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Dong quai

Posting Date: 05/28/2002

The term "dong quai" (a Chinese name that is sometimes transliterated tang-kuei or dang-gui) refers to a plant known either as A. polymorpha var. sinensis or simply as A. sinensis. As the name suggests, this member of the celery family comes out of the traditional Chinese pharmacopoeia.

In China, it is even more widely used than ginseng. It has recently earned itself a considerable following in Australia and the United States.

The root is the part of the plant that is used. Chinese healers make a tea (a "decoction," more properly speaking) and use it for gynecological disorders such as menstrual cramps or irregular menstrual periods.

But the American baby boomers, with their preference for herbal medicines, have made dong quai especially popular as an alternative to HRT for menopausal women.

Active Ingredients

At least six chemicals related to coumarin have been identified in dong quai. These include bergapten, imperatorin, oxypeucedanin, osthole, and psoralen.

Coumarin chemicals may act to dilate blood vessels and to relax smooth muscle (antispasmodic). Osthole is also known to stimulate the brain.

No estrogenic constituent of dong quai has been specifically identified, but research by Patricia Eagon of the University of Pittsburgh has shown that dong quai binds to estrogen receptors. Like estrogen, dong quai also promotes the growth of the lining of the uterus in rats.

Research on humans has not confirmed this activity. There is inadequate information to evaluate whether estrogenic activity of dong quai would increase a woman's risk of breast cancer.

Uses

In China, traditional practitioners prescribe dong quai together with other herbs such as Astragalus.

Tests in small animals suggest that dong quai extract may have some effects on immune function, but the actions appear to be complex and in some respects contradictory. These actions, however, might explain why it has been considered a "blood purifier."