Editing Pangolin (section)

==Folk medicine==
Pangolin scales and flesh are used as ingredients for various [[traditional Chinese medicine]] preparations.<ref name="jak">{{cite news |author1=Mariëtte Le Roux |date=25 March 2018 |title=Quackery and superstition: species pay the cost |url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/03/25/quackery-and-superstition-species-pay-the-cost.html |access-date=25 August 2020 |work=The Jakarta Post |publisher=[[Agence France-Presse]]}}</ref> While no [[evidence-based medicine|scientific evidence]] exists for the efficacy of those practices, and they have no logical [[mechanism of action]],<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1938 |title=Chinese Medicine and the Pangolin |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=141 |issue=3558 |pages=72 |doi=10.1038/141072b0 |bibcode=1938Natur.141R..72. |issn=1476-4687 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Novella2012">{{cite web |author=Steven Novella |date=25 January 2012 |title=What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine? |url=http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-is-traditional-chinese-medicine/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415070141/http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-is-traditional-chinese-medicine/ |archive-date=15 April 2014 |access-date=14 April 2014 |work=[[Science-Based Medicine]]}}</ref><ref name="Jin2005">{{cite book |author=Zhouying Jin |url={{GBurl|id=V7SsFqkHaC4C|pg=PT36}} |title=Global Technological Change: From Hard Technology to Soft Technology |publisher=[[Intellect Books]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-84150-124-6 |page=36 |language=en |quote=The vacuum created by China's failure to adequately support a disciplined scientific approach to traditional Chinese medicine has been filled by pseudoscience |access-date=18 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320185919/https://books.google.com/books?id=V7SsFqkHaC4C&pg=PT36 |archive-date=20 March 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> their popularity still drives the [[black market]] for animal body parts, despite concerns about toxicity, transmission of diseases from animals to humans, and species extermination.<ref name=jak/><ref name="Zhang2012">{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Fang |last2=Kong |first2=Lin-lin |last3=Zhang |first3=Yi-ye |last4=Li |first4=Shu-Chuen |title=Evaluation of Impact on Health-Related Quality of Life and Cost Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials |journal=The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine |volume=18 |issue=12 |year=2012 |pages=1108–20 |issn=1075-5535 |doi=10.1089/acm.2011.0315 |pmid=22924383}}</ref> The ongoing demand for parts as ingredients continues to fuel [[Pangolin trade|pangolin poaching, hunting and trading]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Boyle |first=Louise |date=30 June 2020 |title='If we don't buy, they don't die': Tackling the global demand that's driving the illegal wildlife trade |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/china-animal-trade-markets-wild-ivory-pangolins-a9594591.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/china-animal-trade-markets-wild-ivory-pangolins-a9594591.html |archive-date=24 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=21 July 2020}}</ref>

The first record of pangolin scales occurs in ''Ben Cao Jinji Zhu'' ("Variorum of Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica", 500 CE), which recommends pangolin scales for protection against ant bites; burning the scales as a cure for people crying hysterically during the night.<ref name="PanMed">{{cite book |last1=Xing |first1=S. |title=Pangolins: Science, Society and Conservation |last2=Bonebrake |first2=T. C. |last3=Cheng |first3=W. |last4=Zhang |first4=M. |last5=Ades |first5=G. |last6=Shaw |first6=D. |last7=Zhou |first7=Y. |date=2019 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=9780128155073 |editor1-last=Challender |editor1-first=D. |edition=First |page=233 |chapter=Meat and medicine: historic and contemporary use in Asia |access-date=27 March 2020 |editor2-last=Nash |editor2-first=H. |editor3-last=Waterman |editor3-first=C. |chapter-url={{GBurl|id=zey_DwAAQBAJ|p=233}}}}</ref> During the [[Tang dynasty]], a recipe for expelling evil spirits with a formulation of scales, herbs, and minerals appeared in 682, and in 752 CE the idea that pangolin scales could also stimulate milk secretion in lactating women, one of the main uses today, was recommended in the ''Wai Tai Mi Yao'' ("Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library").<ref name="PanMed" /> In the [[Song dynasty]], the notion of penetrating and clearing blockages was emphasized in the ''Taiping sheng hui fan''  ("Formulas from Benevolent Sages Compiled During the Era of Peace and Tranquility"), compiled by Wang Huaiyin in 992.<ref name="PanMed" />

In the 21st century, the main uses of pangolin scales are [[quackery]] practices based on unproven claims the scales dissolve [[blood clot]]s, promote blood circulation, or help [[lactation|lactating women]] secrete milk.<ref name="jak" /><ref name="PanMed" /> The supposed health effects of pangolin meat and scales claimed by [[traditional Chinese medicine|folk medicine]] practitioners are based on their consumption of ants, long tongues, and protective scales.<ref name="jak" />

The official [[pharmacopoeia]] of the People's Republic of China included Chinese pangolin scales as an ingredient in TCM formulations.<ref name=PanMed/> Pangolins were removed from the pharmacopoeia starting from the first half of 2020.<ref name="ng_maron_2020-09-09">{{cite web |last1=Maron |first1=Dina Fine |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/06/pangolins-receive-new-protections-traditional-medicine-in-china/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610111656/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/06/pangolins-receive-new-protections-traditional-medicine-in-china/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 June 2020 |title=Pangolins receive surprising lifeline with new protections in China |date=9 June 2020 |website=National Geographic |access-date=12 June 2020}}</ref> Although pangolin scales have been removed from the list of raw ingredients, the scales are still listed as a key ingredient in various medicines.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020 |title=Did China really ban the pangolin trade? Not quite, investigators say |website=Mongabay Environmental News |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/did-china-really-ban-the-pangolin-trade-not-quite-investigators-say/ |access-date=6 July 2020}}</ref>

Pangolin parts are also used for medicinal purposes in other Asian countries such as India, Nepal and Pakistan. In some parts of India and Nepal, locals believe that wearing the scales of a pangolin can help prevent pneumonia.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url={{GBurl|id=zey_DwAAQBAJ|p=228}} |title=Pangolins: Science, Society and Conservation |publisher=[[Academic Press]] |isbn=978-0-12-815506-6 |publication-date=2019-11-23 |pages=228 |language=en |chapter=Meat and medicine: historic and contemporary use in Asia}}</ref> Pangolin scales have also been used for medicinal purposes in Malaysia, Indonesia and northern Myanmar. Indigenous people in southern [[Palawan]], Philippines, have held the belief that elders could avoid prostate illnesses by wearing belts made with the scales.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url={{GBurl|id=zey_DwAAQBAJ|p=231}} |title=Pangolins: Science, Society and Conservation |publisher=[[Academic Press]] |isbn=978-0-12-815506-6 |edition=First |publication-date=2019-11-23 |pages=231 |language=en |chapter=Meat and medicine: historic and contemporary use in Asia}}</ref>