A blood-boosting Chinese medicine that we are all familiar with: Angelica, there is actually a poignant love story behind its name. There is also a painful lesson of “Angelica does not return, the wife remarries”.
The Story of Angelica
It is said that there was a young medicinal farmer in a village in the frontier of Yunnan in ancient times. His wife was reluctant to leave, and the young man was very nostalgic. When he parted with tears, he asked his beloved wife to live hard at home, and if she could not return home for three years, she was allowed to remarry. Unexpectedly, the young man had been away for three years, and he was unable to communicate due to the deep mountains and dense forests and the long distance.
In the past three years, my wife has seen her husband without any news, and her anxiety has caused her qi and blood to be deficient, and she has suffered from a serious women’s disease. The mother-in-law saw that her daughter-in-law was getting thinner and thinner, her expression was tired, and she didn’t want to eat or drink, and she felt sympathetic and persuaded him to remarry. The wife was reluctant at first, but later she thought that it had been three years since her husband passed away. Unexpectedly, her husband came back soon after she remarried. He asked his wife why he didn’t wait for him to come back, and the wife cried: “Three years of Angelica, you haven’t returned, and you haven’t returned a single word. Now I have married the wrong person. I really regret the knife cut.” The young man was also remorseful after hearing this. He gave the herbs he picked to his wife, and she cured women’s diseases after eating them. Later, people also knew that this medicine is a good medicine for treating gynecological diseases, so they named it Angelica, to warn future generations that Angelica is the meaning of returning home.
What exactly does Angelica do?
Danggui was first recorded in “Shen Nong’s Materia Medica”, which has a long history and is widely used. Since ancient times, people’s research on its efficacy has not stopped. Angelica sinensis is the dry root of Angelica sinensis, which is warm in nature, sweet and pungent in taste, and belongs to the liver, heart and spleen meridians. It can be used for blood deficiency, chlorosis, dizziness, palpitations, irregular menstruation, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, abdominal pain due to deficiency and cold, rheumatic arthralgia, etc. Fall injury, carbuncle sore, intestinal dryness and constipation. Modern research shows that Angelica contains volatile oils, organic acids and other components, which have effects on the hematopoietic system, circulatory system, and nervous system.
What kind of situation should I not use Angelica?
With the in-depth research on Angelica, the safety of Angelica is relatively high, but there are certain contraindications.
(1) People who use anticoagulant drugs or coagulation disorders, menorrhagia
Yes Studies have shown that Angelica has the effect of anti-platelet aggregation, so for people who use anticoagulant drugs or coagulation disorders, the use of Angelica will lead to abnormal coagulation. Women with menorrhagia are also not recommended to use Angelica to replenish qi and blood.
(2) Hormone-related diseases (eg breast cancer)
Animal studies have shown that angelica extract has estrogen-like activity, although specific effects and The magnitude of the effect is uncertain, but the use of angelica is not recommended for patients with hormone-related disorders, such as breast cancer.
(3) Others
Although Angelica is good, there are also some side effects reported, such as headache, abnormal heart rate, abnormal blood pressure, dizziness, insomnia, nausea, etc. , so be careful when taking the medicine. In addition, Angelica can affect the activity of liver drug enzymes, so it will also affect the metabolism of other drugs, so be careful when taking other drugs.
Conclusion
Although Angelica has few side effects, it is a blind medicine after all, and needs professional Take the medicine under the evaluation of the doctor. If you feel unwell, you should go to the hospital for treatment in time, and don’t buy “tonic” casually.
Liu Longzhen, Deputy Director of the Pharmacy Department of Zhuzhou Second Hospital
References:
1. Zhao Xiangfeng, Xiang Guangxin, Wang Jiafeng, Teng Jialin. The efficacy, indication and medication of Angelica sinensis Textual research on taboo herbs[J].Zhonghua Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2020,05:2479-2482.
2. Qihuang. Angelica! Angelica! Why Angelica is not?[J].Modern Health, 2014, 16:30.