Angelica sinensis or "female ginseng" is a herb from the family Apiaceae, indigenous to China. Its root is commonly known in Chinese as dong quai or danggui (Traditional Chinese: 當歸, Simplified Chinese: 当归, pinyin: dāngguī) and is widely used in Chinese traditional medicine to treat gynecological ailments, fatigue, mild anemia and high blood pressure. Danggui possesses the distinction of being the only non-animal source of Vitamin B12, along with some varieties of yeast.^{[citation needed]} It has analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and sedative effects. The plant's phytochemicals consist of coumarins, phytosterols, polysaccharides, ferulate, and flavonoids. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are the dominant and most familiar group of land plants. ... Orders See text. ... Families Apiaceae (carrot family) Araliaceae (ginseng family) Pittosporaceae Griseliniaceae Torriceliaceae The Apiales are an order of flowering plants. ... Genera See text Ref: Hortiplex 2003-11-14 The Apiaceae, the carrot or parsley family, are a family of usually aromatic plants with hollow stems, including parsley, carrot, and other relatives. ... Species About 50 species; see text Angelica is a genus of about 50 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far North as Iceland and Lapland. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Daniel Oliver (6 February 1830 - 21 December 1916) was a British botanist. ... Ginseng (Panax) is a genus of about five or six species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, in the family Araliaceae. ... Genera See text Ref: Hortiplex 2003-11-14 The Apiaceae, the carrot or parsley family, are a family of usually aromatic plants with hollow stems, including parsley, carrot, and other relatives. ... Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiÇŽntǐzì; also Simplified Chinese: 简化字; Traditional Chinese: 簡化字; pinyin: jiÇŽnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell and yin means sound. The most common variant of pinyin in use is called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), also known as scheme... Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) also known simply as Chinese medicine (Chinese: 中醫學 or 中药学, zhōngyào xŭe) or traditional Oriental medicine, is the name commonly given to a range of China thousands of years ago. ... The word fatigue is used in everyday living to describe a range of afflictions, varying from a general state of lethargy to a specific work induced burning sensation within muscle. ... Arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure is a medical condition where the blood pressure is chronically elevated. ... Cobalamin or vitamin B12 is a chemical compound that is also known as cyanocobalamine. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... An analgesic (colloquially known as a painkiller) is any member of the diverse group of drugs used to relieve pain and to achieve analgesia. ... Anti-inflammatory refers to the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with hypnotic. ... Coumarin is a chemical compound found in many plants, notably in high concentration in the tonka bean, woodruff, and bison grass. ... β-sitosterol Ergosterol. ... Polysaccharides (sometimes called glycans) are relatively complex carbohydrates. ... Sodium ferulate (SF, or 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-cinnamate) is a drug used in traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and to prevent thrombosis. ... Molecular structure of flavone The term flavonoid refers to a class of plant secondary metabolites based around a phenylbenzopyrone structure. ...

It is also used as an aphrodisiac. An aphrodisiac is an agent which acts on the mind and causes the arousal of the mood of sexual desire. ...

A. sinensis is also used in traditional Korean medicine, where it is called 당귀. Traditional Korean medicine (Hangul: 한의학, Hanja: 韓醫學) developed with the influence of Chinese medical techniques and procedures. ...

External links

• The traditional Chinese medicical uses of Dang Gui (from the database www.rootdown.us)
• Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food
• Dong Quai

See also

• Angelica
• Chinese herbology