The following is a list of traditional Chinese medicines as well as those used in the related systems of Japanese Kampo, Traditional Korean Medicine, and Vietnamese Thuoc Bac (Northern Medicine). Chinese herbology studies the use of these materials.

TCM and allied systems mainly makes use of plant elements and extracts. Animal (including human) parts and excreta as well as inorganic minerals are used as well.Foster & Yue 1992, p.11 There are roughly 13,000 medicinals used in China and over 100,000 medicinal prescriptions recorded in the ancient literature.Certain progress of clinical research on Chinese integrative medicine, Keji Chen, Bei Yu, Chinese Medical Journal, 1999, 112 (10), p. 934, In Korea, more than 5000 herbs and 7000 herbal formulas are used.

Mammals Human parts and excreta

Human body parts and excreta have been used in TCM since ancient times. More common ones include a remedy made from licorice and human feces, dried human placenta, finger nails, child's urine, hair, and adult urinary sediments (Hominis Urinae Sedimentum, Ren Zhong Bai).Regenerative Medicine Using Pregnancy-Specific Biological Substances, Niranjan Bhattacharya, Phillip Stubblefield, ed, p.vi Uncommon parts include pubic hair, muscle, blood, bone, semen, and menstrual blood. The Bencao Gangmu describes the use of 35 human waste products and body parts as medicines, such as bones, fingernail, hairs, dandruff, earwax, impurities on the teeth, feces, urine, sweat, and organs. - Also listed are human breath and the "soul of criminals that were hanged", which is considered under TCM to be a material object resembling charcoal that is dug out of the ground beneath the body shortly after a hanged criminal died.

Very few human or allegedly human products remain in TCM today.

There is considerable controversy about the ethics of use of criminals for body parts, using humans as commodities, and consumption of human body parts which some consider to be cannibalism.

Dried human placenta Dried human placenta is believed to treat male impotence, male and female infertility, chronic cough, asthma, and insomnia.Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, Volker Scheid, Dan Bensky, Andrew Ellis, Randall BaroletChinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Dan Bensky, Steven Clavey, Erich Stoger, Andrew Gamble, Lilian Lai BenskyAn Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica, Jing-Nuan WuA Materia Medica for Chinese Medicine: plants, minerals and animal products, Carl-Herman HempenZiheche, TCM Treatment The Traditional Chinese Medicine Materia Medica Clinical Reference, Peter Holmes (Author), Jing Wang (Author), Heather McIver

Human feces and urine

The contemporary use of licorice in prepared human feces is known as Ren Zhong Huang. Human urine sediment is called Ren Zhong Bai. Both Ren Zhong Huang and Ren Zhong Bai are used to treat inflammatory conditions and fungal infections of the skin and mouth."The Treatment of 75 Cases of Pediatric Oral Thrush with the Sweet, Cold, Protecting Yin Method" by Wang Le-ping, Shang Hai Zhong Yi Yao Za Zhi (The Shanghai Journal of Chinese Medicine & Medicinals), #5, 1994, p. 22,

Human penis

Human penis was previously believed under TCM to stop bleeding, and as with other TCM medicines, the basis for belief in its therapeutic effects is anecdotal and not based on the scientific method; Li Shizhen, author of the greatest pharmacological work in pre-modern China, the Bencao Gangmu, objected to use of human penis, but cited the anecdotal evidence and thus included it in his book.

Human pubic hair Human pubic hair ("shady hair") was claimed to cure snakebite, difficult birth, abnormal urination, and "yin and yang disorder" (A disease unique to TCM based on traditional Chinese views of sexual behavior).

Donkey-hide gelatin Gelatin made from the hide of donkeys (ejiao) is made into pellets for use in making teas.

Deer penis

Deer penis is commonly sold in pharmacies.The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 274, Atlantic Monthly Co., 1994 and served in specialized restaurants such as the Guo Li Zhuang restaurant in Beijing. The deer penis is typically very large and some proponents believe it must be extracted from the deer whilst still alive. Often it is then sliced into small pieces, typically by women and then roasted and dried in the sun and then preserved.

China banned deer penis wine during the 2008 Summer Olympics, as it is believed that the wine is an effective treatment for athletic injuries.

Flying squirrel feces Flying squirrel feces is used to stop bleeding.

The text Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology notes that flying squirrel feces has a "distinct odor" that "may decrease patient compliance" with ingesting it.Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology, John Chen and Tina Chen, Art of Medicine Press, ,

It is believed to have uses for amenorrhea, menses pain, postpartum abdominal pain, epigastric pain, and chest pain. It is boiled in a decoction with other herbs prior to ingestion. If it is to be used in a formula to stop heavy bleeding; it is dry fried prior to further processing. Exposure to flying squirrels in the wild has been associated with Rickettsia infections.

Pangolin scales

Scales of pangolins, Chuan Shan Jia [Manitis Squama], are used in traditional Chinese medicine. is classified as salty and cool and as entering the Liver and Stomach channels. It is traditionally used in Chinese medicine to disperse blood stasis (for promoting menstruation and lactation), reducing swelling and promoting discharge of pus (for abscesses and boils etc.) and for expelling wind-dampness (for pain due to rehumatism/arthritis).

Rhinoceros horn The horn of a rhinoceros is used as an antipyretic - because it is believed to "cool the blood" - however several scientific studies failed to find any active Antipyretic Molecule in rhinoceros horn.Facts about traditional Chinese medicine (TCM): rhinoceros horn, Encucolpedia Britanica, The black market trade of rhinoceros parts has decimated the world's population by more than 90 percent over the past 40 years."Rhino horn: All myth, no medicine", National Geographic, Rhishja Larson

Tiger penis

The penis and testicles of male tigers is used by some to treat erectile dysfunction and to improve sexual performance, despite tiger penis being a placebo. Critically endangered species such as the Sumatran tiger are often being hunted to keep up with the illegal demand for tiger parts.

Reptiles and amphibians Snake oil

Snake oil is the most widely known Chinese medicine in the west, due to extensive marketing in the west in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and wild claims of its efficacy to treat many maladies.Snake Oil, Western Journal of Medicine, Aug 1989;151(2):208, R. A. KuninFats that Heal: Fats that Kill, Udo Erasmus, 1993, Snake oil is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat joint pain by rubbing it on joints as a liniment.

This is theoretically possible because snake oil is higher in eicosapentaenoic acid than most other oils. But there are no scientific studies showing that rubbing it on joints has any positive effect, or that snake oil is safe for daily consumption.

Toad secretions

The secretions of various species of toads are an ingredient in certain traditional Chinese teas. However, these teas may contain deadly amounts of cardiac glycosides and thus should be avoided.

Toad-headed gecko

Toad-head geckos are gutted, beheaded, dried and then crushed, and are used to treat asthma, male impotence and the common cold.

Turtle shell

Widespread medicinal use of turtle shells is of concern to conservationists.

Marine life Seahorse

Seahorse (Hai Ma) is a fundamental ingredient in therapies for a variety of disorders, including asthma, arteriosclerosis, incontinence, impotence, insomnia, thyroid disorders, skin ailments, broken bones, heart disease, throat infections, abdominal pain, sores, skin infections; it is also used as an aphrodisiac and to facilitate childbirth.Sea Horse , Acupuncture Today. As many as 20 million seahorses per year may be used for TCM purposes.Traditional Chinese Medicine and Endangered Animals , Encyclopædia Britannica Advocacy for Animals."Seahorse Crusader Amanda Vincent" on Nova television show In one study, 58 seahorse samples were collected from various TCM vendors in Taiwan, and of all the eight species identified from the fifty-eight samples, seven were vulnerable, and one was endangered.

Shark fin soup

Shark fin soup is traditionally regarded as beneficial for health in East Asia, and its status as an elite dish has led to huge demand with the increase of affluence in China, devastating shark populations.

Insects Blister beetle

Blister beetles (Ban mao) are believed under TCM to treat skin lesions, because they cause them.An Effective Supplemental Therapy for Cancer, Acupuncture Today, February, 2010, Vol. 11, Issue 02, Haitao Cao They contain the blister agent cantharidin.

Some species of blister beetles include; Margined blister beetle, and twenty-five hundred more.

Centipede

Powdered centipede (wu gong) is believed under TCM to treat tetanus, seizures, convulsions, skin lesions, and pain. It is toxic. The Chinese red-headed centipede (Scolopendra sunspinipes mutilans) is the only registered species for clinical application in China.

Hornets nest

Hornets nest (lu feng fang) is used to treat skin disorders and ringworm.Lu Feng Fang, Materia Metrica It may be toxic.

Leech Hirudo medicinalis is used in TCM to treat amenorrhea, abdominal and chest pain, and constipation.

Scorpion Dried scorpions () may be ground into a powder and mixed with water. It is said to aid in detoxification.Scorpion, Acupuncture Todady A scorpion venom peptide was found to help with arthritis in vitro.

Fungi Various fungi are used in TCM. Some may have scientifically proven medicinal value, while others may be extremely toxic.

Supernatural mushroom

The supernatural mushroom (lingzhi mushroom, Chinese "linh chi" = "supernatural mushroom", "reishi mushroom" in Japan) encompasses several fungal species of the genus Ganoderma, and most commonly refers to the closely related species, Ganoderma lucidum and Ganoderma tsugae. G. lucidum enjoys special veneration in East Asia, where it has been used as a medicinal mushroom in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 2,000 years,Jones, Kenneth (1990), Reishi: Ancient Herb for Modern Times, Sylvan Press, p. 6. making it one of the oldest mushrooms known to have been used medicinally. Today, the ling zhi mushroom is used in a herbal formula designed to minimize the side effects of chemotherapy.

Extracts of the mushroom are used as a commercial pharmaceutical to suppress cancer cell proliferation and migration, although the mechanisms by which this is achieved are currently unknown.

Lion's Mane Used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries, Hericium erinaceus is commonly marketed as a dietary supplement for its purported benefits to memory, and it is not known by NIH as a toxicant to the liver.

Tremella fuciformis Tremella fuciformis is used as a beauty product by women in China and Japan as it reportedly increases moisture retention in the skin and prevents senile degradation of micro-blood vessels in the skin, reducing wrinkles and smoothing fine lines. Other beneficial effects come from its ability to increase the activity of SOD in the brain and liver.

Caterpillar Fungus The caterpillar fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) as a medicine was initially used by Tibetans no later than the fifteenth century, and was later assimilated into Chinese materia medica from the eighteenth century onwards.

Plants There are thousands of plants that are used as medicines.Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology, by John K. Chen, Tina T. Chen The following list represents a very small portion of the TCM pharmacopoeia.

Monkshood root