Traditional Chinese Medicine Has Many Uses For Seahorses

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Before we get to the medicinal uses of the Seahorse, let's learn a little bit about them.

Seahorses kind of look like horses but they are in fact a fish.

Seahorses, according to Guinness Book of World Records is the slowest fish in the sea. This is because of the small fin on their back. At the rate of 5 feet an hour, dwarf Seahorses are even slower than a snail. If the waters become to turbulent, these fish have been known to die of exhaustion.

Unlike other fish, they swim in an upright position.

Seahorses don't have teeth nor do they have stomachs. Everything they eat goes right through them. They eat constantly and their bodies take the nutrients it needs as the food passes through.

Because of their constant need to eat, they have perfected their hunting skills. They have about a 90% successful kill rate.

A group of Seahorses is called a Herd and a baby Seahorse is called a fry.

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Males are the ones that get pregnant. They entwine their tails around each other during their mating ritual, which is called "the dance". This is done every morning for several days. They also change colors during this. The actual "deed" can last up to 8 hours. The female deposits more than 1,500 eggs into the males pouch. He then fertilizes them and carries them anywhere from 9 to 45 days. The babies are born fully developed and once they are born they are "on their own" to fend for themselves. Only about 5 out of every 1,000 survive into adulthood. Once the male gives birth the female is ready with more eggs and they mate again right afterwards. Seahorses don't have a long life. They live for about 5 years.

Most mate for life and when one mate dies the other dies too.

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There are over 50 different species of Seahorses. They range in color from white to black and many colors in between and can make themselves blend into their surroundings. They can grow from an inch up to 14 inches. They live all over the world in shallow tropical waters along the coast. They usually make their home in the reefs and sea-grass. Many live where clams are being harvested. The clams outer shell provides food for the Seahorses.

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The true masters of disguise are the Pygmy Seahorses. They almost take on the form of their hide-outs. Can you spot the Seahorse in this one?

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Between 20 & 60 million Seahorses are caught every year. This is to supply the Chinese medicine market.

The Chinese believe that the Seahorse has magical healing power. They have been using Seahorses in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) for thousands of years. Many countries are involved in the trade of wild Seahorses. Project Seahorse claims there are over 70. The most predominant sources are Indonesia, India and the Philippines. The Philippines eventually put a ban on catching the male Seahorses. Recently there have been changes to the law and in 2004 United Nations Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species added 34 species to the endangered list. This has led to smuggling and an increase in their value. Their value in some places are said to be more valuable than silver.

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The Seahorses, once caught and sold are dried in the sun then either packaged whole or in powder form or fermented in a liquid. The entire Seahorse is used in TCM. It is believed and some research has proved that it can cure arthritis and its inflammation. There is also research being done on the theory that it can also control the aging process. Seahorses are also believed to be an aphrodisiac. It is given to people with a low sex drive and men with impotence. It is also used to strengthen kidneys and nerves. People have also taken it for baldness. Other medicinal uses include asthma, throat infections, insomnia and stomachaches. It also helps skin sores and infections applied directly to the affected area. People also take it for heart disease as it helps with circulation. Seahorses are also used in people who have liver disease and respiratory illnesses. Women also take it for Dystocia (slow and or painful labor) There is a whole gamut of medicinal uses. Many other Asian, Indian and European countries use Seahorses medicinally but China has the biggest demand. While people in other countries will eat it in it's natural form...there are not many Americans that will. Now that it is in pill and liquid form, taking Seahorse as a natural alternative to OTC medicines, it is becoming more popular in the United States.

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The medicinal use is a huge market with the most demand but many tourists shops sell them as souvenirs. And many street markets sell them on skewers.

The locals describe it has tasting kind of sweet.

People love to keep them as pets. However they are extremely hard to raise. Their water has to be perfect and they are subject to disease and death when in captivity. Only the most experience fisheries can successfully maintain them and this is usually only done for breeding purposes with the intent to increase their population.

Because their population is on the decline, even with laws on trade in place, there are several organizations such as the Seahorse Project and SOS (Save our Seahorses) advocating to stop the sale of the wild Seahorses. Because of their efforts, they were about to get Ebay to agree to ban the sale of all Seahorses, dead or alive in persuade eBay to ban the sale of seahorses, alive or dead, in Europe, America and Australia. These organizations say that Seahorses could be come extinct with in the next 30 years if stricter laws and regulations and more ideally bans put in place.

While their medicinal properties serve an array of things, there are many plant based remedies that can do the same thing. So if you'd like to get involved in helping to preserve Seahorses, there are a few organizations such as the Seahorse project and SOS as well as gofund me pages set up where you can help.

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