in the first place? It is the first item listed in every textbook under yang-supplementation, just as Ma Huang is first under exterior-resolving, Fu Zi is first under interior-warming, and Ren Shen is first under qi-supplementation. Like Fu Zi and Ren Shen, Lu Rong has an entire culture around its use, with significant regional variations. Lu Rong is particularly famous in Korean culture, and it is regarded as a general panacea for young and old alike. I once met a Korean friend who grew up on a deer farm, and every year as a girl she was forced to drink a huge bowl of the fresh blood after the antlers were cut- apparently she was a bit weak as a child so her family had her drink this blood as an annual tonic. In terms of biomedicine, the pharmacological effects of pantocrine (the active constituent in velvet antler) are extremely impressive, rivaled only by the powerhouses in Chinese herbal pharmacology such as Dan Shen, Ren Shen, and San Qi.

Lu Rong is generally harvested from captive deer with the use of anesthesia. Regardless of whether or not the antler is used medicinally, the antlers of all domesticated male deer are removed for safety reasons. Thus, as long as it is appropriately harvested, velvet antler is generally regarded as an ethically acceptable medicinal. According to the doctrine of signatures, “items of blood and flesh” have an affinity with humans and are potentially powerful medicinals. Lu Rong comes from the yang part (head) of a powerful, active male animal; it is fast-growing, expansive, upward-reaching, and full of blood and essence. Antler tissue is similar to bone tissue but during the velvet stage the antlers are soft and vascular. Thus, it is not hard to see why Lu Rong is associated with the kidney (in fact, most deer products are) and yang, and Lu Rong is generally considered to be the most potent yang-supplementing agent in the Chinese materia medica.

Lu Rong can be divided into many different grades. Two species of deer are commonly used, Cervus nippon (Mei Hua Lu) and Cervus elaphus (Ma Lu), both are considered acceptable but sometimes Mei Hua Lu is preferred. One antler can be divided into a dozen grades or more. The tip of the central antler is the most valuable, and it is often lustrous, oily, soft, and golden-yellow when sliced; this type should always be refrigerated and it is extremely expensive. As one moves down the central antler the grade gradually decreases. The thick pieces at the base are less valuable and the slices made from the accessory antler (usually each side has a central and accessory antler) are relatively inexpensive as well. The most valuable pieces are thought to be the most effective, and there is layer of gelatin on the outside ring of the antler that is often correlated with the price and perceived quality. When the gelatinous outer layer is thick and filled with gelatin the product is considered to be superior.

Lu Rong comes from the relatively soft antler during its velvet stage (the velvet itself is not the medicinal part, but the antler has velvet on the surface before it hardens to become bone-like). Most velvet antler is called “blood antler” (xue rong) but a whitish form also exists; this form has had the blood drained from it and is called “blood-drained antler” (pai xue rong). This latter form is considered to be much more moderate in its therapeutic effect, and is thought to be suitable for vacuous patients that cannot tolerate strong supplementation. In general, Lu Rong is described as a “drastically supplementing” medicinal, a term that is usually only applied to a few items such as Lu Rong, Ge Jie, and Rou Cong Rong.

Several different antler products are used in Chinese medicine beyond Lu Rong itself. Lu Rong, the velvet antler, is by far the strongest of them in terms of supplementing yang. Lu Rong is used to invigorate yang, boost essence-blood and strengthen sinew and bone. It regulates the chong and ren vessels to treat flooding and spotting or vaginal discharge as well. Finally, Lu Rong expresses the toxin of sores, and is used in the treatment of sores that, owing to vacuity of right qi, remain flat and do not swell or rupture.

Although all of the deer antler products share a common source and general nature, each has particular actions that are relatively distinct, and their supplementing effect is dramatically different. Besides Lu Rong, we use Lu Jiao Jiao (the gelatin from cooking the mature antlers), Lu Jiao (the mature antlers), and Lu Jiao Shuang (the dregs left over after the gelatin has been cooked out to make Lu Jiao Jiao).

Lu Jiao Jiao is weak for supplementing yang but stronger for supplementing essence and blood. Lu Jiao Jiao has the drawback of being richer and stickier. This is a drawback in some ways but it is the same thing that allows it to be so good for building essence and blood. It is a comparatively yin substance that is used in relatively high quantities and it additionally has an action of stopping bleeding. By contrast, Lu Rong is used in smaller doses and it has a more yang nature; it is much more effective for supplementing yang, but this same nature gives it the drawback of causing upbearing of yang and stirring of blood when it is taken inappropriately.

Lu Jiao (mature antler) has similar actions as Lu Rong, but it is much weaker. Its distinct characteristic is that it also moves the blood and disperses swelling, but Lu Jiao is generally used much less than the other deer antler products. Interestingly, the vast majority of granule companies that market “Lu Rong” products actually use Lu Jiao instead of Lu Rong. I know this because I’ve been to many granule factories and I’ve seen that the actual raw material used is Lu Jiao most of the time. Unfortunately, most Westerners don’t know the difference between these two substances so most manufacturers simply label the product as Lu Rong to prevent confusion. Most customers only know the name Lu Rong and don’t know that there are different forms and grades of antler- granules made from true Lu Rong would be incredibly expensive and they couldn’t compete with the much cheaper version that is made from Lu Jiao and sold under the name Lu Rong. Of course, I haven’t been everywhere and there may be a company or two that actually uses Lu Rong, but to the best of my knowledge nearly all the product on the granule market is made from Lu Jiao, not Lu Rong (the main difference relates to the honesty of labeling).

Lu Jiao Shuang has a weak supplementing effect but it possesses an astringent action. It is commonly used for uterine bleeding and vaginal discharge, and is an important medicinal in gynecology.