Dangyang Golden-Headed Centipede

Dangyang Golden-Headed Centipede

　　According to the *Dangyang County Annals*, the local people of Dangyang once cultivated centipedes as a crop to supply traditional medicine shops, indicating that this practice has a long history, although it is no longer heard of today.

　　　　Within the territory of Dangyang, the area is famous for producing medicinal centipedes. Locals make a living by trading in medicinal centipedes, managing suitable habitats for them, protecting their populations, and breeding them through methods such as reproduction or improving their growth environment and supplementing food. After harvesting, they sell the centipedes to medicine merchants for income, using it as a livelihood. This shows that in ancient China, there were already people engaged in the farming of medicinal centipedes.

　　　　The centipede is warm in nature, pungent in flavor, and toxic. It has functions such as calming wind and relieving pain, attacking toxins and dispersing nodules, and calming nerves and relieving pain. It is mainly used to treat conditions such as hemiplegia, trauma, bone tuberculosis, scrofula, snake bites, infantile convulsions, and stroke. Modern research shows that the main components of centipedes include histamine, hemolytic proteins, various amino acids, aliphatic amines, and cholesterol, along with orange pigments and light blue-green pigments. The venom of the centipede exhibits a nicotinic-acetylcholine-like hemolytic effect on the central nervous system of rats, capable of causing necrosis and disappearance of spermatogonia in mice, indicating an inhibitory effect on tumor cells. In recent years, it has shown good therapeutic effects on digestive system tumors and cancers. The centipede is also a key ingredient in traditional Chinese patent medicines such as “Snake Medicine Tablets,” “Detoxifying Plasters,” and “Wind-Dispersing and Collateral-Activating Pills.” This shows that the centipede is an indispensable component among animal-based medicinal materials.