Salvia Miltiorrhiza - Health Benefits, Uses and Important Facts

Salvia miltiorrhiza, also known as Danshen, is a herbal medicine created from the dried roots of red sage plants, which are flowering plants associated to the herb sage used in cooking.

Since the Middle Ages, red sage has been used to treat a wide range of health problems, from high cholesterol to type 2 diabetes. It is used to treat a number of long-term diseases, such as heart disease, liver cirrhosis, and chronic renal failure, among others. Tanshinones, like tanshinone IIA, dihydrotanshinone, and cryptotanshinone, are lipophilic phenanthrene compounds that come from the roots of S. miltiorrhiza. They have different anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

What is Salvia miltiorrhiza?

Salvia miltiorrhiza is highly valued in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) because it improves blood flow and heart health. Red sage is another name for the flowering plant Salvia miltiorrhiza. It comes from China and Japan. It is in the same family as mint. The roots of the plant are called Danshen, and they have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for more than 2,000 years.

Other names of Salvia Miltiorrhiza: 

Salvia miltiorrhiza is a traditional Chinese medicine that is also called red sage or Danshen.

Early use of Salvia Miltiorrhiza: 

Salvia miltiorrhiza has been an important part of many herbal practises for a long time, but it was first used in China.

A text called "Shennong Materia Medica," which is one of the oldest medical texts in China, describes one of the first times the herb was used.

It shows that the herb was used more than 2,000 years ago to treat gynaecological diseases, heart health, and gastrointestinal diseases, among other things.

Nutritional value and chemical compounds of Salvia miltiorrhiza:

Modern science has shown that salvia militorrhiza has more than 200 chemical compounds, which may be part of the reason why it is good for your health. Some of these compounds are triterpenoids, flavonoids, lipophilic diterpenoids, hydrophilic phenolic compounds, and lipophilic diterpenoids.

Health benefits of Salvia miltiorrhiza:

Salvia miltiorrhiza is used in Chinese medicine to improve blood flow and treat diseases of the blood vessels. Danshen seems to change hemostasis and improve circulation by widening blood vessels, stopping platelets from sticking together and reducing clotting, stopping blood from clotting on its own, acting like antithrombin III, and speeding up the breakdown of fibrin. Danshen is taken by mouth to treat circulation problems, ischemic stroke, angina pectoris, and other heart diseases, as well as menstrual problems, chronic hepatitis, abdominal masses, insomnia caused by palpitations and a tight chest, acne, psoriasis, eczema, and other skin conditions. Danshen is also taken by mouth to treat bruises and help wounds heal.