Dan Shen (Red Sage)
Salvia miltiorrhiza
Other names: Dan Shen (Red Sage), 丹参 / 丹參 dānshēn, Red sage / danshen
Photo credit: First Light ( talk )
This plant carries serious safety risks. All information is for educational reference only.
Safety information
Toxicity: Use with care — tincture may cause digestive/skin reactions. | Adverse effects may include allergic reactions, dizziness, headache, GI upset.
Contraindications: Serious heart/vascular disease — professional supervision only; avoid in pregnancy. | Bleeding disorders; perioperative period; pregnancy data limited.
Interactions: Anticoagulant activity — caution with blood thinners. | Potentiates warfarin -> bleeding risk (documented).
Pregnancy & breastfeeding: Avoid in pregnancy. | Data limited.
Evidence level
Supported by clinical trials in humans.
Preparations
This plant carries serious safety risks. All information is for educational reference only.
decoction · root
Part used: root
Traditional use: Traditionally for painful periods and circulatory congestion.
How to prepare (traditional): Decoction of the root.
Dosage note (descriptive only): For painful periods, take about 75 ml up to 3 times a day.
Reference only — not a dosage instruction
tincture · root
Part used: root
Traditional use: Used by herbalists to treat angina and other circulatory problems.
How to prepare (traditional): Tincture used by herbalists.
Dosage note (descriptive only): professional use only — not provided
Reference only — not a dosage instruction
Associated conditions
Nutritional notes
Not a food. | Not a nutritional food; tanshinones (tanshinone IIA), salvianolic acids.
Healing traditions
Sources (4)
- Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine (book, p.131) — Andrew Chevallier, English, 2016
- Salvia miltiorrhiza (Wikipedia), English, accessed 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_miltiorrhiza
- Wu et al., Danshen preparations for acute myocardial infarction (Cochrane) 2008, PMC8406986
- Chan TY, Interaction between warfarin and danshen, Ann Pharmacother 2001, PMID 11302416