Danshen
INGREDIENTS: Fat-soluble diterpene quinones, such as cryptotanshinone, tanshinones, and dihydrotanshinone, water-soluble phenolic acids, such as danshensu, salvianolic acids, and protocatecuhic acid
OTHER NAMES: Ch'ih Shen, Chinese Red Sage, Chinese Sage, Chinese Salvia, Dan Shen, Dan-Shen, Huang Ken, Pin-Ma Ts'ao, Racine de Salvia, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, Radix Salvie Miltiorrhiae, Red Root Sage, Red Rooted Sage, Red Sage, Sage Miltiorrhiza, Salvia bowelyana, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Salvia przewalskii, Salvia Przewalskii Mandarinorum, Salvia Root, Salvia yunnanensis, Salviae Miltiorrhizae, Sauge Rouge, Sauge Rouge Chinoise, Shu-Wei Ts'ao, Tan Seng, Tan-Shen, Tzu Tan-Ken
- Overview
- Usage
- Safety
- Interactions
- Dosing
- Others
| Usage | Effectiveness |
|---|---|
|
|
| Proven | Safety |
USAGE AND EFFECTIVENESS
| Usage | Effectiveness |
|---|---|
| Chest Pain |
Mild effectiveness (Reduce symptoms of chest pain and improves electrocardiogram parameters) Several clinical studies showing reduction in symptoms of chest pain and improvement in electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters, and chest pain severity; but clinical study is not robust enough; more evidence is needed to support the above |
| Cancer |
Mild effectiveness (Increase odds of response and survival) One clinical study showing increase in odds of response and survival for patients with leukemia, lung, liver, breast, colon and gastric cancer; but clinical study is not robust enough; more evidence is needed to support the above |
| Cirrhosis |
Mild effectiveness (Reduce liver function enzyme levels, and markers of fibrosis in adults with cirrhosis) One clinical study showing reduction in liver function enzymes levels, and reduction in markers of fibrosis in adults with cirrhosis; but clinical study is not robust enough; more evidence is needed to support the above |
| Heart & Blood Vessel Diseases |
Mild effectiveness (Reduces symptoms of coronary heart diseases) One clinical study showing reduction in symptoms of coronary heart diseases, pain and total cholesterol levels; but clinical study is not robust enough; more evidence is needed to support the above |
| Diabetic Retinopathy |
Mild effectiveness (Improves retinal and blood circulation in the eyes) One clinical study showing improvement in retinal, and choroid circulation, visual acuity, and reduction in occurence of microaneurysm, and bleeding in the retina; but clinical study is not robust enough; more evidence is needed to support the above Diabetic Retinopathy is a diabetic condition affecting the eyes due to damage to the blood vessels of light-sensitive tissues at the back of the eyes; Symptoms may include gradual worsening of vision, sudden vision loss, shapes floating in field of vision, blurred patchy vission, eye pain or redness |
| Kidney Transplant |
Mild effectiveness (Improves urine volume, creatinine clearance, incidence of impaired renal function recovery) One clinical study showing improvement in urine volume, creatinine clearance, incidence of impaired renal function recovery but not risk of acute rejection; but clinical study is not robust enough; more evidence is needed to support the above |
| Oral Submucous Fibrosis |
Mild effectiveness (Improve maximal mouth opening, and oral mucosal lesion area and sensation of burning) One clinical study showing improvement in maximal mouth opening, oral mucosal lesion area and sensation of burning; but clinical study is not robust enough; more evidence is needed to support the above Oral Submucous Fibrosis is a pre-cancerous condition where there is inflammation and progressive development of scar material in the mouth, causing increasing difficulty in opening the mouth.; Symptoms may include progressive inability to open mouth, oral pain, burning sensation, increased salivation, and others |
| Stroke |
Mild effectiveness (Improve neurological deficits and blood flow) Several clinical study showing improvement in neurological deficits, and blood flow; but clinical study is not robust enough; more evidence is needed to support the above |
| Blood Clots |
Mild effectiveness (Prevent occurrence of blood clotting in patients with multiple myeloma) One clinical study showing prevention of blood clotting in patients with multiple myeloma and prevent increase in protein fragment for breaking down blood clot and fibrinogen levels; but clinical study is not robust enough; more evidence is needed to support the above |
| Acne |
Unknown effectiveness No clinical study to support the above point; More evidence needed |
| Diabetes |
Unknown effectiveness • No clinical study supporting the above point; more evidence is needed. |
| Skin Conditions |
Unknown effectiveness • No clinical study supporting the above point; more evidence is needed. |
| Arteriosclerosis |
Unknown effectiveness • No clinical study supporting the above point; more evidence is needed. |
| Heart Attack |
Unknown effectiveness • No clinical study supporting the above point; more evidence is needed. |
| Obesity |
Unknown effectiveness • No clinical study supporting the above point; more evidence is needed. |
| Inflammation |
Unknown effectiveness • No clinical study supporting the above point; more evidence is needed. |
| Wounds |
Unknown effectiveness • No clinical study supporting the above point; more evidence is needed. |
General Safety
- Generally safe when used orally and appropriately; Unknown safety for intravenous injection
Pregnant/Breastfeeding
- Little data to show it is safe or otherwise; avoid if possible
Children
- Little data to show it is safe or otherwise; avoid if possible
Elderly
- Little data to show it is safe or otherwise; avoid if possible
Special to Note
- Individuals are advised to not take the supplement 2 weeks before the operation.
Contraindications
-
May cause decrease blood clotting time and prolong bleeding time in individuals with bleeding disorders
May decrease blood pressure in individuals with low blood pressure
May interfere with blood clotting during surgery
Side Effects
-
Generally safe; side effects may include:
Skin:May cause itch
Digestive System:May cause upset stomach and reduced appetite
Blood:May cause low blood platelets
Brain/CNS:May cause drowsiness and dizziness
- Medicines
Medium to High severity interactions with medicines for high blood pressure, blood clotting medicine, blood thinners, medicines for heart conditions, medicines for seasonal allergies, sedative medicines, medicines for high cholesterol, medicines with cytochrome substrates and medicines with p-glycoprotein substrates - Supplements
Medium to High severity interactions with herbs and supplements with blood clotting effects (e.g dang gui (angelica), clove, feverfew, garlic, ginger, ginkgo, Panax ginseng, horse chestnut, red clover, turmeric and others), herbs containing cardiac glycoside (e.g black hellebore, Canadian hemp roots, digitalis lead, hedge mustard, figwort, lily of the valley roots, motherwort, oleander, pheasant's eye plant, pleurisy root, squill bulb leaf scales, and strophanthus seeds), lowering blood pressure effects (e.g andrographis, casein peptides, cat's claw, coenzyme Q-10, fish oil, L-arginine, lycium, stinging nettle, theanine and others) and methyl salicylate oil - Food
None known - Lab Tests
Interactions with lab test for serum digoxin measurements
- Chest Pain (Adults)
Consume 216-270mg (8-10 tablets) compound danshen dripping pills prepared with Panax notoginseng, borneol, and extracts of danshen three times daily for 1-6 months - Coronary Heart Disease (Adults)
Consume 240-270mg (10 tablets) compound danshen dripping pills prepared with Panax notoginseng, borneol, and extracts of danshen three times daily combined with 25-100mg aspirin daily for 4 weeks to 2 years - Diabetic Retinopathy (Adults)
Consume 270-810mg (10-30 tablets) compound danshen dripping pills prepared with Panax notoginseng, borneol, and extracts of danshen three times daily for up to 24 weeks - High Blood Pressure (Adults)
Consume mixture of 450mg danshen extract, 40mg rhodiola extract, 200mg chrysanthemum extract, and 200mg kudzu extract twice daily for 23 weeks - Stroke (Adults)
Consume 270mg (10 pills) compound danshen dripping pills prepared with Panax notoginseng, borneol, and extracts of danshen three times daily for 28 days - Venous Thromboembolism (Adults)
Consume 108mg (4 tablets) compound danshen dripping pills prepared with Panax notoginseng, borneol, and extracts of danshen three times daily for 8 months - Chest Pain (Adults)
Administer intravenous infusion of salvianolate, component of danshen, 250mg in 250mL dextrose 5% once daily for 10-14 days - Cirrhosis (Adults)
Administer 16-30mL compound danshen injection or danshen injection in conjuction with 10-20mL astragalus injection daily for up to 90 days - High Cholesterol (Adults)
Administer 1mL danshen injection into two or four possible acupuncture points daily for 30 days in addition to conventional medicine - Kidney Transplant (Adults)
Administer 60mL danshen injection for 10 days in addition to conventional treatment - Stroke (Adults)
Administer 20mL compound danshen and 30mL danshen injection for up to 28 days, occasionally combined with snake venom
- General Information
- While there is a lack of clinical studies, Danshen is used by consumers for chest pain, cirrhosis, high cholesterol, oral submucous fibrosis, blood clotting, skin conditions, wounds and others
- How does it work?
- Contains chemicals that reduces bacterial infections, inflammation, blood clotting, have heart, liver protective, cell protective, and pancreatic effects
| Effectiveness Score | What does it mean | Action to be taken by you |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Gold Standard | You should always consider taking this supplement. Do check if your health professional has any objection to you taking this supplement. |
| 4 | Effective | This supplement may be helpful. You may consider taking this. Do consult your health professional if you have any medical condition or if you are taking any medication. |
| 3 | Mildly Effective | This supplement may be mildly helpful. You may consider taking this if the benefit outweighs the risk. Do consult your health professional if you have any medical condition or if you are taking any medication. |
| 2 | Unclear Effectiveness due to Conflicting Results or Limited Benefit | This supplement may not provide a clear benefit to the issue(s) you seek to resolve. Do consult your health professional if you still decide to go ahead to take this. |
| Effectiveness Score | What does it mean | Action to be taken by you |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Gold Standard | You should always consider taking this supplement. Do check if your health professional has any objection to you taking this supplement. |
| 4 | Effective | This supplement may be helpful. You may consider taking this. Do consult your health professional if you have any medical condition or if you are taking any medication. |
| 3 | Mildly Effective | This supplement may be mildly helpful. You may consider taking this if the benefit outweighs the risk. Do consult your health professional if you have any medical condition or if you are taking any medication. |
| 2 | Unclear Effectiveness due to Conflicting Results or Limited Benefit | This supplement may not provide a clear benefit to the issue(s) you seek to resolve. Do consult your health professional if you still decide to go ahead to take this. |
| 1 | Unknown Effectiveness | There is no evidence of benefit for taking this supplement. Do consult your health professional if you still decide to go ahead to take this. |
| 0 | Proven to be Not Effective | Taking this supplement has been proven to be ineffective. Do consult your health professional if you still decide to go ahead to take this. |
| Amount of Medical Evidence | What does it mean | Action to be taken by you |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Proven by One or More Well Designed Analysis of Several Well Designed Medical Studies | You can rest assured that this supplement can do what it claims to do. |
| 4 | Proven by several well designed medical studies | You have good confidence that this supplement will do what it claims to do. |
| 3 | Proven by One Well Designed Medical Study | You have some confidence that this supplement will do what it claims to do. |
| 2 | Proven by One or Several Not Well Designed Medical Studies | There may be doubts about whether this supplement can do what it claims. Consider if this is necessary. |
| 1 | No Study Done or Proven by Weakly Designed Medical Studies | There are many doubts about whether this supplement can do what it claims. Consider if this is necessary. |
| 0 | Proven to be Ineffective or Harmful | You should strongly consider not to use this unless advised by your health professionals. |
| Safety Score | What does it mean | Action to be taken by you |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Safe for Everyone | This supplement is most likely to be safe for you. You may consider taking this. Do consult your health professional if you have any medical condition or if you are taking any medication. |
| 4 | Safe for General Population, with Unknown Effect on Special Population | This supplement is likely to be safe for you, except for certain circumstances. Do consult your health professional if you have any medical condition or if you are taking any medication. |
| 3 | ||
| 2 | Safe for General Population but may be Unsafe for Certain Population or have Certain Rare Side Effect | This supplement may be safe for you if you do not have any medical conditions or concurrent medication. Do consult your health professional before taking it. |
| 1 | Unknown Safety | Unless you are very healthy and have no concurrent medical conditions and medication, you should not take it. Even if safety is not an issue, you should only consider taking it if the benefit is deemed to be more than the risk. Please consult your health professional should you decide to take the supplement. |
| 0 | Unsafe | You must not take this. Please consult your health professional should you decide otherwise. |
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