Red sage - dan shen

Danshen
[ dan shen ]
Chinese herbal medicine
Other names: Qi Chan Cao, Chi Shen, Mu Yang Ru, Ben Ma Cao, Zi Dan Shen
English name: Danshen Root
Main effects: promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, relieving pain from menstruation, clearing the heart and removing vexation, cooling blood and eliminating carbuncle.
Danshen is a herbal medicine for promoting blood circulation and regulating menstruation. It has the effects of improving blood circulation, relieving chest tightness and pain, and regulating menstrual disorders. It is often used for cardiovascular discomfort, blood stasis and pain, and abnormal menstruation in women. The main production areas are Sichuan, Shandong, Hebei and other places. Among them, the Danshen produced in Zhongjiang, Sichuan is recognized as the best quality authentic herbal medicine because of its firm texture and high effective ingredients.
Danshen is bitter and slightly cold in nature. It belongs to the heart and liver meridians.
The bitter taste can help dissipate blood stasis, and the slightly cold property can clear the dryness and heat in the body. It can relieve pain by promoting blood circulation, and it can also clear heat and calm the mind, and eliminate swelling and pain. It is mainly used to treat problems caused by blood stasis and blood heat, and is also suitable for skin sores and carbuncle caused by heat toxins. The ancients said that "the effect of using Danshen alone is equivalent to Siwu Decoction", which actually means that it can cool blood and activate blood circulation, remove old blood stasis and promote the formation of new blood.
Modern research has found that Danshen contains quinones, protocatechuic aldehyde, vitamin E and other ingredients, which can activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis, relieve pain, clear the heart and eliminate carbuncle and swelling.
Effects and functions
Danshen can promote blood circulation and relieve pain caused by blood stasis (such as dysmenorrhea or joint swelling and pain): it can regulate menstrual cycle disorders, improve chest tightness, irritability and sleep problems; it can also reduce skin redness, swelling and inflammation, and is often used to treat skin ulcers or swelling after burns.
What are the main effects and clinical applications of Danshen?
Danshen is mainly used in the following situations: dull pain in the heart area, stomach and abdominal distension and pain; abnormal lumps in the body; redness, swelling, heat and pain in the joints; upset and insomnia; irregular menstrual cycle, amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea; redness, swelling and pain in the skin.
Symptoms related to poor blood circulation:
For the treatment of irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea and postpartum abdominal pain, Danshen can be ground into powder and taken alone with wine, or used in combination with safflower, peach kernel, motherwort, etc.;
For the treatment of angina pectoris, it can be used alone or in combination with Panax notoginseng and borneol;.
·For the treatment of stomach distension and pain with qi stagnation and blood stasis, it is often used in combination with sandalwood and Amomum villosum;
For the treatment of internal lumps, it is often used in combination with Trillium and Curcuma;.
·For the treatment of traumatic injuries, it is often used in combination with frankincense, myrrh and Chuanxiong;
For the treatment of acute attacks of rheumatoid arthritis (red, swollen, hot and painful joints), it is often used in combination with Gentiana macrophylla, honeysuckle vine and mulberry branches. .
Feverish diseases with irritability: For the treatment of restlessness and sleep disorders caused by high fever, it is often used in combination with buffalo horn, Rehmannia glutinosa, Scrophularia ningpoensis, etc.
Skin infections: It is often used in combination with heat-clearing and detoxifying herbs such as honeysuckle and forsythia.