Salvia Root P.E Tanshinone IIA 20%

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.

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.

Danshen preparations are mainly used in treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, liver diseases, renal failure, cancer, and so on.

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.

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.