Chinese medicine

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Chinese angelica is traditionally used for menstrual disorders but when subjected to modern chemical analysis it was found to have no female hormone action; rather a concentration of folic acid and B12. It therefore alleviates anemia, so helping with a number of menstrual problems. I have two pieces of dong kwai and it is interesting to see the difference in preparation between them. Pherhaps the difference is partly due to the 3,000 years of accumulated knowledge and practice which the Chinese have. The piece from John Hall, a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine who obtains his supplies from China, is large (about 5 in (12.5 Cm) across in section), dried but still flexible, almost chewy and thinly sliced, and is patterned like a piece of marble. The other piece was bought from a herb shop in London. It is from a younger piece of root about 1 in (2.5cm) in section. The piece has been dried whole and is hard and brittle with a powdery surface. In Britain, dong kwai can also be purchased chopped in small pieces. In China, the branch roots are separated from the main root because branch root ends are abortive whereas the main section is not, so the practitioner can decide if this is a consideration. If you buy pre-chopped pieces it is not possible to tell if the ends have been chopped with main root, so the mixture should not be taken by a pregnant woman. This again reinforces the importance of seeing a herbalist, eastern or western to obtain correct dosage and correct plant parts.