Cervus nippon | Velvet Antler
LATIN NAME: Cervus nippon
COMMON NAME: Velvet Antler (Lu Rong)
Species Profile
Velvet antler is the growing stage of deer antler, taken before the bone hardens and while the whole structure is still covered in skin and fine hair. It is a temporary organ, unique among mammals in being regrown every year from a pedicle on the skull, and it can lengthen two centimetres a day at its peak.
The slice on the plate comes from Cervus nippon or Cervus elaphus, farmed in New Zealand, China, Korea and Siberia. Antler is removed at sixty to sixty-five days of growth, when the branches are full but the tip has not yet begun to flatten, then frozen, dried and cut into one to two millimetre slices.
Science & Biotechnology
Composition is closer to cartilage than to bone at this stage: chondroitin sulfate, collagen, glucosamine, a range of minerals, gangliosides and small amounts of insulin-like growth factor 1. The presence of growth factor is the basis of most marketing, and the pharmacology is weaker than the phrase suggests, since IGF-1 is a protein and largely digested.
Rodent studies report effects on bone density and on fatigue, and there are a few small human trials, mostly on strength and on joint comfort, with mixed results and short duration. There is no good evidence that oral antler raises IGF-1 in humans to a physiological effect.
Uses & Benefits
Slices are simmered for two to three hours, alone or with other tonics, and the liquid is drunk; the residue is sometimes eaten. Dose is one to three grams a day, and the taste is mild, gelatinous and faintly salty.
Because the material contains hormones and growth factors, it is avoided in hormone-sensitive conditions and in children. Allergy to deer protein is possible. The more common problem is quality: slices from the hardened upper tine are sold at tip prices, and the difference is visible in the honeycomb structure and the colour.
Source & Harvest
Antler is harvested once a year from live animals, under local anaesthesia and, in New Zealand, under a national code of practice that specifies analgesia and operator training. The antler regrows within months, so a stag can be cut annually for a decade.
China and Korea also produce antler, much of it from smaller farms with less consistent welfare oversight. Legality is not usually the issue for Cervus species, but labelling is: country of origin, species and the position of the slice on the antler all affect price and are rarely stated on the packet.
Deer are not sown; they are stocked. A breeding herd needs two to four hectares of pasture per ten hinds, a two-metre fence, and handling yards designed so animals are moved in small groups without chasing.
Velvet is cut at sixty to sixty-five days, by a trained operator, with local anaesthetic and a clean saw, and the animal is back on pasture the same day. Slices are graded by position, colour and the size of the pore spaces, and the whole chain depends on low-stress handling, because stressed stags produce poorer antler and are dangerous in a yard.
Our Take
An impressive piece of mammalian biology, a modest nutritional supplement, and an expensive one; buy on slice position and origin, and expect little more than a warming broth.
Related Reading
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