Dragon's Bone, Fossilized Bone

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Calms the spirit and settles agitation - Long Gu is classically used for insomnia, fright, anxiety, and palpitations when the spirit is unanchored.
• Anchors floating Yang and subdues restlessness - it is used when dizziness, irritability, or agitation arise from upward disturbance that needs a heavy settling mineral.
• Astringes leakage - unlike Long Chi, Long Gu is strongly associated with spontaneous sweating, seminal leakage, uterine discharge, and other patterns of instability.

Secondary Actions

• Long Gu is typically crushed and decocted first because its fossil-mineral nature makes it dense and heavy.
• Its spirit-calming use is often paired with its ability to secure leakage, which gives it a broader range than Long Chi in deficiency-restlessness patterns.

Classic Formulas

• Gui Zhi Jia Long Gu Mu Li Tang - classic formula for deficiency agitation, dream-disturbed sleep, and seminal leakage with an unanchored spirit.
• Long Gu with Mu Li and Suan Zao Ren - common spirit-calming and leakage-securing combination logic for insomnia and spontaneous sweating.
• Long Gu with Fu Shen and Yuan Zhi - traditional approach when palpitations and fright predominate.

Classical References

• Traditional materia medica describe Long Gu as sweet, astringent, and neutral, entering the Heart, Liver, and Kidney to calm the spirit and astringe leakage.
• Its use in formulas such as Gui Zhi Jia Long Gu Mu Li Tang highlights the combination of shen-settling and stabilizing actions that defines Long Gu.