Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis) · Herb Profile

At a glance

Botanical name: Angelica sinensis
Family: Apiaceae
Part used: Root
Taste: Sweet, pungent, slightly bitter
Temperature: Warm
Moisture: Moistening (blood-building)

Safety at a glance

In pregnancy

CONTRAINDICATED — uterine stimulant and blood mover

While breastfeeding

Contraindicated during breastfeeding — blood-mover and limited lactation data.

For children

Not typically indicated; blood-building in deficient teen girls only under practitioner guidance

Cautions

Photosensitivity (furanocoumarins); may worsen heavy menses (moves blood); bitter taste may upset sensitive stomachs

General contraindications

Active menorrhagia; bleeding disorders; pregnancy; acute infection with fever

Stewardship

Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis) is cultivated in China (Gansu province preferred). Stewardship: 'female ginseng' of TCM — teach it within the Chinese formula tradition, not as monobotanical.

In the traditional record

Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis) — referenced in the Shennong Ben Cao Jing and called the "female ginseng" or "queen of women's herbs" in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over two millennia; classified as a primary blood-tonifying and blood-moving herb for menstrual regulation, postpartum recovery, and deficiency-pattern anemia.

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Educational use

The Apothecary is educational and does not constitute medical advice. Nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a diagnosed condition.

On our sources

These entries draw on public-domain materia medica, most of it published before 1900, alongside a smaller number of modern reference works. Energetic qualities such as warming, cooling, drying and moistening are a traditional framework for describing how a plant behaves in the body, not a laboratory measurement. Where a period source states one, we cite it. Where none does, and for many North American herbs none exists, the value reflects modern herbal consensus rather than a historical text. When we cannot support a caution with real evidence, we say nothing rather than guess.