Herbs & Supplements

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Uses

In traditional Chinese medicine, danshen has been used to prevent and treat heart conditions and strokes. Results from animal and human studies support these uses of danshen to some extent because danshen is known to decrease the blood's ability to clot in at least two ways. First, it limits the stickiness of blood components known as platelets. It also decreases the production of fibrin--threads of protein that trap blood cells to form clots. Both these effects help to improve blood circulation. In addition, chemicals in danshen may relax and widen blood vessels, especially those around the heart. In animal studies, chemicals in danshen may also have protected the inner linings of arteries from damage and inflammation, possibly by lessening the ability of cholesterol and other blood components to attach on the inner walls of blood vessels. Some other research suggests that danshen potentially may increase the force of heartbeats and slow the heart rate slightly. All these effects potentially could improve heart function and help to restore functioning after a stroke, but they need more study before danshen can be recommended.

Danshen may help to protect other body organs, as well. In animal studies, danshen has appeared to interfere with the development of liver fibrosis--the formation of scar-like fibers in the liver. Because the non-functioning fibers crowd out active liver tissue, liver function decreases gradually as the amount of fibrous tissue increases. Having chronic hepatitis and habitually drinking large amounts of alcoholic beverages are the major causes of liver fibrosis, which could also result from exposure to chemicals or certain drugs. Danshen may also increase blood flow into the liver, so the length of time that potentially damaging substances stay in the liver may be reduced, also reducing the possible injury they may cause. Results from a few animal studies show that it may also protect kidney tissues from damage caused by diabetes. In China, danshen has also been studied for treating acute pancreatitis, painful and possibly dangerous inflammation of the pancreas. All of danshen's possible organ-protective actions need further study.

Recently, initial results from laboratory studies show that danshen may have some activity against human cancer cells and HIV (the virus that causes AIDS). Danshen may stop the spread of several different cancer cells types by interrupting the cell division process and also by causing cancer cells to disintegrate. Chemicals in danshen have been shown in laboratory studies to limit the growth of new blood vessels. Known as angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels helps wounds to heal and restores blood flow to injured tissue. It also allows cancerous tumors to grow and spread. For HIV, chemicals in danshen may block the effectiveness of an enzyme, HIV-1 integrase, that the virus needs to replicate. Neither of these potential uses of danshen has been well tested in humans.