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| Latin: |
Radix Angelicae Sinensis |
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| Origin: |
Chinese angelica root is the root of the perennial aromatic plant Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, of the family Umbelliferae/Apiaceae. Native to China, it is grown on high ground in cool and damp areas of western and northwestern parts of the country.
The aromatic plant Angelica is grown in many parts of the world. The roots and fruit of the Eurasian species, Angelica archangelica, yield angelica oil used to flavor liquors and in perfumery, while the tender shoots are used in making certain kinds of aromatic sweetmeats; tea made from the roots and leaves is a traditional medicine for respiratory ailments.
In the Faroe Islands and in Iceland, where the plant grows abundantly, it is considered a vegetable.
The British species, A. sylvestris, is a tall perennial herb with large bipinnate leaves and large compound umbels of white or purple flowers.
The common name alexanders is applied to A. atropurpurea in the United States.
The Chinese species, Angelica sinensis, grows to about 1 m by 0.7 m. It is in flower from August to September, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by insects. The plant is self-fertile. The plant can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.
Chinese angelica is produced mainly in Min County in the southeast part of Gansu and also in Shannxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Hubei provinces. It is dug in the late autumn. After getting rid of the rootlets and drying slightly by evaporation, the roots are tied up in bundles, placed on frame, baked dry over slow fire, sliced and used unprepared or stir-baked with wine.
Chinese angelica root is classified into Wine Chinese Angelica, Whole Chinese Angelica, Chinese Angelica Body, Chinese Angelica Tail or Chinese Angelica Rootlet. |
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| Properties: |
| Sweet and pungent in flavor, warm in nature, it is related to the heart, liver and spleen channels. |
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| Functions: |
Tonifys blood, promotes blood circulation, regulates menstruation, alleviates pain, and lubricates the bowels to relieve constipation.
Chinese angelica root is a well-known Chinese herb that has been used in the treatment of female ailments for thousands of years. Its reputation is perhaps second only to ginseng (Panax ginseng) and it is particularly noted for its 'blood tonic' effects on women. The root has a sweet pungent aroma that is very distinctive and it is often used in cooking, which is the best way to take it as a blood tonic.
Being sweet, warm and moist in property, this herb serves function of replenishing blood; and being pungent, warm and volatile in nature, it also can promote blood circulation, as a main herb for enriching blood and promoting the circulation of blood to regulate menstruation and relieve pain.
It is often used to treat any syndromes of blood-deficiency, various kinds of pain due to blood stasis, menoxenia, sores, ulcers, swellings and traumatic ecchymoma, etc. It also functions in nourishing blood and lubricating the bowel, serving for constipation due to blood deficiency and dryness in the bowel. |
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| Applications: |
1. For any syndromes of blood deficiency, it is often used with Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata, Radix Paeoniae Alba and Rhizome Ligustici Chuanxiong to nourish the blood, as in Decoction of Four Ingredients (Siwu Tang).
2. For menoxenia, menorrhalyia and amenorrhea in the type of blood deficiency, it is used together with Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata, Radix Polygoni Multiflori, Radix Paeoniae Alba, Caulis Spatholobi, etc., to replenish blood and regulate menstruation; for those in the type of blood stasis, it is used with herbs for promoting blood circulation and for regulation menstruation, such as Rhizoma Ligustici Chuanxiong, Semen Persicae, Flos Carthami, etc.; and for those in the type of deficiency-cold, it is used with herbs for warming channels and dispelling cold pathogen, such as Folium Artemisiae Argyi, Ramulus Cinnamo mi, Fructus Euodiae, etc.
3. For chest and abdominal pain due to blood stasis, it is often used with herbs for resolving blood stasis to relieve pain, such as Resina Olibani, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae; for obstruction of the heart channel manifested as oppressive pain in the chest, it can be used with herbs for promoting blood circulation and qi flow to relieve pain, such as Flos Carthami, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, Rhizoma Ligustici Chuanxiong, Lignum Dalbergiae Odoriferae, etc.
4. For traumatic ecchymoma and pain, and for sores, carbuncles swelling, it is often used with herbs for promoting blood circulation and tissue regeneration and relieving pain, such as Resina Olibani, Myrrha. Squama Manitis, etc.
Besides, it is also used with Radix Paeoniae Alba, Fructus Cannabis, etc., to treat constipation due to blood deficiency and dryness in the bowel. |
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| Dosage and Administration: |
5-15 g.
Decoction. |
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| Cautions on Use: |
| All members of this genus contain furocoumarins, which increase skin sensitivity to sunlight and may cause dermatitis. |
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| Reference Materials: |
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| Toxic or Side Effects: |
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| Modern Researches: |
Chinese angelica root contains mostly essential oils (volatile oils), ferulic acid, butanedioic acid, nicotinic acid, 2-oxy-4-oxy pyrimidine, adenine, stigmasterol-D-glucoside, vanillic acid, scopletin, etc.; in addition, there are also angelica sinensis polysaccharide, amino acids, vitamins A, B12, E, etc.
For self protection, the outer skin (bark) of many plants contains essential oil, which in turn has elements that serve as an immediate chemical defense against herbivores and pathogens. How? There is an element called hydroxynitrile glucoside in essential oil. This element will release toxic hydrogen cyanide by endogenous plant glucosidase upon tissue disruption (see Anne Vinther Morant, Kirsten Jorgensen, Charlotte Jorgensen, Suzanne Michelle Paquette, Raquel Sanchez-Perez, Birger Lindberg Moller, and Soren Bak, "beta-Glucosidases as Detonators of Plant Chemical Defense," Phytochemistry Vol. 69, Issue 9 (June 2008), pp. 1,795-1,813).
Glucosidase is a catalyzing enzyme that improves healthy functions of our body. It is a lipase that decomposes fat; it can also check inflammation and improve memory (see Mikako Sakurai, Masayuki Sekiguchi, Ko Zushida, Kazuyuki Yamada, Satoshi Nagamine, Tomohiro Kabuta and Keiji Wada, "Reduction in memory in passive avoidance learning, exploratory behaviour and synaptic plasticity in mice with a spontaneous deletion in the ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 gene," European Journal of Neuroscience Vol. 27, Issue 3 (February 2008), pp. 691-701).
Vitamin B12 can be used in the treatment of pernicious anaemia.
Chinese angelica root is commonly used in the treatment of a wide range of women's complaints where it regulates the menstrual cycle and relieves period pain and also to ensure a healthy pregnancy and easy delivery.
Chinese angelica root has a dual action on the uterus, i.e., volatile substance can inhibit uterus to decrease the rhythmic contraction and relax the smooth muscle in a rapid and long-standing way; and its water or alcohol soluble, non-volatile substance can excite uterus to strengthen its contraction.
One of the chemical components of Chinese angelica root, ferulic acid, increases the motility and viability of sperm cells by protecting their membranes from the action of cell-harming free radicals. There is some evidence, however, that ferulic acid increases the risk of free-radical damage to sperm cells in men undergoing chemotherapy with bleomycin (Blenoxane), a cancer chemotherapy treatment sometimes chosen for its relatively minor effects on the immune system.
The decoction or liquid extract of this herb can function in inhibiting isolated heart to lower cardiac excitability (quinidine-like action) and to prolong atrial refractory period; dialating the coronary artery and markedly increasing the coronary flow; lowering myocardial oxygen consumption, blood pressure, platelet aggregation and blood-fat; resisting thrombosis and preventing atherosclerosis; protecting the liver and preventing degradation of liver glycogen; resisting absence of vitamine E, malignant anemia and inflamation; and inducing diuresis, sedation and analegsia.
Chinese angelica root also has an azathiopurine-like (immunosuppressant) action, i.e., significant inhibition of the production of antibodies, cellular immunity and humoral immunity, serving for nephritis, neonatal hemolytic disease (an auto-immune disease). In addition, it can also raise the phagocytosis of macrophagocyte and reticuloendothetiol cells and strengthen nonspecific immunity.
Chinese angelica root has an antibacterial action, inhibiting the growth of various bacteria including Bacillus dysenteria, Bacillus typhi, B. comma, B. cholerae and haemolytic streptococci.
No relief in menopausal hot flashes and no change in endometrial thickness in a study of 71 women comparing Chinese angelica root and placebo for 24 weeks, reported in "Does dong quai have estrogenic effects in postmenopausal women? A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial," (Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, by Hirata and others, 1997). |
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