Other Names : Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, Salvia root, Red sage root, Red sage, Chinese sage, Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge., Tan Shen, Danshen, 丹參<br>The herb can be found throughout most of China, it is mainly produced in provinces like Jiangsu, Anhui, Hebei, Shanxi and Sichuan.<br>See also : [[Salvia]]
==Special Precautions of Dan Shen==
* Those without blood stasis and pregnant women should be used with caution.
* Salvia root is an important ingredient for gynecological disorders like irregular periods, missed periods menstrual pain or postpartum abdominal pain. For menstrual problems, the herb is usually prescribed with nutgrass rhizome, angelica root, peony root and motherwort herb. For abdominal pain after delivery or gynecological surgeries, the herb is prescribed with angelica root, Sichuan lovage and flying squirrel dung.
* Salvia root is a common ingredient for pain relief, since TCM believes that painful conditions are usually associated with a stagnated blood flow. It can be used with Sichuan lovage, cattail pollen, flying squirrel dung and turmeric root-tuber to relieve chest pain or angina, which is a sign of stagnated blood flow in the heart vessels. For gastric and abdominal pain, the herb will be used with villous amomum fruit and sandal wood. In chronic joint problems, when the lumbar and legs are cold and painful, physicians prescribe salvia root along with cinnamon, eucommia bark and achyranthes root; in case if the joints are red, swollen and painful, physicians prescribe salvia root along with honeysuckle stem, red peony root and gentiana macrophylla root. For traumatic injuries, salvia root can be prescribed with angelica root, Sichuan lovage, frankincense and myrrh to relieve the swollen and pain, and promote healing.
*used as an herbal remedy for ailments related to the heart and blood vessels, in a similar manner to hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna). It is often used as a treatment for high blood pressure by opening up the arteries and improving blood flow. While the herb does not directly lower blood pressure, it relaxes the blood vessels and improves the entire body's circulatory system, which can indirectly dampen high blood pressure.
* TCM believes that abdominal masses and accumulations are related to long-term blood stagnation, salvia root can be prescribed with common bur-reed rhizome, zedoray rhizome and oyster shell to disperse them. Clinically, it has showed that the dispersing actions are beneficial to liver and spleen enlargements, ectopic pregnancy, uterine fibroid or other hematoma masses in the abdomen.
* Salvia root is usually prescribed with herbs like sour jujube seed, Chinese arborvitae kernel, schisandra to treat insomnia. For example, when individuals are deficiency of blood and their hearts have excessive fire, they will develop insomnia and palpitations, then physicians prescribe salvia root along with rehmannia root, sour jujube seed and Chinese arborvitae kernel in the remedy. In some cases, heat pathogens enter the blood circulation that leads to irritability, fever and skin rashes, then physicians use salvia root along with rehmannia root, figwort root, honeysuckle flower and weeping forsythia capsule.
* [[Anshen Buxin Wan]]
* [[Wu Ji Bai Feng Wan]]
* [[Zhen Xin An Shen Tang]]
* [[An Shen Wan]]
[[Category:Treatments]]
[[Category:herbal medicine]]
[[Category:Chinese medicine]]
[[Category:Hepatic]]