Dong Quai.
Female ginseng. Traditional womens tonic from Chinese medicine. Traditional use for womens health. Limited modern research. Usually combined with other herbs.
Reviewed March 2026
- Category
- Herb
- Also filed under
- Womens healthMenstrualCirculation
What Dong Quai is, and what it does.
- Does it work
- It suits women following the traditional cycle-support approach, usually as one herb inside a formula. Single-herb human trials are thin, so tradition carries most of the weight here.
- How much to take
- Start with about 500mg a day as part of a daily routine. Preparations aren't interchangeable gram for gram, so follow the form and strength named on the label.
- Time to feel it
- Traditional use is measured in cycles, roughly two to three months of steady use, not days. A formal onset has not been measured in a controlled trial.
- The first dose
- Traditional use suggests effects over menstrual cycles.
- With regular use
- Traditional users report menstrual comfort. Modern evidence sparse.
- How well tolerated
- Blood thinning effects. Avoid with hormone conditions. Photosensitivity possible.
- How it feels
- Traditional users report menstrual comfort. Modern evidence sparse.
- The overlooked benefit
- A water decoction and an alcohol extract pull different chemistry from the same root: polysaccharides from one, phthalides and coumarins from the other. The label tells you which.
500mg a day is where Dong Quai works.
Source: Hirata et al., Fertil Steril, 1997
The proof, claim by claim.
These words describe the research, not the molecule's worth. Research strength is how much work stands behind one claim, and it is never a product score.
Dong Quai has solid evidence. Based on 8076+ studies.
- Comfort across the monthly cycle in traditional formulasNarrative review
- Antioxidant behaviour of ferulic acid measured in a tubeIn vitro study
- Immunologically active root polysaccharidesAnimal study
- Interference with vitamin K dependent clotting factor activationNarrative review
- Photosensitising furocoumarin contentNarrative review
Questions people ask about Dong Quai.
- When should I take it?
- Timing matters less than consistency. Pick a time that works for you and take it daily.
- Can I take it with other supplements?
- Usually fine. The main thing to watch is not doubling up on the same ingredient from different products. If you're on prescription meds, check with your pharmacist first.
- Any side effects to watch for?
- Most people tolerate it well at recommended doses. GI upset is the most common complaint with any supplement. Start with a lower dose and work up. If something feels off, stop and reassess.
- Who benefits most from this?
- People who've already covered the basics (diet, sleep, exercise) and want to fine-tune. It's not essential, but could be worthwhile for the right person.
Why these belong in the same formula. Each row says what the basis is, from settled biochemistry through to a trial that measured the pair.
The fixed 5 to 1 astragalus and dong quai combination is one of the oldest in Chinese herbal practice, pairing astragalus polysaccharides on the qi side with dong quai polysaccharides and ferulic acid on the blood side.
Dong quai supplies little iron itself, and haemoglobin synthesis needs iron. A chelated iron covers the substrate the herb assumes.
Ascorbate reduces ferric iron to the ferrous form and keeps it soluble in the small intestine, raising uptake of iron taken with a dong quai formula.
Ginseng supplies the qi side of the classical four and eight ingredient formulas while dong quai supplies the blood side, on the principle that qi moves blood.
Bai zhu is included to support normal digestive uptake, since a blood tonic only acts if it is absorbed.
Licorice harmonises these formulas and its glycyrrhizin extends cortisol's normal half-life, so the dose stays small.
Dong quai carries coumarin derivatives and ginkgolides act on platelet activating factor, so together they extend normal clotting time more than either does alone.
EPA shifts thromboxane production toward the less aggregatory series, adding to the coumarin effect of dong quai on normal platelet function.
High dose alpha-tocopherol interferes with vitamin K dependent clotting factor activation, stacking with the coumarins in the root.
Allicin derived compounds reduce platelet aggregation, which adds to the same effect from dong quai's coumarin content.
Gingerols inhibit thromboxane synthesis at higher intakes, compounding the platelet effect.
Curcumin reduces platelet aggregation through COX and thromboxane pathways at higher doses, stacking with the root's coumarins.
Salicin becomes salicylate, which acetylates platelet COX-1, so clotting time is extended further when taken with dong quai.
Black cohosh acts on serotonergic and thermoregulatory signalling rather than oestrogen receptors, covering a route dong quai does not.
Vitex modulates prolactin release through dopamine D2 signalling at the pituitary, an upstream endocrine route separate from the circulatory register of dong quai.
Angelica furanocoumarins and hypericin both raise skin sensitivity to sunlight, and the effect is additive when the two are taken in the same formula.
Dong quai root carries coumarin derivatives and ligustilide, constituents repeatedly described as reducing platelet aggregation, while nattokinase has fibrinolytic activity. Taken together the effects on clot formation run in the same direction. This is an additive interaction to flag rather than a benefit to pursue, and it matters most for anyone already on blood-thinning medication.
Bromelain has documented antiplatelet activity, which stacks with the platelet effects attributed to dong quai's coumarin and phthalide constituents. Combining them pushes the same direction rather than balancing it. Flagged as an additive effect worth knowing about.
Grape seed proanthocyanidins have been reported to reduce platelet aggregation in laboratory and short human studies. Paired with dong quai the platelet effects add. The direction is established even where the combined magnitude is not.
Vitamin K is the cofactor for gamma-carboxylation of clotting factors II, VII, IX and X, so it acts in the opposite direction to coumarin-type constituents. Where dong quai is taken for its traditional use, vitamin K intake pulls the coagulation balance the other way. Naming the opposition is more useful than pretending the two are neutral to each other.
Evening primrose oil and dong quai appear together in blends aimed at monthly cycle comfort, by unrelated mechanisms: gamma-linolenic acid on eicosanoid balance and dong quai's phthalides on smooth muscle tone. There is no combination trial to point to. The pairing is formulation convention.
Both roots appear in traditional East Asian formulas built around what those systems call blood and qi support. The pairing is documented in traditional practice rather than in controlled measurement. Read it as tradition, not as evidence of a combined effect.
Resveratrol has reported antiplatelet activity in laboratory and short human work. Combined with dong quai's coumarin constituents the platelet effects run together. Flagged as additive rather than complementary.
Talk to a doctor before taking Dong Quai if any of these apply to you: blood thinning, hormone conditions, photosensitivity. These are flags to check first, not effects Dong Quai is known to cause.
Not medical advice. Show the label to your pharmacist.What Dong Quai actually does.
Angelica sinensis root contains phthalides, principally Z-ligustilide and butylidenephthalide, along with ferulic acid, coumarin derivatives and immunologically active polysaccharides.
Z-ligustilide is volatile and light-sensitive, which is why extract potency depends on how the root was dried, milled and stored rather than on the raw plant alone.
Ferulic acid is a phenolic acid with hydrogen-donating antioxidant behaviour measurable in vitro; that is a chemical property of the constituent and not a demonstrated effect of the whole root in people.
Water decoction of the root extracts the polysaccharide fraction, while hydroalcoholic extraction favours the phthalides and coumarins, so the two preparations deliver different chemistry from the same root.
Getting Dong Quai from food.
The whole-food sources on file. A supplement closes the gap, it does not replace dinner.
A gram-for-gram figure (how much of each you would eat to match a dose) will appear here once it is sourced and reviewed. This page will not print a number it cannot cite.
The forms it comes in.
The essence, in one line each.
- Reviewing non-soy oral herbal supplements taken by older women for hot flushes and related symptoms, the authors found the trial evidence for individual herbs including dong quai limited and inconsistent.Systematic review. Jing et al., 2026 (Nutrients). PMID 42451042 ↗
These are the studies our verdict leans on, chosen from the 483 we read for Dong Quai. The full linked list is below.
Problems people have reported.
Read this carefully. These are 131 voluntary, unverified reactions reported to the FDA (openFDA). The number mostly reflects how popular Dong Quai is, not how risky it is. A report is not proof Dong Quai caused anything. It is a signal of what to watch for, nothing more.
Source: openFDA adverse-event reports. Voluntary reporting, not an incidence rate.
FDA Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement regimen.