Red Sage Root (Danshen)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Radix Salviae Militiorrhizae |
| Botanical Name: | Salvia Militiorrhiza Bge. |
| Common Name: | Saliva Root Red Sage Root |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Shennong Bencao Jing |
| Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The roots are dug in autumn, and then cleaned, soaked, cut into slices and dried in the sun. They can also be fried with wine. |
| Properties and Taste: | Bitter and slightly cold |
| Meridian: | Heart, pericardium and liver |
| Functions: | To invigorate blood and move stagnation To cool blood and reduce carbuncles To clear heat in the heart and soothe irritability |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Internal blood stagnation manifested as irregular menstruation amenorrhea, abdominal pain or postpartum abdominal pain. *Use with Motherwort (Yimucao), Peach seed (Taoren), Safflower (Honghua) and Chinese angelica root (Danggui). 2. Qi and blood stagnation manifested as cardiac pain, abdominal pain or epigastric pain. *Use with Amomum fruit (Sharen) and Sandalwood (Tanxiang) in the formula Danshen Yin. 3. Blood stagnation manifested as general pain or joint pain. *Use with Chinese angelica root (Danggui), Chuanxiong rhizome (Chuanxiong) and Safflower (Honghua). 4. Carbuncles, furuncles and swellings. *Use with Honeysuckle flower (Jinyinhua), Forsythia fruit (Lianqiao) and Frankincense (Ruxiang) in the formula Xiaoru Tang. 5. Febrile disease with pathogenic wing invading the nutritive level manifested as high fever, irritability, dull maculopapule and a red or deep red tongue proper with scanty coating. *Use with Fresh rehmannia root (Shengdihuang), Scrophularia (Xuanshen) and Bamboo leaf (Zhuye). 6. Deficiency of nutritive blood with internal heat manifested as palpitations, irritability and insomnia. *Use with Wild jujube seed (Suanzaoren) and Multiflower knotweed (Yejiaoteng). |
| Dosage: | 5-15 g |
| Cautions: | Blood invigoration is enhanced by frying with wine. Do not combine with the herb Black false bellebore (Lilu). |