Dong quai

What it may help, and how strong the proof is

• Pain & headaches. Used in tradition for painful periods. Human trials are few and inconsistent.
  Traditional proof
• Anemia & blood building. Traditional blood tonic. No good human trials confirm better blood counts or relief from anemia.
  Traditional proof
• Women's health. A placebo-controlled trial of the root found no help with hot flashes in 71 postmenopausal women. Trials of multi-herb formulas report mixed results.
  Not supported

Parts of the body

Hormones & reproduction, Nerves & pain, Blood

Traditional use

Traditional Chinese Medicine uses dang gui to nourish and move blood, regulate periods and ease pain. It is the core herb of Si Wu Tang (Four Substances Decoction).

How it is classified

Herbal actions

Emmenagogue, Nutritive, Analgesic, Circulatory. Energy: warming.

Chinese medicine

当归 Tonify blood. Nature: warm. Flavour: sweet, pungent, bitter. Enters the Liver, Heart and Spleen channels.

Mixing with other things

• Works well together
  Wild yam

  Both are sold as women's cycle and menopause herbs, though proof is weak for both.

• Works well together
  Red clover

  Common together in women's hormone blends.

• Works well together
  Vitex (chaste tree)

  Both are common in women's herbal blends for cycle and menopause symptoms.

• Works well together
  Red raspberry leaf

  Common in women's herbal blends for cycle and childbirth support.

• Works well together
  Astragalus

  Huang qi with a small amount of dong quai is the classic Dang Gui Bu Xue Tang (Blood Building Decoction) for weakness.

• Works well together
  Codonopsis

  Dang shen and dong quai are both in Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang, one of the best-known Qi and blood formulas.

• Works well together
  Rehmannia

  Dong quai and shu di huang are both in Si Wu Tang (Four Substances Decoction), the classic blood formula.

• Works well together
  White peony root

  Dong quai and bai shao are both in Si Wu Tang.

• Works well together
  White atractylodes

  Dong quai and bai zhu are both in Xiao Yao San (Free and Easy Wanderer), used in tradition for stress and irritability.

• Works well together
  Horny goat weed

  Yin yang huo and dong quai are both in Er Xian Tang.

• Works well together
  Morinda root

  Ba ji tian and dong quai are both in Er Xian Tang.

• Works well together
  Bupleurum root

  Xiao Yao San (Free and Easy Wanderer) combines bupleurum with dong quai, white peony and atractylodes to ease stress-related moods.

• Works well together
  Tree peony bark

  Also in Dan Zhi Xiao Yao San, where dong quai nourishes blood.

• Works well together
  Cinnamon

  Shi Quan Da Bu Tang (Ten Complete Tonic) includes cinnamon bark with dong quai, astragalus and rehmannia for weakness with cold signs.

• Works well together
  Chuan xiong (Sichuan lovage)

  Dong quai is a core herb of Si Wu Tang, a blood-building period formula.

• Don't mix
  Blood thinners (warfarin, Eliquis, Xarelto, Plavix, daily aspirin)

  Coumarins in dong quai may raise INR and bleeding risk with warfarin. Avoid combining them unless a clinician supervises.

• Worth knowing
  Birth control (the pill and other hormonal birth control)

  Dong quai has weak estrogen-like effects. Its effect on hormone medicines is not well studied.

Adds up with others that may slow blood clotting: American ginseng, Saw palmetto, Red clover, Chamomile, Yarrow, St. John's wort, Feverfew, White willow bark, Meadowsweet, Angelica, Evening primrose oil, Pygeum, Shepherd's purse, Bilberry and 40 more.

Found in these formulas

Four Substances (TCM), Free & Easy Wanderer (TCM), Restore the Spleen (TCM)