TCM Properties

Traditional Use

Calms the spirit and settles agitation - Long Gu is classically used for insomnia, fright, anxiety, and palpitations when the spirit is unanchored.
Anchors floating Yang and subdues restlessness - it is used when dizziness, irritability, or agitation arise from upward disturbance that needs a heavy settling mineral.
Astringes leakage - unlike Long Chi, Long Gu is strongly associated with spontaneous sweating, seminal leakage, uterine discharge, and other patterns of instability.

Long Gu is typically crushed and decocted first because its fossil-mineral nature makes it dense and heavy.
Its spirit-calming use is often paired with its ability to secure leakage, which gives it a broader range than Long Chi in deficiency-restlessness patterns.

Gui Zhi Jia Long Gu Mu Li Tang - classic formula for deficiency agitation, dream-disturbed sleep, and seminal leakage with an unanchored spirit.
Long Gu with Mu Li and Suan Zao Ren - common spirit-calming and leakage-securing combination logic for insomnia and spontaneous sweating.
Long Gu with Fu Shen and Yuan Zhi - traditional approach when palpitations and fright predominate.

Traditional materia medica describe Long Gu as sweet, astringent, and neutral, entering the Heart, Liver, and Kidney to calm the spirit and astringe leakage.
Its use in formulas such as Gui Zhi Jia Long Gu Mu Li Tang highlights the combination of shen-settling and stabilizing actions that defines Long Gu.

Calcium phosphate and related fossil mineral matrix components - the dominant material basis of Long Gu
Carbonate and trace mineral fractions - part of the heavy astringent fossil profile
Mineral-derived nano- and carbon-dot preparations - the main focus of newer pharmacologic experiments

A review of Os Draconis literature summarized traditional uses, chemical composition, and pharmacologic work, emphasizing that modern research remains relatively limited and material-focused compared with ordinary botanicals (PMID 22032154).
Carbon dots derived from Os Draconis showed anxiolytic-like effects in experimental models, suggesting a possible modern bridge for its classic shen-calming reputation (PMID 36275482).
Most contemporary work on Long Gu remains preclinical and highly experimental, so its mainstream evidence base is still predominantly traditional.

As a fossil mineral substance, Long Gu raises more sourcing, contamination, and authenticity concerns than ordinary culinary herbs.
It is a traditional settling adjunct, not a stand-alone treatment for major psychiatric or neurologic illness.