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What is it?

The roots are the parts used in herbal medicine; both the tuberous tap-root and its long branches. We obtain them in pre-cut slices which have a distinct, penetrating and pleasant aroma with an unusual sweet and warming taste. Dong Quai is a long lived herb that chiefly grows in Western and North-Western China where it prefers cool, moist and high ground to flourish. Dong Quai grows tall to over a meter and has the graceful spreading leaves that characterise members of the Umbelliferae family.

How has it been used?

Dong Quai has been called the female ‘Ginseng’ of the Orient and is said to be the most popular women’s herb in the Far East. As such it has been very widely used for a range of common women’s conditions including; amenorrhoea (absent periods), cramps and dysmenorrhoea (painful periods), menopausal symptoms, infertility, osteoporosis and anaemia.

Dong Quai has also frequently been used to help in the treatment of asthma, high blood pressure, rheumatic pains, dry constipation, insomnia and fatigue.

I am told that in traditional Chinese medicine they will give people direct infusions of Dong Quai (along with Astragalus) who have lost a lot of blood and are critically ill (and so are in intensive care) Dong Quai is a herb that is seen as exceptionally nourishing to a weakened and depleted state, even in extremis.

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Personal experiences

If you take a little Dong Quai in a receptive and aware state of mind it is easy to begin to understand its great traditional reputation. This is a deeply warming, penetrating and nourishing herb and the whole body seems to respond to it. You could say it ‘moves the blood’ and this is certainly a key way that Dong Quai is appreciated in the East.

If a person’s constitutional dominance is towards cold and dry it is possible to be strongly confident that it will be of great value even before commencing treatment. Signs of excess ‘cold and dryness’ in a person are typically on their skin (lacking moisture and being pale) and their tongues (also lacking moisture and being pale).

Dong Quai needs to be taken in high doses for anaemia and menstrual disturbances. As a hormonal balancer and tonic it is better used moderately and over a longer time frame. Dong Quai combines perfectly with Licorice root as an energy tonic and Withania as a blood tonic.

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Dong Quai in Chinese medicine

In China, Dong quai root is known as the "empress of herbs" and also called dang gui, which means "proper order," in reference to Dong quai's benefits. It is one of the most widely consumed herbs in China. During that country's Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, wild supplies of dong quai were exhausted, and people began to cultivate it which has continued to this day.

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