珍珠母

Mandarin

simpl. and trad.
珍珠母

Noun

珍珠母 (traditional and simplified, Pinyin zhēnzhūmǔ)

1. Mother-of-pearl. It is the shell of the pearl oyster of the Pteriidae family of saltwater clams. It is not closely related to the shell of the true oyster, 牡蛎, of the Ostreidae family. (Powdered 珍珠母 is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat hypertension, cataract, night blindness, insomnia, palpitation, poor memory and ulcers.)

References

• 珍珠母 on the Mandarin Wikipedia.zh.Wikipedia
• http://www.trade.gov.bt/administration/mktbriefs/10.pdf
• http://www.koreantk.com/en/m_sta/med_stat_search.jsp?searchGbn=statis
• http://www1.dict.li/ and http://www.nciku.com/