Ursus thibetanus, Selenarctos thibetanus- (old name) 熊胆  Xióng dǎn   Asian black bear gall bladder
Because of the high price of Xiong dan, often the gallbladder of the cow, 牛胆 Niú dǎn is substituted at a higher dosage. This practice is recommended because of the endangered status of many bear species.[3]
PART USED: Dry gall bladder- removed in Winter
Nature: Cold    FLAVOR: Bitter.     CHANNEL: Liver, Gall Bladder, Heart
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Clearing Internal Heat- Reducing Fire
1. Clear Heat and alleviates spasms.[3] Clear Heat and relieves Fire toxicity.[3]
2. Benefits the eyes in patterns of Liver Fire.[3] Calm down Liver. Sharpen vision.
3. Reduces swelling and pain.[3]
ACTIONS:  Antipyretic,[2] antibiotic,[2] analgesic.[2]
INDICATIONS
1. Febrile diseases: high fever and convulsions and twitching.[2,3] Sore throat. High fever.[2] Delirium after injury- such as gun shot or burns- 0.5-1 g- dissolve and drink.[2,3] Infant with convulsions-1.5 g.[2]
2. Liver Fire: for severe cases of red, painful, and swollen eyes as well as mild visual obstruction.[3] Severe hepatitis including acute jaundice and fainting- 0.3-0.6 g with other herbs.[2]
3. External applications for red eyes with pain and swelling- 0.5-1 g,[2,3] Hot skin lesions.[3] Rub into swollen infection.[2] Topical application is especially effectinve in alleviating pain.[3]
CONTRAINDICATIONS: No contraindications, however Xiong dan is not commonly used in the treatment of eye diseases.[2]
COMBINATIONS
PREPARATIONS: Dry gall bladder of bear  0.3-1 g.[1] 0.6-2 g.[2] Note small dosage.[2] 1-2.5 g in pills and powders takin internally, and in similar amounts in ointments applied topically.[3] Good quality is large, bittersweet, bright and golden in color.[1]
    

PART USED: Bear bile
Due to the cruel containment of bears in Asian countries and harvesting of bile from live animals, it is not recommended that bear bile be purchased or used. More info on Bear bile farming
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
Research

Bear bile: dilemma of traditional medicinal use and animal protection Complete article
Yibin Feng, Kayu Siu, Ning Wang, Kwan-Ming Ng, Sai-Wah Tsao, Tadashi Nagamatsu, and Yao Tong
Abstract
Bear bile has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for thousands of years. Modern investigations showed that it has a wide range of pharmacological actions with little toxicological side effect and the pure compounds have been used for curing hepatic and biliary disorders for decades. However, extensive consumption of bear bile made bears endangered species. In the 1980's, bear farming was established in China to extract bear bile from living bears with "Free-dripping Fistula Technique". Bear farming is extremely inhumane and many bears died of illness such as chronic infections and liver cancer. Efforts are now given by non-governmental organizations, mass media and Chinese government to end bear farming ultimately. At the same time, systematic research has to be done to find an alternative for bear bile. In this review, we focused on the literature, laboratory and clinical results related to bear bile and its substitutes or alternative in English and Chinese databases. We examined the substitutes or alternative of bear bile from three aspects: pure compounds derived from bear bile, biles from other animals and herbs from TCM. We then discussed the strategy for stopping the trading of bear bile and issues of bear bile related to potential alternative candidates, existing problems in alternative research and work to be done in the future.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2009; 5: 2. Published online 2009 Jan 12. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-5-2 PMCID: PMC2630947 PMID: 19138420 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov