About This Herb*
Traditional Chinese Medicine background and properties
Herb Description*
Long Chi (Dragon's Teeth) is a fossilized tooth from ancient mammals, used in Chinese medicine primarily to calm the mind and ease anxiety. It is especially valued for treating insomnia with disturbing dreams, palpitations with nervousness, and childhood convulsions. Its cool, heavy nature helps settle an overactive mind and reduce restlessness.
Herb Category*
Main Actions*
- Calms the Spirit and Settles Fright
- Clears Heat and Eliminates Irritability
- Calms the Liver and Subdues Yang
How These Actions Work*
'Settles fright and calms the spirit' is the primary action of Long Chi. As a heavy, mineral-fossil substance, it physically weighs down and anchors the spirit (Shen), which in TCM is housed in the Heart. When the spirit becomes unsettled due to fright, shock, or emotional turbulence, a person may experience palpitations, anxiety, insomnia, or even manic behaviour. Long Chi's dense, heavy nature presses downward on the Heart, helping to re-anchor the spirit. This is the core mechanism behind its use for insomnia with dream-disturbed sleep, palpitations with anxiety, childhood convulsions, and epilepsy. Compared to its close relative Long Gu (Dragon Bone), Long Chi is considered specifically superior for calming fright and settling the spirit.
'Clears Heat and eliminates irritability' reflects Long Chi's cool thermal nature. When Heat (especially Heart Fire) disturbs the spirit, it produces restlessness, irritability, a sensation of body heat, and difficulty sleeping. Long Chi's coolness helps clear this Heat from the Heart, calming the mind. This is why it appears in formulas treating children with high fevers accompanied by convulsions, or adults who feel feverish and agitated.
'Calms the Liver and subdues Yang' relates to Long Chi's channel entry into the Liver. When Liver Yin is insufficient, Liver Yang can rise unchecked, causing dizziness, headaches, irritability, and emotional volatility. Long Chi's heavy, descending nature pulls the rising Yang back down, restoring balance. This action is shared with Long Gu, though Long Chi is more focused on the spirit-calming aspect than on the astringent function.
Patterns Addressed*
In TCM, symptoms cluster into recognizable patterns of disharmony that reveal what's out of balance in the body. Long Chi is traditionally associated with these specific patterns.
The following describes this herb's classification within Traditional Chinese Medicine theory and is provided for educational purposes only.
Why Long Chi addresses this pattern
When Heart Fire flares upward, it disturbs the spirit (Shen), leading to restlessness, anxiety, palpitations, and insomnia. Long Chi enters the Heart channel and has a cool thermal nature, allowing it to both clear Heart Heat and physically anchor the disturbed spirit through its heavy, mineral quality. Its astringent taste further helps to contain the spirit that has been scattered by excess Fire. This dual mechanism of cooling and weighing down makes Long Chi particularly suited for Heart Fire patterns where the mind is agitated.
A practitioner would look for one or more of these signs
Palpitations with a feeling of nervousness or dread
Difficulty falling or staying asleep, with restless dreaming
Restlessness and mental agitation with heat sensation
Why Long Chi addresses this pattern
When Liver Yin becomes insufficient, Liver Yang rises unchecked, causing dizziness, headaches, irritability, and emotional instability. Long Chi enters the Liver channel and, as a heavy fossil substance, has a strong descending action that pulls rising Yang back down. Its cool nature also helps to counterbalance the Heat that often accompanies Liver Yang rising. While Long Gu shares this action, Long Chi is preferred when the pattern prominently features spirit disturbance such as fright, anxiety, or insomnia alongside the typical Liver Yang symptoms.
A practitioner would look for one or more of these signs
Dizziness and vertigo from Yang rising to the head
Irritability and emotional volatility
Headaches, especially at the temples or vertex
Why Long Chi addresses this pattern
This pattern involves the spirit (Shen) becoming unsettled, often after fright, shock, or prolonged emotional strain, leading to palpitations, fearfulness, poor concentration, and insomnia with disturbing dreams. Long Chi's heavy, dense fossil nature directly anchors and stabilises the spirit in the Heart. Its sweet taste gently nourishes while its astringent quality helps prevent the spirit from scattering. Unlike warming spirit-calming herbs, Long Chi's cool nature makes it especially appropriate when there is concurrent Heat or irritability alongside the spirit disturbance.
A practitioner would look for one or more of these signs
Heart palpitations triggered by fright or shock
Dream-disturbed sleep with frequent waking
Convulsions or epileptic episodes, particularly in children
TCM Properties*
Cool
Sweet (甘 gān), Astringent (涩 sè)
Animal — part (动物部分 dòng wù bù fèn)
This is partial information on the herb's TCM properties. More detailed information is available on the herb's dedicated page
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.