The centipede is also known as ‘Tianlong’ and ‘Baishou’, which is the dried whole body of the less-pronged giant centipede of the centipede family, first recorded in the ‘Shennong’s Materia Medica’. Li Shizhen in ‘Compendium of Materia Medica’ says: ‘The centipede comes out in spring and hibernates in winter, with fast legs and a forked tail.’ ‘The Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica’ also says: ‘The centipede has a black-green back, red legs, and yellow abdomen under the belly.’ In the manufacturing industry, it is also known as ‘Red-footed centipede’. It is harvested from the mountains from April to June every year, first boiled with hot water to kill it, then inserted a bamboo stick into the head and tail, straightened it, and dried it in the sun or wind to be used as medicine. The main producing areas are Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Hunan Province, Hubei Province, Anhui Province, Henan Province, Shaanxi Province, and other places. It has a warm nature, tastes spicy, is toxic, and has the effects of dispelling wind, calming惊, attacking poison, and resolving masses. Currently, there are many counterfeit products in the market, often using the multi-pronged centipede of the same family as a substitute for the genuine centipede, so attention should be paid to identification.

Genuine centipede

It is a dried whole body with a flat, elongated strip shape, the trunk usually has 22 segments, the last segment is slightly finer, the body length is about 9-16 centimeters, the width is about 5-10 millimeters, the head is light brown, the back is dark green with luster, with two prominent ridges on the back, the abdomen is yellowish brown, concave, the legs are light brown, curved backward, the last segment is like a thorn, and there are holes for processing on the head and tail; the cross-section has cracks or bitterness; the number of spines on both sides is less; it has a slight fishy smell and a unique pungent smell, tastes spicy and slightly salty. It is preferable to have a dry body, long strips, red head, red-brown legs, black-green body, and detailed head and legs.

Counterfeit multi-pronged centipede

The head is deep red, the back is brown or dark green, the legs are light yellow; the number of spines on both sides is more than that of the genuine product, hence the name ‘multi-pronged centipede’, and the body size is also larger than that of the genuine product.

The major difference in distinguishing the authenticity of the centipede lies in the color of the insect’s legs. The famous pharmaceutical expert of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Tao Hongjing, said: ‘The red-legged centipede is only found in the Changshan of Jingkou, the mountains of Goryeo Dynasty, and Maoshan. It is found in the decayed grass, do not hurt it, and dry it in the sun. There are many yellow-legged ones, but they are not suitable for use.’

The scientific research of contemporary pharmacology confirms that the centipede has the effects of anti-tumor and anticonvulsant; the aqueous extract has different levels of inhibitory effects on skin fungi such as Viola mold, bright red dermatophytes, and inseparable colored blastomyces; clinical medical reports show that it has a significant effect on treating tetanus, whooping cough, submandibular lymphadenitis, osteomyelitis, paronychia, and burns and scalds. Although the counterfeit multi-pronged centipede is similar to the less-pronged giant centipede in the same family of animals, it does not have the effects of the genuine product and has not been included in the national pharmacopoeia, so it cannot be used as a substitute for the genuine product.