Salvia miltiorrhiza

Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (scientific name: Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge) is a perennial upright herb of the genus Salvia in the family Lamiaceae. It has thick roots that are scarlet on the outside and white on the inside. They are fleshy. The leaves are often odd-pinnate compound leaves with terminal or axillary racemes. The bracts are lanceolate, the calyx is bell-shaped with purple, the corolla is purple-blue, the style is far outward, the nutlets are black and oval, it blooms from April to August, and the fruits appear after flowering.

Distributed in Anhui, Shanxi, Hebei, Sichuan, Jiangsu and other places in China. In addition, Hubei, Gansu, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, Zhejiang, Henan, Jiangxi and other places. There are also distributions in Japan.

The root of this plant is used as medicine. It contains tanshinone, which is a strong and emmenagogue. It has the effects of removing blood stasis, promoting new blood, activating blood circulation, and regulating menstruation. It is an important gynecological medicine, mainly used to treat uterine bleeding, irregular menstruation, blood stasis, abdominal pain, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, and temple pain. It has a good effect on the treatment of coronary heart disease. In addition, it can also treat neurasthenia and insomnia, joint pain, anemia, mastitis, lymphadenitis, arthritis, sores, boils, erysipelas, acute and chronic hepatitis, pyelonephritis, traumatic injury, hepatosplenomegaly in late schistosomiasis, and epilepsy. It can also be used to wash lacquer sores for external use.

The efficacy and function of Danshen

The root is used as medicine, containing tanshinone, which is a tonic and menstrual emphysema agent with the effects of removing blood stasis, promoting new blood circulation, activating blood circulation, and regulating menstruation. It is an important gynecological medicine, mainly used to treat uterine bleeding, irregular menstruation, blood stasis, abdominal pain, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, and temple pain. It has a good effect on the treatment of coronary heart disease. In addition, it can also treat neurasthenia and insomnia, joint pain, anemia, mastitis, lymphadenitis, arthritis, sores, boils, erysipelas, acute and chronic hepatitis, pyelonephritis, traumatic injuries, hepatosplenomegaly in late schistosomiasis, and epilepsy. It can also be used externally to wash lacquer sores. [1]

(1) Ben Jing: It is used to treat evil spirits in the heart and abdomen, rumbling in the intestines like running water, and accumulation of cold and heat; it can eliminate tumors and masses, relieve restlessness and fullness, and replenish qi.

(2) Wu Pu Materia Medica: Treats heart and stomach pain.

(3) "Bielu": It nourishes blood, removes chronic diseases in the heart and abdomen, strengthens the waist and spine, and relieves leg numbness; it removes wind evil and retained heat, and long-term use is beneficial to the body.

(4) Tao Hongjing: Soak it in wine and drink it to treat rheumatism.

(5) Materia Medica: It is used to treat weak legs, pain and numbness, and nausea; it is used to treat abdominal pain and groaning.

(6) "Rihuazi Bencao": It nourishes the mind and calms the spirit, and clears the meridians. It treats cold and heat fatigue, pain in the joints, and paralysis of the limbs; it discharges pus and relieves pain, and promotes the growth of flesh; it breaks up old blood and replenishes new blood; it stabilizes the fetus and averts a dead fetus; it stops bleeding, metrorrhagia, and leukorrhea, regulates irregular menstruation in women, and blood evil and upset; it treats malignant sores, scabies, goiters, swellings, toxicity, and erysipelas; it also treats headaches, red eyes, and fever, fever, and stuffiness.

(7) "Southern Yunnan Materia Medica": It nourishes the heart and calms the mind, soothes the nerves and calms the heart. It treats forgetfulness, palpitations and insomnia.

(8) Compendium of Materia Medica: It promotes blood circulation, clears the pericardium, and treats hernia pain.

(9) Yunnan Chinese Herbal Medicine Selection: It can promote blood circulation and dissipate blood stasis, calm and relieve pain. It can treat irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, rheumatic pain, uterine bleeding, hematemesis, mastitis, and carbuncle.

Nutritional Value of Salvia miltiorrhiza

Regular supplementation of salvia miltiorrhiza can have a certain effect in removing blood stasis and relieving pain, promoting blood circulation and unblocking menstruation, and can clear the heart and relieve restlessness. Regular supplementation of such food can have a certain effect in improving coronary heart disease and regulating the body's metabolism.

Medicinal value of salvia miltiorrhiza

Role of the cardiovascular system

① Strengthen the heart, increase myocardial contractility, improve heart function, and do not increase myocardial oxygen consumption

② Effect on blood vessels: dilate coronary arteries, increase myocardial blood flow; dilate peripheral blood vessels, increase blood flow; decrease cerebral blood flow

③ Anti-thrombosis, increase plasmin activity; prolong bleeding and coagulation time; inhibit platelet aggregation (increase cAMP level in platelets and inhibit TXA2 synthesis); improve blood rheology (reduce blood viscosity and shorten red blood cell electrophoresis time)

④ Improve microcirculation

Promote tissue repair and regeneration

① Promote tissue repair and regeneration. Treatment with Danshen preparations: Necrotic myocardium is cleared quickly; fibroblast differentiation and collagen fiber formation are more obvious; granulation formation is relatively mature. Local congestion is reduced, blood circulation is improved, and healing time is shortened.

② Inhibit excessive proliferation It has an inhibitory effect on excessive proliferative fibroblasts.

Liver protection

Improve liver microcirculation.

Antimicrobial

Danshen preparations contain cryptotanshinone and dihydrotanshinone, which have inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus subtilis in vitro.

Lipid-lowering effect

Danshen can significantly reduce the area of ​​aortic atherosclerotic plaques, and reduce serum total cholesterol and triglycerides to a certain extent. Danshen can inhibit the increase of blood lipids in rabbits fed a high-fat diet. Studies have found that Danshensu can also inhibit the synthesis of endogenous cholesterol in cells.

Side Effects of Danshen

Some patients may experience stomach pain, loss of appetite, dry mouth and throat, nausea and vomiting during the use of Danshen, which is related to Danshen's ability to inhibit the secretion of digestive juices. It is advisable to stop taking the drug, and take oral drugs such as Wei Shuping and Probenxin. In severe cases, atropine can be injected subcutaneously. Some patients with hepatosplenomegaly in the late stage of schistosomiasis will experience upper gastrointestinal bleeding after taking large doses of Danshen. Danshen should be discontinued and hemostatics and vitamins should be given. Danshen can cause allergic reactions, manifested as itching, rash, and urticaria on the skin of the whole body. Some are also accompanied by chest tightness, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing, even aversion to cold, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, irritability, and then pale face, cold limbs, sweating, blood pressure drop, and even fainting shock. Immediately inject epinephrine or dexamethasone and anti-allergic drugs such as phenergan intramuscularly, and use the traditional Chinese medicine Shengmai San for conditioning.

Contraindications of using Danshen

Do not take Danshen with aspirin

(1) Aspirin has the effect of inhibiting platelet aggregation and has been used as a basic drug for the treatment of patients with coronary heart disease. Small doses of aspirin can have a therapeutic effect, while large doses of aspirin may prolong bleeding time or even cause bleeding.

(2) Danshen also has the effects of inhibiting platelet aggregation, anticoagulation, and reducing blood viscosity. It is not appropriate to take Danshen and aspirin together, as this is equivalent to increasing the dosage of aspirin and is likely to cause bleeding.

(3) Patients taking warfarin for anticoagulation should also be careful, as taking Danshen at the same time may cause bleeding.