Salvia miltiorrhiza is highly prized in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for promoting blood flow and heart health. Read on to learn about the current state of research and when Danshen may be dangerous.

What is Salvia miltiorrhiza?

Salvia miltiorrhiza, also known as red sage, is a flowering plant native to China and Japan. It is part of the mint family. The plant’s roots are called Danshen and have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 2000 years [1, 2].

Traditionally, Danshen is given to people with problems related to the heart and circulatory systems, such as high blood pressure or stroke [3, 1].

Traditional Meets Modern

It is often included as part of other traditional medicine. For example, Salvia miltiorrhiza, notoginseng, and borneol can be combined to make Danshen dripping pills. These pills are the first Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that has successfully completed a Phase 2 clinical trial under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This means that it may become the first TCM remedy approved by the FDA in the future [4, 5, 6].

This FDA-monitored study involved 15 centers across the US and 125 patients with angina pectoris, a type of chest pain from heart disease. Due to poor heart function, people with angina have lower exercise tolerance and quality of life. In this study, they discontinued most other heart medications. And after 8 weeks, the pills effectively improved their heart symptoms and exercise capacity [6].

Danshen dripping pills are currently undergoing trials in the US. They are a great example of a TCM remedy undergoing proper scientific testing – and while the results have been encouraging so far, the quality of many of the available studies has been low.

However, clinical studies have yet to determine whether their use is safe, and these pills are not regulated outside of China. They fall in the grey area of regulation; we recommend caution when evaluating any products that claim to be Danshen dripping pills.

The evidence to back up other benefits of Danshen is weaker but still holds a lot of promise. In most instances, the use of high-quality, regulated supplements from this herb is safe. We carefully break down the research so you know what to expect and what dangers to watch out for.

Snapshot

Proponents:

• Early studies indicate potential use in heart disease
• Long history of traditional use
• Generally considered