Also known as:

Angelica sinensis, Dong Gui, Chinese Angelica, and Dan Gui.

Introduction:

The Chinese phrase "dong quai" literally means "state of return." There is a Chinese folk tale too old to be ascribed to any one author that states that an angel appeared to a monk in a dream and told him to use dong quai to cure the plague that was ravaging the country at the time by making it into a tea. For over two thousand years, since the writing of the Divine Husbandman's Classic of the Materia Medica, Chinese herbal medicine has used dong quai to help women return to their natural hormonal and emotional states after the accumulation of toxins and emotional injuries in the energy organ known as the "liver." It is thought to strengthen the immune system by increasing the production of white blood cells, assisting the liver in riding the body of toxins. Dong quai is a plant in the same family as celery, parsley, and carrots. Its long, large, most, oily and fragrant root has a yellow-brown bark and a yellow-white cross section. Greenish roots should not be used.

Constituents:

Butylidene phhtalide, ligustilide, n-butylidene-phthalide, sequiterpenes, carvacrol, dihyrophthalic anhydride, sucrose, B vitamins, beta-sitosterol.

Parts Used:

Root.

Typical Preparations:

Teas, tinctures, encapsulations, usually with other herbs. With white peony, rehmannia and ligusticum, used for menstrual irregularity, amenorrhea, and dysmenorrhea. With ginger, for post partum abdominal pain, or hernia. With cinnamon for pelvic infections. With honeysuckle (lonicera) for swelling of skin absecesses.

Summary:

In herbal medicine, the primary use of dong quai is as a uterine tonic, reducing menstrual pain and reducing disagreeable symptoms of menopause. Dong quai does not stimulate the production of estrogen. The herb is used in tonics for both sexes to relieve pain caused by neuralgia, poor circulation, and arthritis.

Precautions:

Avoid when there is diarrhea with flatulence. Not to be used while pregnant, breast feeding, or if you are on blood thinning medications.

This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

For educational purposes only.