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Dan Shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza)
is a traditional Chinese medicine, a gift from nature to humanity, with a history of application in China spanning over 2000 years. Dan Shen, also known as Chi Shen or Mountain Shen, is characterized by its red skin and purple flesh, hence it is also referred to as Purple Dan Shen. It is the dried root of the perennial herb Salvia miltiorrhiza from the Lamiaceae family.
Dan Shen was first recorded in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Shen Nong’s Classic of Materia Medica), classified as a superior herb. Regarding its efficacy, the Fu Ren Ming Lue states: “With Dan Shen alone, it has the effects of four herbs: it nourishes and generates blood, comparable to Dang Gui (Angelica sinensis) and Di Huang (Rehmannia glutinosa); it regulates and restrains blood, surpassing Shao Yao (Paeonia lactiflora); it dispels stasis and generates new blood, comparable to Chuan Xiong (Ligusticum chuanxiong). It can be used for various women’s ailments, both before and after childbirth.” Thus, it is said that “one herb of Dan Shen has the efficacy of four herbs.”
Dan Shen is considered a relatively “robust” herb, with low requirements for climate and soil, leading to its wide distribution across various regions, including Shandong, Shaanxi, Henan, Sichuan, Shanxi, Hebei, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Jiangsu. Shandong alone accounts for 55-60% of the total production, making it a major production province. Due to its broad distribution, it is less affected by regional variations, making it one of the most commonly used herbs for invigorating blood and dispelling stasis in clinical practice.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) holds that Dan Shen has the effects of invigorating blood and dispelling stasis, regulating menstruation and alleviating pain, cooling blood and resolving abscesses, and clearing the heart and relieving irritability. It can be used for chest obstruction and heart pain, irritability and insomnia, abdominal and flank pain, masses and accumulations, dysmenorrhea and amenorrhea, irregular menstruation, abdominal and flank pain, and painful swellings and abscesses, with extensive applications in internal, external, and gynecological medicine.
Modern pharmacological studies have shown that Dan Shen possesses a wide range of complex pharmacological activities, with over a hundred active components, particularly notable for its applications in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health.
As we all know, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are currently the “number one killer” threatening the health and lives of the Chinese population, with a trend of affecting younger individuals. The incidence rate among young and middle-aged people is increasing year by year, bringing a heavy burden and irreparable losses to the country, society, and families. On September 11, 2020, the China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report (2019) was released. This report indicates that the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in China is continuously rising, estimating that there are 330 million people currently suffering from cardiovascular diseases, including 245 million with hypertension, 13 million with stroke, 11 million with coronary heart disease, 5 million with pulmonary heart disease, 8.9 million with heart failure, 2.5 million with rheumatic heart disease, 2 million with congenital heart disease, and 45.3 million with peripheral arterial disease.
As a chronic non-communicable disease, the etiology of cardiovascular diseases is unclear, the course is relatively long, and the prognosis is poor, but they can be effectively prevented. Therefore, effective prevention becomes the primary responsibility in guarding against cardiovascular diseases.
Statistics have shown that Dan Shen is used in 63.8% of prescriptions for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetic complications, and heart diseases! There are over 600 types of Chinese patent medicines for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, with more than 400 formulations containing Dan Shen. Common clinical preparations include Dan Shen tablets, compound Dan Shen tablets, Dan Shen heart-soothing tablets, Dan Shen injection, and compound Dan Shen injection. Whenever heart-related diseases are involved, Dan Shen is always present, often as a key ingredient! It is almost impossible to find a cardiologist who has not used Dan Shen in their practice! This highlights the importance of Dan Shen in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, justifying its title as the “guardian of cardiovascular health.”
The Effects of Dan Shen on Cardiovascular Health
The effects of Dan Shen on the cardiovascular system can be summarized as follows:
1. It can effectively increase coronary blood flow and has a significant protective effect against myocardial injury caused by acute myocardial ischemia by reducing myocardial conductivity and excitability. It has a good therapeutic effect on symptoms such as coronary artery sclerosis and ischemic angina.
2. It dilates blood vessels, increases blood supply, lowers blood pressure, and enhances vascular elasticity, which is beneficial for maintaining stable blood pressure.
3. It has anti-platelet and anti-thrombotic effects, reducing blood viscosity, thereby effectively improving microcirculation in blood vessels and promoting the normalization of blood lipid levels in individuals with elevated blood lipids and viscosity.
4. It has preventive and therapeutic effects on microvascular complications of diabetes, such as diabetic retinopathy and diabetic nephropathy. The blood-invigorating effect of Dan Shen can effectively prevent excess sugar from depositing in blood vessel walls, thus maintaining stable blood sugar levels.
Can Dan Shen be used as a tea substitute?
Some people ask, since Dan Shen is so beneficial and widely available, can I just dig some Dan Shen from the mountains and brew it in water to drink, saving money and being convenient?
Using Dan Shen as a tea substitute is not advisable. Why? Although Dan Shen is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine formulas, it is generally not used alone but rather in combination with other herbs. The chemical components in traditional Chinese medicine interact during the boiling process, promoting their extraction and undergoing certain changes. Therefore, traditional Chinese medicine decoctions are quite intricate, and current pharmacologists cannot fully explain them.
Moreover, the effective components of Dan Shen extracts found in pharmacological studies are mostly non-water-soluble, such as Danshensu, which means that brewing it alone in water would not yield significant effects on cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, when formulating Chinese patent medicines, it is preferable to use extracts of Dan Shen that have undergone deep processing, such as red yeast rice and ginkgo leaf Dan Shen capsules.
Red Yeast Rice and Ginkgo Leaf Dan Shen Capsules
Red Yeast Rice and Ginkgo Leaf Dan Shen Capsules are formulated from a scientific ratio of red yeast powder, ginkgo leaf extract, and Dan Shen extract. Each of these three herbs has its strengths in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Red yeast powder is adept at lowering blood lipids, as seen in the commonly used blood lipid-lowering drug, Xuezhikang capsules, which is made solely from red yeast powder; ginkgo leaf is effective in improving blood supply to small blood vessels represented by cerebral blood vessels, as seen in commonly used ginkgo leaf tablets and Jin Nado; Dan Shen excels in improving blood supply to large blood vessels represented by the heart, with common medications including Dan Shen tablets and Dan Shen drops, which are primarily composed of Dan Shen.
Red Yeast Rice and Ginkgo Leaf Dan Shen Capsules (referred to as Hong Yin Dan) combine red yeast powder, ginkgo leaf, and Dan Shen into a compound preparation, creating a synergistic effect where 1+1+1 > 3. This formulation aids in lowering blood lipids, achieving the ultimate goal of protecting the heart and brain, and preventing the occurrence and progression of cardiovascular issues.
Red Yeast Rice and Ginkgo Leaf Dan Shen
“Red Yeast Rice and Ginkgo Leaf Dan Shen” is a pure herbal formulation made from red yeast powder, ginkgo leaf extract, and Dan Shen extract. Red yeast powder is rich in natural lovastatin and its derivatives, and experiments have proven their synergistic effect in lowering blood lipids. Compared to pure lovastatin, red yeast exhibits a stronger comprehensive lipid-lowering effect at the same dosage of lovastatin; ginkgo leaf extract is adept at improving “stasis” in small blood vessels represented by cerebral blood vessels; Dan Shen extract excels at alleviating “blockage” in large blood vessels represented by the heart. The combined use of these three herbs provides a synergistic effect that aids in lowering blood lipids, regulating blood pressure, preventing atherosclerosis, and achieving a more stable effect in protecting the heart and brain. For more information, please call 400-110-2829.
To maintain cardiovascular health, use Red Yeast Rice and Ginkgo Leaf Dan Shen!
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