''Guilinggao'' (), also known as tortoise jelly (though not technically correct) or turtle powder, is a jelly-like

Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

, also sold as a dessert. It was traditionally made from the ''gao'', or paste of the plastron (bottom shell) from the turtle ''

Cuora trifasciata __NOTOC__ The golden coin turtle or Chinese three-striped box turtle (''Cuora trifasciata'') is a species of turtle endemic to southern China. Distribution The species is distributed in China, but only on the island of Hainan (it is extirpated fr ...

'' (commonly known as "three-lined box turtle", or "golden coin turtle", 金錢龜), APPENDIX 1: "Golden Coin Turtle" (A report dated April 27, 2002 by ECES News (Earth Crash Earth Spirit)). Quote: "The popularity of turtle jelly can be seen in the success of Ng Yiu-ming. His chain of specialty stores has grown from one shop in 1991 to 68 today, in Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China. Ng also packs turtle jelly into portable containers sold at convenience stores. He insists no golden coin turtles are used. 'They're too expensive' he said. '... you know how to choose the herbal ingredients, jelly made from other kinds of turtles will be just as good.'" and a variety of

herbal products Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies ...

, in particular, China roots ''

Smilax ''Smilax'' is a genus of about 300–350 species, found in the tropics and subtropics worldwide. In China for example about 80 are found (39 of which are endemic), while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico. They are climbing flowering ...

glabra'' (土伏苓, ''Tu fu ling'')., APPENDIX 3: "Tortoise Jelly (Turtle Jelly)" Although the critically endangered

golden coin turtle __NOTOC__ The golden coin turtle or Chinese three-striped box turtle (''Cuora trifasciata'') is a species of turtle endemic to southern China. Distribution The species is distributed in China, but only on the island of Hainan (it is extirpat ...

(''Cuora trifasciata'') is commercially farmed in modern China, it is extremely expensive; Also at http://sites.google.com/site/jfparham/2008Shi.pdf therefore, even when turtle-derived ingredients are used in commercially available guilinggao, they come from other, more commonly available, turtle species., APPENDIX 2: "Softshell Turtle Farming". Quote: "Chinese softshell turtle used ... as a substitute ... for the golden coin turtle for making turtle jelly." More often, commercially available guilinggao sold as a dessert does not contain turtle shell powder. They share the same herbal additives as the medicine and are similarly marketed as being good for skin complexion when ingested.

History

According to a legend, the

Tongzhi Emperor The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), born Zaichun of the Aisin Gioro clan, was the ninth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, from 1861 to 1875, which effectively laste ...

nearly cured his

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

by taking guilinggao. However,

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese noblewoman, concubine and later regent who effectively controlled ...

believed his disease could be cured by worshipping a smallpox

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

. She succeeded in convincing the emperor to quit his guilinggao regimen. The emperor died soon after. Guilinggao is thought to be good for the skin, allowing for a healthier complexion upon repeated consumption. Other supposed positive effects of the jelly includes improving circulation, assisting muscle growth, relieving itching, reducing acne, and kidney restoration.

Variety

Regular guilinggao jelly is black in appearance; however, the actual color is more of a dark brown. Naturally, it is not sweet, but slightly bitter, although sweeteners such as honey can be added to make it more palatable.

Availability

Relatively inexpensive canned guilinggao jelly with poptop lids and plastic spoons for immediate consumption can be found in many

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Asian countries, as well as Chinatowns in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is also available for purchase in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. There are two varieties, one of them containing Lingzhi powder.

Preparation

Traditional guilinggao recipes require boiling turtle shell for many hours, first by itself, then with a variety of herbal ingredients, so that the liquid is gradually evaporated and a jelly-like residue forms. Rice flour and corn starch are added to thicken the product. Guilinggao jelly can be prepared at home from commercially sold powdered concentrate (the "guilinggao powder"), similarly to how

Jello Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a r ...

is made. When it is prepared, other herbal substances, such as ginseng, are added to the jelly to give it certain tastes and medicinal values.

References

*{{cite web, title=Endangered species issues affecting turtles and tortoises used in Chinese medicine, first=Subhuti, last=Dharmananda, url=http://www.itmonline.org/arts/turtles.htm See in particular:
APPENDIX 1: "Golden Coin Turtle" (A report dated April 27, 2002 by ECES News (Earth Crash Earth Spirit)),
APPENDIX 2: "Softshell Turtle Farming", and
APPENDIX 3: "Tortoise Jelly (Turtle Jelly)"

External links

Gui-ling-gao, a traditional Chinese functional food, prevents oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cardiomyocytes
on

PubMed PubMed is a free search engine accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health maintain t ...