Angelica acutiloba

Angelica acutiloba (Siebold & Zuccarini) Kitagawa, Bot. Mag. (Tokyo). 51: 658. 1937.

(Angelica acutiloba (Siebold et Zucc.) Kitag.; Photo Qwert1234 commons.wikimedia.org and livelymoo.wordpress.com)

Latin Name: Angelica acutiloba (Siebold et Zucc.) Kitag.

Synonym Name: Ligusticum acutilobum Siebold & Zucc.  

Infraspecific taxa: Angelica acutiloba var. iwatensis (Kitag.) Hikino; Angelica acutiloba f. lanceolata (Tatew.) Watan. & Kawano; Angelica acutiloba var. lineariloba (Kitag.) Hikino

Family & Genus: Apiaceae, Angelica

English Name: Acutilobate Angelica

Common names: Japanese Angelica, Dong Quai, Dong Dang Gui

Chinese Name: 东当归 dong dang gui

Vietnamese Name: Đương quy Nhật.

Description: Perennial herbs. Roots cylindrical, 10-25cm long, 1-2.5cm thick, with numerous roots, horsetail-like, covering skin yellow-brown to brown, thick aroma. Stem solid, 30-100cm tall, green, with purple tinge, glabrous. Leaves alternate, petioles 10-30cm long, base inflated to tubular sheathing, leaves on top of stem simplified to oblong sheathing; leaves monopinnately to bipinnately trifoliolate, leaves membranous, surface bright green, sparse hairs on veins, back pale, terminal lobes lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 3 lobed, 2-9cm long, 1-3cm wide, sessile or with short stalk, apex acuminate to acute, base cuneate or truncate, margin with acute serrates. Compound umbels acrogenous or pleurogenous, peduncles, rays and pedicels sessile or sparse hairs; peduncles 5-20cm long; phyllary linear-lanceolate or linear 1-2cm long, 1 to several, sometimes none; small phyllary 5-8, linear or linear-lanceolate, glabrous, 5-15mm long, usually longer than flowers; umbellules with ca. 30 flowers; flowers white; calyx-tooth unconspicous; petals obovoid to oblong; ovary glabrous; style three times longer than style base. Cremocarp narrow-oblong, slightly flat, 4-5mm long, 1-1.5mm wide, back edges linear, acute, lateral edges narrow narrow-winged, vittae 3-4 in furrow of edges, 4-8 in commissure. Flowering: July to August, fruiting: August–September.

Part Used: Medical part: roots. Chinese name: Dongdanggui.

Harvest & Processing: Collected in autumn, removed the foreign matters, heat by low fire indoor, then dried.

Chemistry: Roots contain angelica-pectin. Main volatile oils are ligustilide, n-butylidenphthalide, cnidilide and isocnidilide, etc. Besides, roots and fruits contain bergapten, xanthotoxin and isopimpinellin. Falcarinol, falcarindiol, falcarinolone (polyacetylenes), choline, scopoletin, umbelliferone and vanillic acid.

Pharmacology: Uterus-exciting, anti-inflammator.

Properties & Actions: Pungent, sweet, warm in nature. Enriching blood, activating blood circulation, stimulating menstrual flow, relieving pain, moistening dryness, and lubricating intestine.

Indications & Usage: Syndrome of blood deficiency, irregular menstrual periods, algomenorrhea, menostasia, postpartum abdominalgia, constipation induced by dryness of the intestine. Internal: decocting, 10-30g.

Examples:     

1. Constipation due to hemopenia and dryness of the intestine: angelica 30g. Decoct, and take 2 times a day.

2. Irregular menses, amenorrhea due to blood stasis, algomenorrhea: angelica 15g, szechwan lovage rhizome ligusticum 6g. Decoct in water, and swallow 2 times a day.

3. Abdominal pain with blood stasis after delivery: angelica 15g, dan-shen 9g. Grind into a fine powders. Take 6g each time, and 2 times a day.

References

- libproject.hkbu.edu.hk

- efloras.org

- theplantlist

- Tanaka S, Ikeshiro Y, Tabata M, Konoshima M.; Anti-nociceptive substances from the roots of Angelica acutiloba.; Arzneimittelforschung. 1977;27(11):2039-45.

- Uto T, Tung NH, Taniyama R, Miyanowaki T, Morinaga O, Shoyama Y.; Anti-inflammatory Activity of Constituents Isolated from Aerial Part of Angelica acutiloba Kitagawa.; Phytother Res. 2015 Dec; 29(12):1956-63.