''Angelica sinensis'', commonly known as ''dong quai'' () or female ginseng, is a herb belonging to the family

Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

, indigenous to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. ''A. sinensis'' grows in cool high altitude mountains in East Asia. The yellowish brown root of the plant is harvested in the fall and used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

. There is no scientific evidence that ''A. sinensis'' is effective for any medicinal purpose.

Cultivation

Angelica is hardy to and can be cultivated at elevations of . Seedlings need to be kept out of direct sunlight, but the mature plant can withstand it. Angelica requires deep moist fertile soil and is perennial if prevented from going to seed.

Traditional Chinese medicine

The dried root of ''A. sinensis'' commonly known as Chinese angelica () is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Use and adverse effects

Although ''A. sinensis'' has been used safely in doses up to 150 mg daily, there is evidence that it may affect the muscles of the

uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...

Anticoagulant effect

''A. sinensis'' may increase the

anticoagulant An anticoagulant, commonly known as a blood thinner, is a chemical substance that prevents or reduces the coagulation of blood, prolonging the clotting time. Some occur naturally in blood-eating animals, such as leeches and mosquitoes, which ...

effects of the drug

warfarin Warfarin, sold under the brand name Coumadin among others. It is used as an anticoagulant, anticoagulant medication. It is commonly used to prevent deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, and to protect against stroke in people who ha ...

(as it contains coumarins), and consequently may increase the risk of bleeding. Caution is needed when consumed with herbs (such as

ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants, assigned to the gymnosperms. The scientific name is also used as the English common name. The order to which the genus belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, , and ''Ginkgo'' is n ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

), which may affect blood clotting.

Phytochemicals

Phytochemical Phytochemicals are naturally-occurring chemicals present in or extracted from plants. Some phytochemicals are nutrients for the plant, while others are metabolites produced to enhance plant survivability and reproduction. The fields of ext ...

s include

phytosterol Phytosterols are phytosteroids, similar to cholesterol, that serve as structural components of biological membranes of plants. They encompass plant sterols and stanol ester, stanols. More than 250 sterols and related compounds have been identified ...

polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...

ligustilide Ligustilide is a natural chemical compound of the dihydro phthalide class. Ligustilide is found in the highest concentration in wild celeries (''Apium graveolens''). It has also been found in ''Angelica sinensis'' and a variety of other plants in ...

butylphthalide Butylphthalide (3-''n''-butylphthalide or NBP) is one of the chemical constituents in celery oil, along with sedanolide, which is primarily responsible for the aroma and taste of celery. Studies in animal models suggest that butylphthalide may b ...

, cnidilide, isocnidilide, ''p''-cymene,

ferulate Ferulic acid is a hydroxycinnamic acid derivative and a phenolic compound. It is an organic compound with the formula (CH3O)HOC6H3CH=CHCO2H. The name is derived from the genus ''Ferula'', referring to the giant fennel (''Ferula communis''). Clas ...

, and

flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

References