This is the traditional story of Dang Gui’s origin. “A young Chinese man who dearly loved his new wife left for the mountains to prove his courage after being teased and taunted by the other men of their village. He asked his wife to wait for him for three years. If he hadn’t returned, she should consider him lost and thus be free to re-marry.
His wife re-married sometime after the three years had passed, only to have her husband return shortly after. She was heartbroken and over time became sick and lost her will to live. In despair and fearing that she would die, her former husband gave her an unknown root that he had collected in the mountains. After eating it she grew stronger and regained her health. The people of the village named the herb Dang Gui, “state of return.”
The earliest record of its use is in the Divine Husbandman’s Classic of the Materia Medica (Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing) published during the period of the Han Dynasty (25–225CE), where it is listed in the second class of traditional medicines.
“Dang Gui is sweet and warm. It is nontoxic, treating mainly cough and counterflow qi ascent, warm malaria with fever persisting within the skin, leaking causing infertility in females, various malign sores, and incised wounds. It can be [constantly] taken after being cooked. Its other name is Gan Gui (Dry Return). It grows in rivers and valleys.”
The Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica (Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing) trans: Yang Shorr-zhong. Blue Poppy Press. 7th Ed. 2008 p.39
Records of its cultivation include Su Jing’s “Tang Ben Cao“ of 659CE, and Su Song’s “Tu Jing Be Cao” Illustrated Classic of the Materia Medica of1061CE.
In 1151CE, ‘Bupleurum and Dang Gui’ (xiao yao san) was first recorded in the ‘Formulary of the Tai Ping Welfare Dispensary Bureau’ (tai ping hui min he ji ju fang). ‘Nourish the Blood’ (si wu wan), which also includes Dang Gui as one of the four ingredients also first appeared in this collection of formulae,
Zhu Dan-xi (1281 – 1358 CE) was the last of the four great masters of internal medicine during the Jin/Yuan dynasties. He is known as the founder of the ‘Nourishing Yin School’. Based on his theory of four basic disease types, Si Wu Wan (Nourish the Blood) was one of the four basic formulas he frequently employed as the starting point for prescriptions in his practice.
Li Shi-zhen (1518 – 1593 CE) was one of the greatest herbalists and naturalists in Chinese history. His classic, the ‘Compendium of Materia Medica” ( ben cao gang mu), the most important pharmaceutical book in traditional China, records twenty-seven formulas containing Dang-Gui.
‘Four Substance Decoction with Persica and Carthamus’ (tao hong si wu wan) contains Dang Gui and is a variation on Si Wu Wan (Nourish the Blood), was first recorded in the ‘Golden Mirror of Medicine’ (yi zong jin jian) in 1742.
Botanical outline
Angelica is a genus of about 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae which includes parsley, celery, carrots, coriander, bupleurum (chai hu), fennel (xiao hui xiang), anise, caraway and poison hemlock.
Angelica polymorpha var. sinensis, is a short-lived, herbaceous perennial, growing to 1 m with large bipinnate leaves and large compound umbels of white or greenish-white flowers with winged fruits in July and August. It is mainly distributed in the northwest of China. The yellow-brown roots take 3 years to reach maturity.
The best roots come from Gansu province. Seed is sown in spring and rhizomes harvested in autumn. After some drying by evaporation, the roots are tied in bundles or sliced and baked dry. The head and body of the root is considered most tonifying and the ‘tail’ (dang gui wei) the most Blood invigorating.
Dr Augustine Henry, the British botanical explorer travelling in Sichuan and Hubei, collected the plant in the1880’s. In 1891, it was named Angelica polymorpha Maxim. var. sinensis. In 1900, a German botanist, Ludwig Ciels, named it as a distinct species, Angelica sinensis.
Other well-known species include Japanese angelica (A. acutiloba), European angelica (A. archangelica) and American angelica (A. atropurpurea). The root of Angelica archangelica yields angelica oil used to flavour liquors and perfumery. The shoots are used in sweets.
Medicinal properties
The name Dang Gui translates as “state of return” based on its ability to return the body to proper order by nourishing the blood and harmonizing vital energy. It is one of the most widely used medicinal herbs in China.
In TCM, Angelica polymorpha (Dang Gui) is regarded as sweet, acrid and warm and to enter the Heart, Spleen & Liver channels. Sweet properties tonify and moisten, acrid properties disperse, Combined in Dang Gui, the herb tonifies and invigorates the Blood, regulates menstruation and alleviates pain. It is the number one herb for women, ‘female ginseng’, and is used in most formulas for menstrual and gynecological problems.
In addition, it is commonly used for cases of exhaustion and debility as well as situations with pain caused by, or trauma resulting in, Blood stasis. It is incorporated in formulas for dry constipation due to Blood deficiency and to heal sores and abscesses and poor peripheral circulation. Its use is contraindicated in cases of dampness affecting the digestion e.g. diarrhea, abdominal fullness.
The root has alterative, analgesic, anticholesterolemic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, emmenagogue, emollient, hepatoprotective, laxative, sedative and peripheral vasodilator qualities ascribed to it.
Extracts of dong quai demonstrated antitumor (7) (8) (9) (10), anti-tuberculosis (TB) (11), neuroprotective (32), and hematopoeitic (34) effects in vitro. In animal studies, the polysaccharides extracted from dong quai root showed protective effects against cyclophosphamide-induced toxicity (12), doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity (13), and radiation-induced pneumonitis (14). But these effects have not been evaluated in humans.
- Volatile oils: Safrole, isosafrole, and n-butylphthalide
- Coumarin derivatives: Psoralens, bergapten, osthol, imperatorin, and oxypeucedanin
- Ferulic acid
Interest in Dang Gui has surged because of its possible oestrogenic effects or side effects. The University of Maryland Medical Centre, which has a useful herb site, advises against its use by women at risk of hormone related cancers. “Researchers aren’t sure whether dong quai acts like estrogen or blocks estrogen in the body.” http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/dong-quai.
In Europe, in the middle ages, Angelica archangelica was used in charms against contagion, in spells and enchantments. It has long been used both as an antispasmodic and remedy for menstrual disorders as well as a flavoring for liqueurs such as Benedictine and Chartreuse. It has been approved in Germany for digestive disturbances including flatulence and mild gastrointestinal spasms. The root of Angelica archangelica yields angelica oil used to flavour liquors and in perfumery. The shoots are used in making sweets and tea made from the roots and leaves is a traditional medicine for respiratory ailments.
American angelica (A. atropurpurea) is used interchangeably with the European species and was used by the Cherokee Indians to relieve menstrual obstructions, headaches and as a nervine.
In 1899, a liquid extract of Angelica polymorpha called Eumenol was introduced to the west by Merck and became popular as a treatment for gynecological complaints.