Danshen is the dry root and rhizome of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, which belong to
the family of Lamiaceae, genus of Salvia. Danshen was firstly recorded in Shen
Nong’s Classic of Materia Medica. Later, Danshen was recorded in the other ancient
monographs, for example, Wu Pu’s Materia Medica, Miscellaneous Records of
Famous Physicians, and Grand Compendium of Materia Medica. The functions of
Danshen have “eliminating the pathogenic factors in heart and abdomen”, “replenishing
the heart, resuscitation, and relieving mental stress”, “quieting vital fetus and
removing the dead fetus, arresting hemorrhage, mitigating leucorrhea and regulating
the irregular channels of women”, “promoting blood circulation, regulating
pericardium, invigorating qi and nourishing the blood”. Danshen is widely distributed throughout China and is mainly distributed in
Jiangsu, Anhui, Hebei, Sichuan, Henan, Hubei, Fujian, and Shanxi provinces.
역사
Research on the chemical components of Danshen was initiated in the 1930s. Much
research on the lipophylic components have been carried out. More than 40 lipophylic
compounds have been identified. The research on the hydrosoluble components
of Danshen was conducted later. Since the discovery of tanshinol, Chinese
scholars isolated a series of hydrosoluble compounds from Danshen. These compounds
have the structure of phenolic acid. They are named as salvianolic acids in
alphabetic order, salvianolic acids A, B, C, D, E, G, H, tetramethyl salvianolic acid
F, isosalvianolic acid C, rosmarinic acid, lithospermic acid, etc. The lipophylic and
hydrosoluble compounds have been developed into many preparations for clinical
application.
Indications
Danshen preparations are mainly used in treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular
diseases, liver diseases, renal failure, cancer, and so on.
Pharmacology
The study proved that Danshen extracts and their components have many pharmacological
actions. It was demonstrated that salvianolic acids have strong antioxidant
actions. It has been shown by experiments that salvianolic acids can scavenge
oxygen-free radicals and inhibit the peroxide reactions of lipids. Salvianolic acids
also have significant inhibiting effects on the aggregation of platelets. Many experiments
showed that Danshen can significantly protect the heart and brain against
ischemia-reperfusion injury. Danshen also showed obvious protective effects on
liver injuries and renal function impairment caused by multiple factors.
Clinical Use
Danshen preparations have been used to treat many diseases, such as cardiovascular
disease, stroke, refractory hepatic diseases, pulmonary diseases, hypertension,
infectious diseases, cancer, adhesive ileus, etc. Although Danshen has little toxicity,
some adverse reactions have been reported. Danshen preparations may lead to
adverse cardiovascular effects and should be used with caution.