Dang Gui is often used to regulate the menstrual cycle and to treat women’s period problems.
Dang Gui, or Dong Quai, Tang Kuei, Chinese Angelica, Angelica Sinensis, is native to China and has been used as a medicine for thousands of years.
According to Chinese traditional medicine, Dang Gui has both effects of “blood mover” and “blood generator”. Because menstrual problems are related to “blood or blood movement”, so Dang Gui can play an important role to relieve or cure the female problems. That’s why people call Dang Gui “female ginseng”. Actually, Dang Gui is one of “necessary” medicines used by Chinese traditional doctors to treat a disease or injury related to “blood or blood movement”, like heart disease, liver diseases, and fracture.
Dang Gui contains ferulic acid, a pain reliever and muscle relaxer. It stimulates the central nervous system, which can relieve pain, remedy menstrual weakness and headaches. Dang Gui is used primarily to treat menstrual problems such as menstrual complaints, menstrual pain, scanty menstruation, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), cramping and irregular cycles.
Today Dang Gui (Angelica) as a supplement is available in health nutrition stores and many regular grocery stores. This herb supplement is often sold in tea, tablet, capsule or liquid extract. You can also find raw roots of Dang Gui in a Chinese herbal store in a China Town.
Please note: Though Dang Gui is safe for most women to treat painful menstrual cramps and regulate menstrual cycle, it may still have side effects to some people. Those women with heavy flow of heavy bleeding, should stop the use of Dang Gui during the actual menstrual period because this herb is called a “blood mover”, which may make menstrual flow heavier.
