Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) is an ungulate species living in the wild arid and semi-arid steppe of the central Asia. It has two sub-species, one is Russian sub-species (S. t. tatarica) and the other is Mongolian (S. t. mongolica). The most notable features of the Saiga antelopes are its inflatable nose, so people in China also name it as ‘Gaobi Antelope’ (‘Gaobi’ in Chinese means inflatable and high). Straight horns are the other inimitable features of the saiga. Only males have the horns with average length of 20-40cm.  

The popular name of saiga horn in Chinese is ‘Lin Yan Jiao’ and the pharmaceutical name is Cornu Antelopis. It is as famous and valuable as musk, pilose antler and rhino horn, the four most-renowned animal medicine materials in TCM. The text record of using ‘Lin Yan Jiao’ may trace back to the ‘Shengnong Bencao’ (Divine Husbandman's Classic of the Materia Medica) 2000 years ago. In TCM, the properties of saiga horn are identified as salty and cold.

According to those papers, more than 30 TCM prescriptions or patent medicines contain saiga horn. In ‘New-Edited Chinese Patent Medicine’ published in 2002, saiga horn is the main component of 18 kinds of medicines for detoxification, cold treatment and lung disease. In addition to medicine, people can use horns directly, cut them into powder or slices, and boil them in water. This decoction can either be taken together with other decoctions or separately.