Notoginseng, San Qi 三七

Pseudoginseng root
San Qi, Tian Qi (TCM)

The structure of Panax notoginseng, Chinese Flora, 1959

San Qi (Adam, Chengdu Medicine Market, 2018)

Botanical name:

Panax notoginseng (syn. Panax pseudo-ginseng var. notoginseng)

Parts used:

Root

Temperature & Taste:

Warm, dry. Sweet, slightly Bitter

Classifications:

K. Move the Blood L. Stop Bleeding:

Uses:

1. Stops Bleeding:
-all types of bleeding including Vomiting Blood, Blood in the Urine or Stool
-Bleeding from Trauma
-Profuse Menstruation, Uterine Bleeding

2. Moves the Blood, Clears Stasis, Reduces Swelling, Relieves Pain:
-internal blood stagnation; chest or abdominal pain
-obstructed Menstruation, Dysmenorrhea, Uterine tumors
-Postpartum Blood Stasis; “Good for a woman to take after delivery” (Li Shi Zhen)
-joint pain associated with Blood Stasis
-Trauma, Bruising, Sprains, Fractures
-also in the treatment of Sores and Abscesses
-all kinds of diseases due to Blood disorders’. (Li Shi Zhen)
-‘good for a woman to take the drug after child delivery’ (Li Shi Zhen)

3. Resists Poison, Resolves Swelling:
-Boils, Carbuncles, Swellings
-red and inflamed eyes
-venomous bites including Snake Bite (Li Shi Zhen)

Dose:

Powder: 1–1.5 grams
Decoction: 3–9 grams

Substitute:

1. Salvia Dan Shen root, when Charred, is regarded as having an effect very similar to Notoginseng San Qi. It can both move the Blood and stops Bleeding, while retaining a secondary Blood tonifying effect.
2. Similar properties to Dragons’ Blood (Li Shi Zhen)
3. Gynura japonica (syn. G. segetum) is called Ju Ye San Qi and has been used as a substitute for Notoginseng San Qi in Yunnan province.

Main Combinations:

1. For Bleeding:
i. Notoginseng San Qi with Red Earth
ii. Bleeding due to deficiency, Notoginseng San Qi with Astragalus Huang Qi and Donkey Hide Gelatin E Jiao.
iii. Bleeding from Trauma, Notoginseng San Qi with Dragon’s Blood, Frankincense, Myrrh
iv. Gastrointestinal Bleeding, Notoginseng San Qi with Catechu (TCM)
2. For Blood Stasis:
i. Notoginseng San Qi with Rhubarb (Da Huang)
ii. Notoginseng San Qi with Dang Gui, Peach kernel (Tao Ren), Safflower (Hong Hua)
iii. Pain and Blood stasis following Trauma, Notoginseng San Qi with Frankincense, Myrrh, Musk and Borneo Camphor.
3. Muscle and Ligament pain following Trauma:
i. Notoginseng San Qi with Cyperus rotundus (Xiang Fu) and Licorice
ii. Notoginseng San Qi with Turmeric, Frankincense
4. Coronary Heart Disease:
i. Notoginseng San Qi, Salvia Dan Shen
ii. Notoginseng San Qi with Hawthorn berry, Arjuna
iii. Notoginseng San Qi with Dalbergia Jiang Xiang, Salvia Dan Shen, Ligusticum Chuan Xiong, Safflower (Hong Hua) (as in Xinning Pian). This is also used for Angina Pectoria.
5. Angina Pectoris:
i. Notoginseng San Qi with Valerian
ii. Notoginseng San Qi with Saffron
iii. Notoginseng San Qi, Salvia Dan Shen, Borneo Camphor
iv. Notoginseng San Qi, Frankincense, Safflower, Borneo Camphor
v. chest pain, tightness from Qi and Blood stagnation with an intermittent pulse, Notoginseng San Qi, Amber, Red Ginseng, Salvia Dan Shen, Styrax Su He Xiang, Borneo Camphor (Bing Pian) (as in Ling Bao Hu Xin Dan of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia)
6. Thrombosis, Notoginseng San Qi with Ligusticum Chuan Xiong, Astragalus Huang Qi, Pueraria lobata, Paeonia Bai Sho, Salvia Dan Shen
7. Osteoarthritis:
i. Notoginseng San Qi and Rehmannia Shu Di Huang
ii. Notoginseng San Qi and Achyranthes Niu Xi, Eucommia Du Zhong, Mistletoe (Sang Ji Sheng)
8. Poor Memory in the aged, Notoginseng San Qi, Ginseng, Schisandra Wu Wei Zi.
9. Cerebral Ischemia:
i. Notoginseng San Qi with Saffron (or Safflower extract)
ii. Notoginseng San Qi, Ligusticum Chuan Xiong, Astragalus Huang Qi
10. Breast Lumps, Nodes, Hyperplasia: Notoginseng San Qi, Spatholobus Ji Xue Teng with Dandelion (Pu Gong Ying), Laminaria Kun Bu, Paeonia Chi Shao Yao, Costus (Mu Xiang), Scrophularia Xuan Shen, Paeonia Mu Dan Pi, Self Heal (Xia Ku Cao), Safflower (Hong Hua) (as in Ru Pi Xiao Pian of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia)
11. Cancer, Notoginseng San Qi, Ginseng, Cordyceps, Frankincense. This is a modern Korean formula widely used in Cancer treatment.
12. Dysmenorrhea with Qi and Blood deficiency, Notoginseng San Qi, Corydalis Yan Hu Suo with Dang Gui, Paeonia Bai Shao, Ligusticum Chuan Xiong, Atractylodes Bai Zhu, Cyperus rotundus (Xiang Fu), Saffron (or Safflower Hong Hua) (as in Ding Kun Dan)
13. Prevent Diabetic Retinopathy, Notoginseng San Qi, Astragalus Huang Qi, Dang Gui (proven effectiveness)
14. Ulcerated Sores, apply powder of Notoginseng San Qi, Frankincense and Myrrh
15. To beautify the Skin, Notoginseng San Qi with Angelica Bai Zhi, Dang Gui, Pearl as a cream

Major Formulas:

Ding Kun Dan
Ling Bao Hu Xin Dan
Ru Pi Xiao Pian
Xinning Pian
Zhen Xiang Jiao Nag (Precious Aromatic Capsules)
Zheng Gu Shui
Yunnan Baiyao

Cautions:

1. Caution during pregnancy, avoid large doses
2. Some people may have adverse effects from therapeutic doses, such as nausea, vomiting, esophagitis and bleeding. Symptoms are rarely serious, symptoms resolve when the herb is discontinued without further problem.

Main Preparations used:

GENERAL / REVIEW
–Traditional uses, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen: A review.

BLOOD-THINNING / ANTI-COAGULANT EFFECTS:
–Effect of Panax notoginseng preparations on platelet function
–The antithrombotic effect of RSNK in blood-stasis model rats.
–A comparative study on anticoagulant activities of three Chinese herbal medicines from the genus Panax and anticoagulant activities of ginsenosides Rg1 and Rg2
–Antiplatelet and anticoagulant effects of Panax notoginseng: comparison of raw and steamed Panax notoginseng with Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolium.

ISCHEMIA:
–[Effect of astragaloside Ⅳ combined with Panax notoginseng saponins on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and study of pharmacokinetics in rats
–[Advances in pharmacological studies of Panax notoginseng saponins on brain ischemia-reperfusion injury
–Publication trends in studies examining radix notoginseng as a treatment for ischemic brain injury.
–Comparative analysis of the neuroprotective effects of ginsenosides Rg1 and Rb1 extracted from Panax notoginseng against cerebral ischemia.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY:
–Panax notoginseng for Inflammation-Related Chronic Diseases: A Review on the Modulations of Multiple Pathways.
–Anti-inflammatory effects of trilinolein from Panax notoginseng through the suppression of NF-κB and MAPK expression and proinflammatory cytokine expression
–Anti‑inflammatory effects of Panax notoginseng saponins ameliorate acute lung injury induced by oleic acid and lipopolysaccharide in rats.

ANTI-OXIDANT:
–Antioxidative effects of Panax notoginseng saponins in brain cells.

HEART DISEASE:
–Panax notoginseng Saponins for Treating Coronary Artery Disease: A Functional and Mechanistic Overview.
–Computational pharmacological comparison of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Panax notoginseng used in the therapy of cardiovascular diseases.
–Oral Panax notoginseng Preparation for Coronary Heart Disease: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

ANGINA PECTORIS:
–Efficacy and safety of oral Panax notoginseng saponins for unstable angina patients: A meta-analysis and systematic review.

NEUROPROTECTIVE:
–Neuroprotective Properties of Panax notoginseng Saponins via Preventing Oxidative Stress Injury in SAMP8 Mice.
–Panax notoginseng saponins provide neuroprotection by regulating NgR1/RhoA/ROCK2 pathway expression, in vitro and in vivo.
–Crude Saponins of Panax notoginseng Have Neuroprotective Effects To Inhibit Palmitate-Triggered Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Associated Apoptosis and Loss of Postsynaptic Proteins in Staurosporine Differentiated RGC-5 Retinal Ganglion Cells.

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