Dong Quai
"Angelica Sinensis"
Christy Walker, Amy Bigus, and Deanna Massengill
Common Names
General description
Chemical Composition
Essential oil contains:
- n-butylphthalide
- linoleic acid
- cadinene
- palmitic acid
- carvacrol
- safrole
- n-dodecanal
- sequiterpene
- isosafrol
- n-tetradecanol
History and Folk Use
- dysmenorrhea
- anemia
- amenorrhea
- arthritis
- metrorrhagia
- migraine headache
- menopausal symptoms
- assure healthy pregnancy and easy delivery
- abdominal pain
- injuries
Pharmacology
Phytoestrogen activity
- contains highly active phytoestrogens (lower in activity than animal estrogens)
- used in conditions of high and low estrogens
- demonstrate an alterative effect by competing with estrogen for binding sites
- exert some estrogenic activity when estrogens are low
- reduce overall estrogenic activity by occupying estrogen receptor sites when estrogen levels are high
- basis of use in amenorrhea & menopause
- Japanese angelica (thought to be very similar to Chinese angelica) has uterine tonic activity: causes an initial increase in uterine contraction followed by relaxation
Cardiovascular effects
- not used historically for these purposes
- significant hypotensive action due to vasodilator activity
- dihydropyranocoumarins and dihydrofuranocoumarins possess coronary vasodilatory, spasmolytic, and cyclic-AMP-phosphodiesterase inhibitory properties
- result of calcium channel antagonism
- also may have negative inotropic & antiarrhythmic action
Smooth muscle relaxing activity
- Calcium channel blocking compounds are capable of relaxing smooth muscle of visceral organs like the intestines and the uterus (essential oil)
- The water extract produces an initial contraction and then a prolonged relaxation
Analgesic activity
- Pain relieving and mild tranquilizing effects
- Analgesic action was found to be 1.7 times that of aspirin
- Analgesic activity combined with smooth muscle relaxing activity support use in uterine cramps, trauma, headaches & arthritis
Anti-allergy and Immuno-modulating activity
- Used in prevention and treatment of allergic symptoms
- Inhibits production of IgE in a selective manner
- Coumarin compounds demonstrate immune-enhancing activity in healthy and cancer patients
- Coumarins stimulate macrophages & phagocytosis offers protection against metastasis and growth of tumor cells
- May possess mitogenic activity to B-lymphocytes, interferon-producing activity, anti-tumor activity, & complement-activiating activity to support historical anti-cancer effects and use as adjunct to current cancer therapy
Antibacterial activity
- Possess activity against both gram negative and gram positive bacteria
- Other herbs, however, have much greater antimicrobial activity
Clinical Applications
- (uterine cramps, migraines, abdominal spasm)
- the head staunches bleeding
- the body preserves the internal organs and nourished the blood
- the tail moves the blood
Drug and Disease Interactions
Dosage
- 1-2 gram orally or by infusion TID
- 3-5 mL TID
- 0.5-2.0 mL
Toxicity
Recipe:
Soak the beans overnight. Discard water. Combine beans & Dong Quai and cook for 2 hours, skimming surface foam periodically. In last 15 minutes of cooking, remove Dong Quai, which is bitter and add licorice slices. Makes 4 servings.
References
Internet sites: