Danshen

Scientific Name(s): Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge
Common Name(s): Dan shen, Danshen, Radix, Tan-shen, Tanshen

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Dec 22, 2021.

Clinical Overview

Use

Danshen has been used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine as a single herb and in multiherb formulations. Limited clinical studies have shown efficacy in coronary artery disease and acute ischemic stroke, but the quality of methodology limits the validity and extrapolation of these findings.

Dosing

Active components in commercially available preparations of danshen vary greatly. Doses include danshen 20 mg/kg capsules. Dosages of danshen root extract 5 g twice daily for 60 days have been used in diabetic patients with coronary heart disease.

Contraindications

Contraindications have not been identified.

Pregnancy/Lactation

Avoid use. Information regarding safety and efficacy in pregnancy and lactation is lacking.

Interactions

Danshen may interfere with laboratory digoxin plasma levels and increase the anticoagulant effect of warfarin. It may reduce the plasma concentration and therefore pharmacologic effects of midazolam. Danshen inhibits numerous cytochrome P450 (CYP-450) enzymes in vitro.

Adverse Reactions

Adverse reactions include allergy, dizziness, headache, mild GI symptoms, and reversible thrombocytopenia.

Toxicology

No data.

Scientific Family

• Lamiaceae (mint)

Botany

Danshen is a perennial herb found mainly on sunny hillsides and stream edges in China. It has violet-blue flowers that bloom in the summer, with oval, finely serrated leaves. The fruit is an oval brown nut. Danshen's vivid scarlet red roots, from which many of the common names derive, are the primary medicinal part of the plant. Danshen is related to common sage, the culinary herb.Wu 2007, Zhou 2005 A study of samples sold in Chinese markets identified 18 related Salvia species collected, used, and sold as danshen, and evaluated their folk uses, traditional functions, and chemistry.Li 2008 Although only S. miltiorrhiza is recorded as the official species of danshen in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, Salvia przewalskii Maxim is widely used in southern China. Genetic diversity and population structure of S. miltiorrhiza have been studied.Song 2010 Danshen is related to other Salvia species such as Salvia hispanica L. (chia) and Salvia officinalis (sage).

History

Danshen is considered one of the most important traditional Chinese medicines and has widespread use in Asian countries.Fang 2010 The "dripping pill" is made by thermally blending the extract with excipients and then dripping the mixture into an insoluble cooling liquid until solidified droplets are formed.Zhou 2005 As a single herbal supplement, S. miltiorrhiza has been investigated in clinical trials for its effect on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes.Qian 2012, Qian 2012, van Poppel 2015

Traditionally, danshen has been used to improve body function (eg, promote circulation, blood flow), as well as to treat hemorrhage, dysmenorrhea, miscarriage, swelling, insomnia, and hepatitis. More recent primary uses include treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions.Wang 2007, Zhou 2005

Chemistry

More than 50 compounds have been identified in danshen, the majority being lipophilic diterpenes, known as tanshinone...