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Latin pharmacognostic name: Notoginseng Radix

Alternate English names: sanchi [root]

Alternate Chinese names: 田漆 tián qī; 人参三七 rén shēn sān qī; 山漆 shān qī; 田七 tián qī; 田三七 tián sān qī; 参三七 shēn sān qī

Kingdom: Plant

Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F.H. Chen. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)

Origin (other sources): Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F.H. Chen [= P. pseudo-ginseng Wall. var. notoginseng (Burkill) Hoo et Tseng; P. sanchi Hoo]*; Panax pseudo-ginseng Wall. var. elegantior (Burkill) Hoo and Tseng; Panax pseudo-ginseng Wall. var. wangianus (Sun) Hoo and Tseng; Panax bipinnatifidus Seem. [= P. pseudo-ginseng Wall. var. bipinnatifidus (Seem.) Li]

Use: Medicinal

Category: Blood-stanching agents / Stasis-transforming blood-stanching agents

Properties: Sweet, slightly bitter; warm.

Channel entry: Liver and spleen channels.

Indications:

• Transforms stasis and stanches bleeding: Various patterns of internal or external bleeding, particularly when there is blood stasis.
• Quickens the blood and settles pain: Injury from knocks and falls, stasis pain.
• Modern applications: The stasis-transforming action of sān qī has resulted in its use in treating coronary heart disease and angina pectoris. It is also prepared as an injection fluid for intramuscular administration.

Dosage & Method: Oral: 1–1.5g doses in pills or powders (most common use). In decoctions, use 3–10g (crushed or sliced before use). Sān qī is relatively expensive.

Warnings: Contraindicated in pregnancy.

Product Description: This is a spindle-shaped or tapered root, 2–4 cm long and 1.2–2 cm thick, with knobby branches springing mostly from the upper part and the remains of the base of the rhizome at the top. The outer surface is a gray yellow, which, particularly on the tumorous protuberances, becomes blackish brown and shiny as a result of friction. When cracked open, the bark easily separates from the wood. The decocting pieces are transverse slices on whose cut surface, the skin appears whitish, while the wood appears gray with annular markings, and speckles indicating the resin ducts.

Quality: Best are large firm heavy roots that have a fin skin and whose cross section is blackish brown without fissures.

Product Area: Yúnnán, Guǎngdōng, Jiāngxī.

Etymology: The original name shān qī 山漆 is attributed to this agent's ability to stick wounds together like lacquer sticks things. The name 三七 (sān qī), literally three-seven, is ascribed to the plant's having three leaves on the left and four on the right.

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