Pangolin scales are primarily used in traditional medicine across parts of Asia and Africa, despite lacking scientific validation for their purported benefits. Their trade has driven massive poaching, pushing all eight pangolin species toward extinction.

Primary Uses in Traditional Practices

Scales are ground into powders or processed for remedies targeting specific ailments, as documented in cultural pharmacopeias.

  • Rheumatism and inflammation : Most common application, believed to reduce joint pain and swelling; scales rival bones in reported efficacy.
  • Lactation support : In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), known as Squama Manitis , used to promote milk flow postpartum or clear mammary blockages.
  • Spiritual and ritual purposes : Ground for protection charms, financial rituals, or convulsions in African traditions.
  • Other ailments : Convulsions, infertility, wound pus discharge, blood flow stimulation, arthritis, amenorrhea, and even skin issues or cancer—though unproven.

These beliefs persist despite bans; for instance, China restricted scales to select hospitals in 2007 but removed them from its 2025 pharmacopoeia amid conservation pressure.

Commercial and Black Market Realities

Demand skyrockets prices—up to $600/kg today from $14/kg in the 1990s—fueled by illegal trade.

  • Processed scales (roasted/dried) fetch triple retail value for TCM products.
  • Up to 2.7 million pangolins poached yearly for scales and meat, mostly illicit despite global protections.
  • Online markets and Vietnam hubs amplify sales, targeting ailments like rheumatism despite ethical bans.

"Pangolin scales are highly valued... widely used [in African traditional medicine] for a variety of ailments."

Conservation Crisis and Recent Shifts

By March 2026 , pangolins remain critically endangered, with scales' "medicinal" allure overriding evidence of their keratin composition (like human fingernails—no bioactivity).

  • Africa's cultural index ranks scales highest for versatility.
  • Asia's TCM drives 90%+ of global demand, but enforcement lags; recent studies highlight scales' innate immunity role in pangolins themselves, not humans.
  • Trending context: Post-2025 pharmacopoeia delisting sparked forum debates on ethical alternatives, yet poaching persists per wildlife NGO updates.

Region| Top Uses| Key Challenges
---|---|---
Africa 1| Rheumatism, spiritual protection| High cultural integration, poaching for rituals
China/TCM 236| Lactation, arthritis| Commercial boom, recent bans unevenly enforced
Vietnam 5| Swelling, blood flow| Hub for illegal trade, practitioner reliance

TL;DR : Mostly unproven traditional remedies for pain, lactation, and rituals; illegal trade devastates populations despite growing bans. Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.