Dong Quai

Dong quai is best known as women’s ginseng and highly valued by ancient herbalists due to its extraordinary effects on female reproductive health issues. It has a lot of names, such as angelica sinensis, Chinese angelica, dang gui or tang kuei and so on. They all refer to the same medicinal herb.

What is Angelica Sinensis?

Along with black cohosh, chasteberry or Vitex agnus castus, red clover, wild yam and rehmannia, dong quai is regarded as one of the most honored and respected menopause herbs. So what exactly it is and why it is so popular nowadays?

Angelica or angelique refers to any of various tall and stout herbs of the genus Angelica, having pinnately compound leaves and small white or greenish flowers in compound umbels. Therefore, dong quai herb refers to the medicinal root of biennial plant which belongs to the family of Apiaceae. When it comes to angelica, most people would immediately associate it with pregnancy, abortion, fertility, menopause, hot flashes and estrogen and so on. However, what angelica can do is definitely more than just women’s diseases.

From the perspective of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the nature of angelica sinensis is sweet, acrid, bitter and warm and it influences meridians of heart, liver and spleen. TCM believes that angelica can treat all diseases related to blood disorders both in men and women. Another popular traditional theory is that angelica can help strengthen Yin (negative) energy. However, both men and women have Yin and Yang energies. The energy of Yin and Yang can transform into each other when necessary. Therefore, we believe that angelica is man’s ginseng as well.

Dong quai herb researches

Modern scientific researches have found that dang gui root is a kind of phytoestrogen-rich herb. Phytoestrogens are a group of chemicals found in plants that can act like the hormone estrogen, which is the most important ingredient for it to balance female hormone levels. In addition, researches also confirmed that it works in two-ways regulation, namely restraining the secretion of estrogen when estrogen is too much and stimulating the secretion of estrogen when estrogen is not enough.

Besides of folic acid, folinic acid and nicotinic acid, small amounts of vitamins A and E, biotin, carotene and pantothinic acid are also found. Moreover, substantial amounts of Vitamin B12 (0.25 to 0.4 mcg per 100 grams of dried root) is found at the same time, which is the solid evidence that why ancient herbalists liked using it for blood disorders.

It is said that dong quai herbs also contain many valuable phytochemicals, which can help enhance the production of white blood cells and thus help curb inflammation. Due to its property of anti-inflammation, it is being also used to cure many kinds of inflammatory diseases. In the future it is expected to be used in treatments of cancers and other liver and kidney diseases as well. Currently the studies are under way and will benefit more people once it succeeds.

Some other studies also found that dang gui root can serve as an antispasmodic herb. Currently this property has been used clinically to treat hypertension, heart arrhythmia and chest pain as it can help relax the smooth muscles and dilate the arteries in smooth muscles, thus improve blood circulation and heart rate.

Dong quai benefits

In summary, dong quai benefits are basically as follows:

  • Menopause treatment;
  • Fertility treatment;
  • Speeding recovery from childbirth;
  • Herbal tonics for women;
  • Chronic rhinitis and post nasal drip;
  • Painful menstrual periods;
  • Excessively heavy vaginal bleeding;
  • Herpes zoster;
  • Uterine fibroid tumors;
  • Hypertension;
  • Blood tonic;
  • Fibrocystic Breast Condition;
  • Chronic inflammation such as rheumatoid arthritis;
  • Common blood disorders such as anemia;
  • Allergies;
  • Constipation
  • Hepatitis
  • Headaches and migraines.

Dong quai side effects

Although dong quai root is relatively safe to be used in many disease treatments, a few of side effects should be kept in mind before taking it.

  • It is advisable that tang kuei should not be taken during pregnancy;
  • Those who are with gastrointestinal problems should not take tang kuei;
  • Some anticoagulants or blood thinners such as warfarin should not be taken together with tang kuei.
  • Be careful not to take St. John’s wort and tang kuei at the same time. Research has found that both of them can increase the sensitivity to sunlight.

Dong quai dosage

Nowadays, many forms of dong quai are available in drug stores, including decoction, dong quai tea, dong quai extract, dong quai tincture and dong quai supplement. It is very convenient to find the best suitable one for yourself according your own situation.

For dried extracts such as capsules, powders, supplements and teas, taking dosage of three to twelve grams daily is appropriate. And for decoction of dang gui root, it would be all right to drink one to two cups per day. However, it may vary greatly from person to person. Talk to your herbalists if necessary.

Since dong qui has been used as women’s tonic in China for many centuries, it has been proved one of the most valuable medicinal herbs for female reproductive health issues. However, it is advisable to know more information about it or it is better to consult an experienced herbalist if necessary before you decide to take dang gui no matter whatever purpose you want to take it for.