Zanghonghua (Saffron) and Honghua (Safflower) have names that differ by only one character, yet they are two distinctly different medicinal materials in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Moreover, there is a significant price difference between these two herbs; Zanghonghua (also known as Xihonghua or Crocus sativus) is a precious medicinal herb that is very expensive and hard to obtain, while Honghua is commonly used in clinical practice. Today, we will explore the differences between Honghua and Zanghonghua.Different Sources
Honghua is derived from the dried flowers of the plant Carthamus tinctorius, also known as safflower, with alternative names including grass safflower, red-blue flower, or thistle safflower.
▲Honghua Original Plant
Zanghonghua is derived from the dried stigmas of the plant Crocus sativus, also known as saffron, with alternative names including Xihonghua and Crocus.
▲Zanghonghua Original Plant
Differences in EfficacyHonghua is pungent and warm, entering the Heart and Liver meridians; it has the effects of invigorating blood circulation, regulating menstruation, and alleviating pain; it is commonly used clinically for amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, retained lochia, abdominal masses, chest pain, and traumatic injuries.Note: Pregnant women should use Honghua with caution.
▲Honghua Medicinal Material
Honghua can also be used externally for beauty purposes.
Honghua has a bright red color and serves as a dye, making it an excellent choice for cosmetics. Therefore, using Honghua juice to create rouge or washing the skin with it can enhance one’s appearance and complexion, making women’s skin appear more rosy and radiant.
The external value of Honghua is not solely due to its bright red juice, but because it invigorates blood circulation, dispels blood stasis, and alleviates pain. Historical records from the Song Dynasty, such as Gu Wenjian’s “Night Talks by the Boat Window” and Qiu Yuan’s “Miscellaneous Histories” from the Yuan Dynasty, recount a remarkable case: A renowned physician from Fenghua, Zhejiang, named Lu Yan, was highly skilled and famous. A woman named Xu from Xinchang fainted after childbirth, and her family traveled hundreds of miles to summon Lu Yan. Upon arrival, he found the woman unconscious, with only her chest still warm, and said, “Quickly buy several tens of pounds of Honghua; it can save her life.” He instructed to boil the herb in a large pot, and when the broth boiled, to place the woman over a bucket filled with the medicinal liquid to steam her with the vapor. After a while, her hands began to move slightly, and she gradually regained consciousness.This means: A woman was critically ill after childbirth, and her family called upon the famous physician Lu Yan. When he arrived, the patient was nearly lifeless, with only a slight warmth in her chest. After careful consideration, Lu Yan concluded, “This is a case of blood stagnation; quickly purchase several tens of pounds of Honghua to be effective.” The family complied, and Lu Yan boiled the Honghua, pouring the boiling liquid into three wooden buckets, placing a window frame over the buckets for the patient to lie on and be steamed by the medicinal vapor. After cooling the broth, he added more hot liquid, repeating this process. After a while, the patient’s stiff fingers began to move. After half a day, she gradually regained consciousness and escaped danger.
The core of this case lies in the phenomenon of the patient being “nearly lifeless,” which was not due to a critical condition of her Yang energy but rather due to blood stagnation in the chest, causing obstruction of Qi and blood flow. Therefore, her chest remained slightly warm. Thus, the treatment principle was to invigorate blood circulation and dispel blood stasis. Since the patient could not take oral medicine, a large dose of Honghua was used for medicinal bathing to improve her condition.
Honghua is widely used clinically for various conditions caused by poor blood circulation and blood stasis, such as traumatic injuries, headaches, abdominal pain, rib pain, chest pain, dysmenorrhea, irregular menstruation, postpartum abdominal pain, and retained lochia. It can also be used for various cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, such as stroke, vascular headaches, coronary heart disease, and myocardial ischemia.
Furthermore, the medicinal value of Honghua is also reflected in beauty treatments.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that the luster and delicacy of a person’s skin, the redness of their complexion, and the richness of their hair are closely related to the normal circulation of blood.
When blood flows smoothly, it nourishes the hair and skin, resulting in thick hair, moist skin, and a rosy complexion. Conversely, if blood circulation is obstructed and blood stagnates, the hair and skin do not receive nourishment, leading to dryness and dullness.
Additionally, due to blood stagnation, blocked blood vessels and meridians can lead to toxin accumulation and metabolic disorders, resulting in clinical manifestations such as rashes and obesity. In such cases, an appropriate amount of Honghua taken internally can invigorate blood circulation, dispel blood stasis, and improve symptoms related to blood stagnation, thus achieving a certain degree of “nourishing from within” for beauty.
In the long-standing tradition of Chinese culture, beauty is not merely equated with external charm. While the luster of the complexion, the shine of the hair, and the proportion of the body can often be achieved through makeup and clothing, just like using rouge for beautification, this is only temporary. True natural beauty must be rooted in the internal balance of the body and the smooth flow of Qi and blood. Ancient people understood this well, which is why Honghua is used externally for coloring and internally for nourishing, perfectly illustrating the integration of herbal medicine and folk culture.
Classical Texts on the Efficacy of Honghua
“Compendium of Materia Medica”: Invigorates blood, moistens dryness, alleviates pain, and disperses swelling.
“Kaibao Materia Medica”: Treats postpartum blood stasis, mouth lock, abdominal pain from retained blood, and stillbirth, and should be taken with wine.
“Materia Medica of the Classics”: Blood is generated in the pericardium, stored in the liver, and belongs to the Chong and Ren meridians. Honghua juice is similar, thus it can promote blood circulation in men, regulate menstruation in women, invigorate blood and detoxify, and disperse redness and swelling.
“Essentials of Materia Medica”: Enters the Lung meridian to break up blood stasis, invigorate blood, moisten dryness, and reduce swelling and pain. Treats amenorrhea, constipation, blood lock, stillbirth, heat from smallpox, and throat obstruction. It can also enter the Heart meridian to generate new blood (must be combined with tonifying herbs).
“Materia Medica for Easy Reading”: Red in color and warm, affecting both the Heart and Liver, with a sweet, bitter, and pungent taste, it can regulate blood vessels to remove stasis and generate new blood, treat fractures, and manage pre- and postnatal conditions.
“Explanation of Materia Medica”: Treats postpartum blood stasis, mouth lock, abdominal pain from retained blood, and stillbirth.
“Materia Medica Seeking Truth”: A key agent for promoting blood circulation and dispelling stasis. Blood is generated in the pericardium, stored in the liver, and belongs to the Chong and Ren meridians. When external pathogens invade, blood stagnates and does not flow. Honghua juice is similar to blood, thus it is used for conditions such as throat obstruction, smallpox not erupting, skin swelling and pain, amenorrhea, blood lock, and stillbirth.
“Materia Medica for Easy Reading”: Eliminates postpartum lochia, unblocks menstrual stasis; invigorates blood and moistens dryness, with excellent effects in alleviating pain and dispersing swelling.
“Leigong’s Explanation of Medicinal Properties”: Disperses abdominal blood stasis and replenishes blood deficiency. Eliminates postpartum blood stasis and alleviates blood lock. Treats traumatic injuries, skin infections, elderly blood deficiency with constipation, and amenorrhea.
“Medicinal Appraisal”: Only enters the blood aspect, specifically treating women’s conditions. For stillbirth, it is a sacred medicine. Treats mouth lock and blood lock, indeed a fine product for childbirth. It is often used to break blood, and less for nourishing blood. Generally, pungent and warm herbs can harmonize blood, thus less used for nourishing blood. If overly pungent and warm, blood may disperse, hence more used for breaking blood. This should be used in unblocking menstrual flow, and must be cooked with wine. Dongyuan believes it can nourish blood deficiency due to its compatibility with blood herbs, thus it can invigorate and nourish blood, having a blood-replenishing effect.
“Pearl Bag Supplement on Medicinal Properties”: Its uses are fourfold: to dispel abdominal blood stasis; to replenish blood deficiency; to eliminate postpartum blood stasis; and to alleviate blood lock.
Compatibility
“Essentials of Materia Medica”: Its main function is to invigorate blood and reduce swelling, and it can be combined with wind-dispelling herbs to treat sixty-two types of wind; it can be paired with tonifying herbs to generate new blood; it can be used in rouge to invigorate blood and detoxify, and can be applied topically for skin infections.
“Essentials of Materia Medica”: When blood flows, it becomes active. If there is heat accumulation, vomiting purple-black blood is favorable. If not fully expelled, add peach kernel and Honghua to promote flow. Generally, fresh blood should be stopped, while stagnant blood should be moved.
“Compatibility of Materia Medica”: Combine with Danggui (Angelica sinensis) to invigorate blood; combine with Rougui (Cinnamon) to disperse stasis. Use more for breaking blood, cooked with wine; use less for nourishing blood, cooked with water. Avoid excessive use postpartum, as it may cause uncontrolled bleeding.
Contraindications
“Essentials of Materia Medica”: Use less for nourishing blood; excessive use can cause uncontrolled bleeding.
“Gu Songyuan’s Medical Mirror”: Excessive use can lead to uncontrolled bleeding; should one not be cautious? Pregnant women should avoid it.
Zihonghua (Saffron) is sweet and neutral; it enters the Heart and Liver meridians; it has the effects of invigorating blood, cooling blood, detoxifying, and calming the mind; it is commonly used for amenorrhea, abdominal masses, postpartum stasis, warm toxin-induced rashes, depression, and agitation.
Note: Pregnant women should use Zihonghua with caution.
▲Zihonghua Medicinal Material
First, it should be noted that many people believe that Zanghonghua is produced in Tibet, which is incorrect. In fact, Zanghonghua does not originate from Tibet; its original habitat is along the Mediterranean coast in countries such as Greece and Spain, as well as in Central Asia, with Iran currently being the largest producer. The term “Zang” is used because it was transported from the Mediterranean coast through India and Iran to Tibet, where it was collected and then transported to the mainland, becoming one of the most precious medicinal materials offered to the imperial court in ancient Tibet.Currently, the use of Zanghonghua is popular in society, and the dosage is generally excessive, which is not advisable. Especially for women during menstruation, they should not use it casually, nor in large amounts, as it may lead to uncontrolled bleeding.
Although both Zanghonghua and Honghua have the effect of invigorating blood and regulating menstruation, the former is more potent than the latter, and Zanghonghua has a slightly cold nature, with a milder medicinal property. It also has the effects of cooling blood, detoxifying, and calming the mind, making it effective for heat toxin-induced rashes, skin eruptions, and anxiety and insomnia, earning it the title of “the janitor of blood vessels.” Therefore, in terms of medicinal value, Zanghonghua is more precious.
Finally, regarding dosage, there is a significant difference between the two. Generally, Zanghonghua is mostly used internally, with a recommended dosage of less than 1 gram for health maintenance and usually not exceeding 3 grams for treatment. Honghua can be used externally in larger amounts, depending on the specific condition, and is generally not used alone internally, often combined with other herbs, with a dosage typically between 10-30 grams.
Significant Price Difference
Zanghonghua belongs to the Iridaceae family, while Honghua belongs to the Asteraceae family. The yield of Zanghonghua is extremely low; it blooms with the rising sun and withers at sunset, akin to a fleeting flower, quickly wilting, after which the flower stigma loses its medicinal value, making harvesting extremely difficult. Approximately one kilogram of high-quality Zanghonghua requires the manual separation from nearly two hundred thousand flowers, hence Zanghonghua is known as “the gold of plants” or “red gold.” Therefore, the price of Zanghonghua is far higher than that of ordinary Honghua.
In summary, although Zanghonghua and Honghua differ by only one character, their main effects are similar, primarily focusing on invigorating blood and dispelling stasis. However, there are differences in terms of botanical family, potency, application range, dosage, and price.
Identifying Authentic Zanghonghua
Water Soaking Method: When Zanghonghua is placed in water, it will show an orange-yellow color, sinking straight down, gradually diffusing, with the solution being yellow rather than red, clear and bright without sediment, and no oily floating on the surface; stirring with a stick does not easily break it.
Observation Method: Spread Zanghonghua on white paper and observe with a magnifying glass; it should be wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, with the upper end bulging like a trumpet, resembling a dragon’s head and phoenix’s tail.
Pressing Method: Press Zanghonghua with white paper; although it is oily, the paper should not retain oil stains. If dipped in water and rubbed on white paper, it should turn golden yellow.
