Singapore Frog Farm Breeds American Bullfrogs To Make Elixir For Long Life

The drink appears to be a simple iced tea but on closer inspection contains the delicate anatomy of an American bullfrog.

They grow them big here. A large female North American Bullfrog at the Jurong Frog Farm

The female frog's fallopian tubes -- or more correctly oviducts -- are said by practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine to promote stronger lungs and clearer skin.

Recent demand has been rising for the supplement in Singapore, according to Chelsea Wan, a self-declared "frogologist" at Jurong Frog Farm, a family-run business in Singapore's Kranji Countryside.

Jurong Frog Farm

Jurong Frog Farm

"This is a big paradigm shift from (the) old belief that hashima can only be harvested from frogs living in mountains in the northern regions of China," says Wan, who's trying to reinvent a tradition of the past for the future.

Traditionally, hashima comes from the Changbai Mountain wood frog, a rare frog species that hibernates for more than 100 days. They're also known as snow frogs, which gives hashima its alternative name of "snow jelly."

According to Han Bing, who works with the Beijing-based Hope Institute of Chinese Medicine, hashima is rarely used in clinical treatment, partly because it's so hard to source. As a result, it's also considered a luxury product reserved for the rich.

(culled cnn)