Medicinal Herbs

Dong Quai Root Extract

Angelica sinensis

Dong quai, đương quy in Vietnamese, is a small perennial of the carrot family growing forty to eighty centimetres tall, with a purple, lengthwise-grooved stem and leaves cut two or three times into toothed segments on stalks that sheathe the stem; the tiny greenish-white flowers open in compound umbels in July and August. Vietnam still imports most of its supply from China and Korea, the crop being grown in Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan and Shaanxi, although plantings at Sapa and around Hanoi have taken. The root, lifted in the autumn of the third year, is trimmed, dried slowly indoors and finished in the shade. It holds a little essential oil.