Sanqi(Notoginseng Radix Et Rhizoma), also known as Tianqi, Sanqi, Panlongqi, Jinbuhuan, Xueshen, and Shanqi, is a Chinese medicinal herb. Its English name is Notoginseng Radix Et Rhizoma. It is the root and rhizome of the Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H.Chen, a plant of the Araliaceae family.
Plant morphology: It is a perennial herb. The rhizome is short and oblique, with the main root being stout, fleshy, and conical or cylindrical, often with wart-like protruding branches. The stem is erect and unbranched. The compound leaves are palmate, with 3 to 4 whorls at the top of the stem, each with usually 5 to 7 leaflets that are membranous, long elliptic to ovate-lanceolate, with a pair of smaller leaflets at the base, gradually pointed at the apex, nearly round at the base, mostly asymmetric, with fine serrations on the margin and small stiff hairs at the tip of the teeth. The umbel inflorescence is singly terminal, with small flowers, mostly bisexual, and fewer unisexual. The calyx has 5 lobes; the petals are 5, yellowish-green, and pointed at the apex; there are 5 stamens with filamentous anthers; the upper part of the style separates into 2. The fruit is berry-like, nearly kidney-shaped, and red when ripe. It blooms from June to August and bears fruit from August to October.
Plant photos:
Distribution: It grows wild in mountainous forest understories. It is now mostly cultivated on slopes or gentle slopes at the foot of mountains with an altitude of 800 to 1000 meters or on mounds with loose, humus-rich acidic soil being the most suitable. It is distributed in Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, and other places.
Harvesting and processing: It is generally harvested after 4 years of growth. Those harvested before the flowering season in autumn are called "spring Sanqi", which are plump and of good quality; those harvested after the seeds mature in November are called "winter Sanqi", which are looser and of inferior quality. After harvesting, remove the above-ground stems and debris, cut off the stem heads, lateral roots, and rootlets, wash them clean, and dry them.
Chinese medicinal materials:
Medicinal properties: It is conical or cylindrical in shape. The surface is grayish-brown or grayish-yellow, with intermittent longitudinal wrinkles and root scars. There is a stem scar at the top, surrounded by tubercles. It is heavy and solid, with the cortex and wood often separating upon breaking. The cross-section is grayish-green, yellowish-green, or grayish-white, with fine brown spots on the cortex and a slightly radiating wood texture. It has a slight scent and a bitter-sweet taste.
Properties and channels entered: Warm in nature, with a sweet and slightly bitter taste. It enters the Liver and Stomach meridians.
Effects and actions: Dispelling stasis and stopping bleeding, reducing swelling and relieving pain. It belongs to the category of blood-stopping herbs in the subcategory of stasis-transforming and blood-stopping herbs.
Clinical applications: The dosage is 5 to 10 grams, decocted in water for oral administration; externally, grind into a paste for topical application or sprinkle as a powder. It is used to treat hemoptysis, vomiting blood, epistaxis, blood in the stool, metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, traumatic bleeding, chest and abdominal pain, and contusions.
Pharmacological research: Animal experiments have shown that ginsenosides Rg of Panax notoginseng have an excitatory effect on the central nervous system, while Rb has an inhibitory effect. Total saponins of Sanqi can inhibit platelet aggregation, and extracts of Sanqi have the effects of strengthening the heart, lowering blood pressure, protecting the liver, anti-inflammatory, reducing blood cholesterol, immunomodulation, and antiviral effects. In summary, it has effects on the blood and hematopoietic system, such as stopping bleeding, antiplatelet aggregation and thrombolysis, hemolysis, and hematopoiesis; on the cardiovascular system, it has effects such as antiarrhythmia, anti-atherosclerosis, hypoxia tolerance, anti-shock, and improvement of cerebral ischemia; on the nervous system, it has effects such as central nervous system inhibition and analgesia; it can enhance immune function, protect liver function, anti-tumor, delay aging, lower blood sugar, anti-inflammatory, regulate substance metabolism, promote growth; it has low toxicity, and long-term use is basically free of side effects.
Chemical composition: It mainly contains ginsenosides Rg₁, quercetin, acetic acid, eugenol, ginsenoside Re, leucine, β-sitosterol-D-glucoside, ginsenoside R₆, and sanchinoside, as well as the hemostatic component notoginsenoside R₁. It also contains volatile oil and various trace elements.
Contraindications: Pregnant women should use it with caution.
Prescriptions:
1. For trauma and internal injuries: 15 grams of Sanqi powder, mashed with live crabs, and taken warm with hot wine. (Guangxi National Medicine Digest)
2. For chronic prostatitis: 3 grams of Sanqi powder, taken once every other day, with boiled water. (Henan Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1985, (3): 27)
3. For blood deficiency and dizziness: 3 grams of Sanqi powder, finely ground; one pigeon, with the internal organs removed, the powder is stuffed into the belly, and then steamed and eaten. (Qujing Special Area Chinese Herbal Medicine Manual)
4. For qi and blood deficiency: 3 grams of Sanqi powder and 6 grams of tu renshen (wild ginseng). Grind them finely, steam them into meat patties, and eat. (Qujing Special Area Chinese Herbal Medicine Manual)
5. For dysmenorrhea: 2-3 grams of Sanqi powder, taken with warm water before or during menstruation. (Shanghai Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1984, (3): 21)
