HomeTraditional Chinese Medicine HerbsChinese Angelica

Chinese Angelica

Name

Chinese Angelica

Latin Pharmaceutical Name

Angelicae Sinensis Radix

Chinese Name

当归

Category

Roots and rhizomes

Chinese AngelicaMore Info

Production Regions

Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Yunnan, Qinghai.

Macroscopic Features

Whole material is long and slightly cylindrical, lower portion has 3~5 or more branched roots, 15~25cm. Outer skin is thin and dense; externally yellowish-brown or brown, with longitudinal wrinkles and horizontal long lenticels. Head (Gui tou) has 1.5~4cm diameter, with striations, upper apex is round and blunt, with purple or yellowish-green remnants of stem and leaf sheaths. Main root (Gui shen) is thick, short and externally uneven; branched root (Gui wei) is 0.3~1cm diameter, thick upper part and thin lower part, curved, with small number off rootlets. Soft and pliable texture; fractured surface is yellowish-white or pale yellowish-brown; cortex is thick with cracks and numerous brown spotted secretory cavities; xylem is relatively pale, cambium ring is yellowish-brown. The fractured surface of some rhizomes has pith and a hollow cavity at the center.

Quality Requirements

Superior medicinal material has thick and long main root, oily and moist, with yellowish-brown outer skin; full and fleshy with a potent aromatic odor.

Properties

Sweet, acrid; warm.

Functions

Supplements the blood, invigorates the blood, regulates menstruation, relieves pain, moistens the intestines, frees the stool. Apply to chlorosis due to hemopenia, vertigo and palpitation, irregular menstrual periods, amenorrhea and painful menstruation, deficiency cold abdominalgia, constipation induced by dryness of the intestine, rheumatic arthralgia, injuries from falls, superficial infection and burns and scalds.

Origin

The dried root of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (Apiaceae).

Chinese AngelicaHerbs in the formula

Perilla Fruit Qi-Descending Decoction

Action：Directs qi downward, dispels phlegm, relieves cough and panting.

Indication：Su Zi Jiang Qi Tang is indicated for coughing or wheezing in patterns of upper excess and lower deficiency. The symptoms are phlegm-drool accumulation, chest and diaphragm fullness and oppression, coughing, panting, shortness of breath, and exhaling more than inhaling. It is accompanied by lumbago, weakness in the legs, fatigue, lassitude, or swollen limbs. The tongue coating is glossy, white or greasy, white, and the pulse is wiry and slippery.

View Details Qi-regulating formulas

Spleen-Restoring Decoction

Action：Boosts qi, supplements blood; fortifies the spleen, and nourishes the heart.

Indication：1. Qi and blood deficiency of the heart and spleen marked by palpitations, amnesia, insomnia, night sweat, deficiency-heat, tiredness, reduced food intake, withered-sallow complexion, a pale tongue with a thin, white coating, and thready, weak pulses.

View Details Tonic formulas

Fluid-Replenishing Decoction

Action：Warms the kidney and supplements essence, moistens the intestines to promote defecation.

Indication：This formula is indicated for deficiency of kidney yang, essence, and blood. The symptoms are dry stool, clear and profuse urine, soreness and weakness of lower back and knees, dizziness, a pale tongue with a white coating, and a deep, slow and weak pulse.

View Details Purgative formulas

Gentian Liver-Draining Decoction

Action：Clears and drains excessive fire of the liver and gallbladder, and clears damp-heat in the liver channel.

Indication：1. Flaming up of excessive fire of the liver and gallbladder, which manifests as headache and red eyes, pain in the rib-side, bitter taste in the mouth, deafness, swelling of the ears, a red tongue with a yellow coating, and a forceful wiry, rapid pulse.

View Details Heat-clearing formulas

Pubescent Angelica and Mistletoe Decoction

Action：Dispels wind-dampness, relieves pain, boosts the liver and kidney, supplements qi and blood.

Indication：This formula is indicated for long-term bi syndrome associated with deficiency of the liver and kidney and insufficiency of qi and blood. The symptoms include pain and flaccidity of the waist and knees, disorder of flexion and extension of the joints, numbness, fear of cold with a preference for warmth, palpitations, and shortness of breath. The tongue is pale with a white coating and the pulse is thready and weak.

View Details Dampclearing formulas

Yang-Supplementing and Five-Returning Decoction

Action：Supplements qi, invigorates blood, and unblocks the collaterals.

Indication：Bu Yang Huan Wu Tang is indicated for wind-strike due to qi deficiency and blood stasis marked by hemiplegia, deviation of the mouth and eye, sluggish speech, involuntary salivation from the mouth, frequent urination or enuresis, a dark tongue body with a white coating, and a slow, weak pulse.

View Details Blood-regulating formulas

Center-Supplementing and Qi-Boosting Decoction

Action：Supplements the center and boosts qi; raises yang and lifts the sunken.

Indication：Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang is indicated for two patterns. The first pattern is deficient or sunken spleen qi with reduced food intake, general sluggish sensation, weak breathing, lack of desire to speak, sallow-yellow facial complexion, and loose unformed stool. The tongue is pale and the pulse is deficient. It is also used for rectal prolapse, uterine prolapse, chronic diarrhea, and flooding and spotting (beng lou). The second pattern is objective or subjective fever due to qi deficiency manifested by a feverish sensation, spontaneous sweating, thirst with a desire for hot drinks, shortness of breath, and lack of strength. The tongue is pale and the pulse is deficient, big, and weak.

View Details Tonic formulas

Chinese Angelica Blood-Supplementing Decoction

Action：Supplements qi and engenders blood.

Indication：Dang Gui Bu Xue Tang is used to treat fever caused by patterns of blood deficiency and floating yang. The symptoms are fever, a red complexion, vexing thirst, and a desire to drink. The pulses are surging, large, and deficient; however, forceless when one feels it with heavy pressure. It is also used to treat fever or headache that results from blood deficiency during pregnancy or after delivery or for ulcers that are slow or difficult to heal after breakout.

View Details Tonic formulas

Chinese Angelica Pain-Alleviating Decoction

Action：Drains dampness and clears heat, scatters wind and relieves pain.

Indication：Dang Gui Nian Tong Tang is indicated for patterns that arise due to a conflict between dampness and heat with concurrent external wind contraction. The symptoms are aching pain of limbs and joints, heavy sensation of the shoulder and back, swelling and pain of the feet, sores on the feet and knees. The tongue coating is white and greasy mixed with yellow and the pulse is wiry and rapid.

View Details Dampclearing formulas

Chinese Angelica Frigid Extremities Decoction

Action：Warms the channels to expel cold, nourishes the blood and unblocks the channels.

Indication：Counterflow cold of the limbs due to blood deficiency is characterized by counterflow cold of hands and feet, pain in the waist, thighs, lower legs, feet, shoulders, and back, no thirst, a pale tongue body with a white coating, and a deep, thin pulse or thin, impalpable pulse.

View Details Warming interior formulas

Chinese Angelica Six Yellow Decoction

Action：Nourishes yin, drains fire, consolidates the exterior, and arrests sweating.

Indication：This formula is indicated for night sweating caused by yin deficiency and intense fire. The symptoms are night sweating with fever, red complexion, vexation, thirst and dry lips, dry stool, dark urine, a red tongue body with a yellow coating, and a rapid pulse.

View Details Heat-clearing formulas

Channel-Warming Decoction

Action：Warms the channels and dissipates cold, dispels stasis and nourishes blood.

Indication：Wen Jing Tang is indicated for deficiency-cold of the chong and ren mai, obstructive blood stasis marked by menstrual spotting or purple menses with blood clots. There may be irregular menstruation such as advanced, delayed, or prolonged periods, or having a period twice a month. There may also be inhibited menses, fever at night, vexatious heat in the palms, dry lips and mouth, distention and fullness of the lower abdomen, a dark red tongue, and a thready, choppy pulse. Infertility due to deficient cold of the uterus may also manifest.

View Details Blood-regulating formulas

Spleen-Warming Decoction

Action：Expels cold accumulation through purgation, warms and supplements spleen yang.

Indication：Wen Pi Tang is indicated for cold accumulation due to yang deficiency. Symptoms are abdominal pain and constipation, unstoppable colic around umbilicus, cold hands and feet, a white tongue coating with no thirst, and a deep wiry, slow pulse.

View Details Purgative formulas

Liver-Warming Decoction

Action：Warms and supplements the liver and kidney, moves qi and relieves pain.

Indication： Nuan Gan Jian is indicated for patterns of liver and kidney insufficiency with cold coagulation in the liver channel. Symptoms include cold pain in the testis, lower abdominal pain, fear of cold, and a preference for warmth. The tongue is pale with a white coating, and the pulse is deep and slow.

View Details Qi-regulating formulas

Yellow Dragon Decoction

Action：Purges by promoting defecation, supplements qi and nourishes the blood.

Indication：This formula may be prescribed for yangming bowel excess with deficiency of qi and blood. This pattern is characterized by either the discharge of clear, watery stool that is pure green or constipation. There is stomach cavity and abdominal distention and pain which refuses pressure, fever, thirst, mental fatigue, shortness of breath, delirious speech, picking at their pajamas, teasing air as if arranging thread, unconsciousness, reversal counterflow cold of the four limbs, a dry yellow or dry black tongue coating, and a weak pulse.

View Details Purgative formulas

Original Qi-Restoring and Blood-Moving Decoction

Action：Invigorates blood and dispels stasis, soothes liver and unblocks the collaterals.

Indication：Fu Yuan Huo Xue Tang is indicated for injuries from falls, fractures, contusions, and strains, as well as, patterns of blood stasis marked by unbearable hypochondriac pain due to obstructive stasis.

View Details Blood-regulating formulas

Free Wanderer Powder

Action：Soothes the liver and resolves constraint, nourishes blood and fortifies the spleen.

Indication：Xiao Yao San is indicated for the pattern of liver constraint, blood deficiency, and spleen weakness, characterized by rib-side pain, headache, dizziness, dry mouth, dry throat, mental fatigue, reduced food intake, menstrual irregularities, distending pain of the breasts, and a wiry, deficient pulse.

View Details Harmonizing formulas

Stomach-Heat-Clearing Powder

Action：Drains stomach fire and cools the blood.

Indication：This formula is indicated for toothaches caused by stomach fire. The symptoms are toothache radiating to the head, aversion to heat and a preference for cold on the teeth, bad breath that is hot, heat in the face, thirst, gingival atrophy bleeding, redness, swelling, and ulcers in the gum, swelling and pain in lips, tongue, and cheeks, a red tongue with a yellow coating, and a slippery, rapid pulse.

View Details Heat-clearing formulas

Enlightened Master Viscera-Nourishing Decoction

Action：Astringes the intestines and rescues from desertion, warms and supplements the spleen and kidney.

Indication：This formula is used to treat chronic diarrhea or dysentery due to deficiency-cold of the spleen and kidney. Corresponding symptoms include fecal incontinence, excessive diarrhea or dysentery, abdominal pain that is relieved by pressure and warmth, fatigue, poor appetite or reduced food intake. Usually, the tongue is pale with a white coating. The pulse is deep and slow or slow and thready.

View Details Astringent formulas

Mume Pill

Action：Calms roundworms and relieves pain.

Indication：Wu Mei Wan is used for syncope due to roundworms. The symptoms include paroxysmal pain of the abdomen and stomach cavity, vexatious vomiting, vomiting after eating, vomiting roundworms, cold limbs, and chronic diarrhea or dysentery.

View Details Vermifuge formulas

Wind-Dispersing Powder

Action：Scatters wind and eliminates dampness, clears heat and nourishes the blood.

Indication：Xiao Feng San is indicated for rubella and eczema. The symptoms are itching skin, red rashes that affect a large part of the body, fluids that leak upon scratching, a white or yellow tongue coating, and a superficial, rapid pulse.

View Details Wind-calming formulas

Mantis Egg Shell Powder

Action：Harmonizes and supplements the heart and the kidney, consolidates essence and arrests emission and urination.

Indication：Sang Piao Xiao San is indicated for a pattern of both heart and kidney deficiency. Signs and symptoms include frequent urination, turbid urine, enuresis, spontaneous seminal emission, absent-mindedness, poor memory, a pale tongue with white coating and a thready, thin pulse.

View Details Astringent formulas

Peony Decoction

Action：Clears heat in the large intestine, dries dampness, invigorates the blood, and moves qi.

Indication：This formula is indicated for damp-heat dysentery. The symptoms are dysentery with stool containing pus and blood, abdominal pain, abdominal urgency with rectal heaviness, burning sensation in the anus, scant dark urine, a greasy yellow tongue coating, and a wiry rapid pulse.

View Details Heat-clearing formulas

Blood Stasis-Expelling Decoction

Action：Invigorates blood, dissolves stasis, and moves qi to relieve pain.

Indication：Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang is indicated for blood stasis in the chest. Symptoms include chest pain, headache, and chronic stabbing pain at a fixed location, continual hiccups or choking when drinking water, nausea, internal heat, dizziness, severe palpitations, insomnia, dreaminess, impatience, irascibility, tidal fever at night, dark lips or eyes, a dark red tongue with ecchymosis or purple spots, and a choppy or wiry, tight pulse.

View Details Blood-regulating formulas

Lily Bulb Metal-Securing Decoction

Action：Enriches and nourishes the lung and kidney, relieves cough and dissolves phlegm.

Indication：Bai He Gu Jin Tang is indicated for a pattern of lung-kidney yin deficiency with deficiency fire flaming upward. The symptoms are coughing, labored breathing, blood in the sputum, dry and sore throat, dizziness and blurred vision, afternoon tidal fever. The tongue is red with scanty coating, and the pulse is thready and rapid.

View Details Dryness-moistening formulas

Cinnabar Mind-Calming Pill

Action：Tranquilizes the heart and calms the mind, clears heat and nourishes the blood.

Indication：Zhu Sha an Shen Wan is indicated for insufficient yin-blood caused by the hyperactivity of heart fire. The symptoms are insomnia, profuse dreaming, (severe) palpitations, restlessness, and vexation. The tongue tip is red, and the pulse is thin and rapid.

View Details Sedative and tranquilizing formulas

Engendering and Transforming Decoction

Action：Nourishes the blood and dissolves blood stasis, warms the channels and relieves pain.

Indication：Patterns of blood deficiency, congealed cold, and blood stasis marked by inhibited lochia after childbirth and cold pain in the lower abdomen.

View Details Blood-regulating formulas

Four Substances Decoction

Action：Supplements and regulates the blood.

Indication：Si Wu Tang is used to treat patterns of ying-blood deficiency and stagnation manifesting dizziness, blurred vision, palpitations, insomnia, a lusterless complexion, menstrual irregularities, oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea, abdominal pain around the navel or mass (s) formed within the abdomen, a pale tongue, pale lips and nails, a thready, wiry pulse or thready, choppy pulse.

View Details Tonic formulas

Right-Restoring Pill

Action：Warms and supplements kidney yang, supplements essence, and boosts marrow.

Indication：You Gui Wan is intended for patterns of kidney yang insufficiency and ming men fire deficiency marked by mental fatigue and general weakness due to aging or chronic disease, fear of cold, hypothermic limbs, sore loins, impotence, spermatorrhea, infertility, decreased food intake, unformed stools, urinary incontinence, a pale tongue with a white coating, and a deep, delayed pulse.

View Details Tonic formulas

Immortal Formula Life-Giving Beverage

Action：Clears heat, resolves toxins, disperses swelling, promotes suppuration, invigorates blood, and relieves pain.

Indication：This formula is indicated for yang patterns in the initial stage with sores, abscesses, and ulcers. The symptoms are redness, swelling, and pain in the affected areas, fear of cold with fever, a thin white or yellow tongue coating, and a forceful, rapid pulse.

View Details Heat-clearing formulas

Celestial Emperor Heart-Supplementing Elixir

Action：Enriches yin and clears heat, nourishes blood and calms the mind.

Indication：Deficiency of yin and insufficiency of blood have lead to the disturbance of the mind. Symptoms include palpitations, vexation, insomnia, mental fatigue, forgetfulness, nocturnal emission, feverish feeling in palms and soles, aphtha, a sore mouth and tongue, and dry stool. The tongue is red with scanty coating, and the pulse is thin and rapid.

View Details Sedative and tranquilizing formulas

Field Thistle Drink

Action：Cools blood and stanches bleeding, promotes urination and relieves strangury.

Indication：Blood strangury or bloody urine is due to the accumulation of heat in the lower jiao. This condition is marked by blood in the urine, and frequent painful urination that is hot with an unsmooth stream. The tongue is red and the pulse is rapid.

View Details Blood-regulating formulas

Large Gentian Decoction

Action：Scatters wind and clears heat, nourishes and invigorates blood.

Indication：Da Qin Jiao Tang is indicated for an early stage of a wind attacking the channels and collaterals pattern. The symptoms are deviation of the eyes and mouth, difficulty in speaking due to stiff tongue, an inability to move the extremities, often accompanied by aversion to cold with fever, spasms and tension of the extremities, a white or yellow tongue coating, and a superficial, rapid pulse or wiry, thin pulse.

View Details Wind-calming formulas

Eight-Gem Decoction

Action：Boosts qi and supplements blood.

Indication：Ba Zhen Tang is intended for a syndrome of qi and blood deficiency marked by pale or withered-yellow complexion, dizziness, auditory vertigo, lassitude of the four limbs, shortness of breath, reluctance to speak, palpitations, and decreased food intake. The tongue is pale with a thin, white coating and the pulse is thready, weak or deficient, big, and weak.

View Details Tonic formulas

Effective Integration Decoction

Action：Enriches yin and soothes the liver.

Indication：Yi Guan Jian is appropriate for patterns of liver-kidney yin deficiency with liver qi constraint characterized by pain in the chest, abdomen, and hypochondriac regions, acid regurgitation, bitter taste, dry mouth and throat, a dry, red tongue, and a thready, weak or weak, wiry pulse. This formula is also applied for shan qi (hernia).

View Details Tonic formulas