Angelica sinensis

Angelica sinensis

Angelica sinensis, commonly known as dong quai or female ginseng, is a herb belonging to the family Apiaceae, indigenous to China. A. sinensis grows in cool high altitude mountains in East Asia. The yellowish brown root of the plant is harvested in the fall and used in traditional Chinese medicine. There was previously no scientific evidence that A. sinensis is effective for any medicinal purpose. More recently, there have been further studies, with multiple showing that ASP has important pharmacological effects, such as antitumor, anemia-improving, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antifibrotic, hypoglycemic, antiradiation, and antiviral effects, the mechanisms of which appear to involve the regulation of inflammation, oxidative stress, and profibrotic signaling pathways.