Polygonum Root – 1 lb (454 g)

Polygonum Root, known in Chinese as 何首乌 (Héshǒuwū) and scientifically as Radix Polygoni Multiflori, is a valued herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This TCM herb has been traditionally used to support natural wellness, maintain vitality, and encourage holistic balance. At TCMforyou.com, we provide premium-quality Polygonum Root carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Polygonum Root helps promote overall well-being and supports natural energy, immunity, and balance. Integrating this herb into your wellness routine offers a gentle, time-tested approach to enhancing daily health. Whether brewed as tea, added to herbal remedies, or taken as part of a TCM formula, Polygonum Root provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Polygonum Root has been used in TCM to harmonize the body and encourage optimal functioning of key systems. At TCMforyou, we prioritize authenticity and quality. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure purity and potency, delivering an herbal product aligned with traditional practices.

Experience the natural support of Polygonum Root, promoting immune health, vitality, and holistic well-being. Embrace the wisdom of TCM and incorporate this gentle, effective herbal remedy into your daily wellness journey.

[Overview] This herb is also known as Shouwu, Dijing, Shanjing, and Chishouwu. It is the tuberous root of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb., a plant of the Polygonaceae family. It is mainly produced in Henan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Guizhou, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Hunan, Shanxi, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Shandong, and Yunnan provinces. It is harvested in autumn and winter when the leaves wither, dug up, the two ends are cut off, washed clean, large pieces are cut, and sun-dried, called “Raw Shouwu”; when steamed with black bean juice and then sun-dried to turn black, it is called “Prepared Shouwu”.

[Properties] Prepared Shouwu: sweet and astringent in taste, slightly warm in nature, enters the liver and kidney channels. Raw Shouwu: sweet and bitter in taste, neutral in nature, enters the heart, liver, and large intestine channels.

[Actions] Prepared Shouwu: tonifies essence and blood, secures the kidney and blackens the hair; Raw Shouwu: moistens the intestines to relieve constipation, arrests malaria and detoxifies.

[Applications]
1. Used for deficiency of essence and blood with sallow complexion, palpitations, and insomnia; often combined with Danggui (Angelica sinensis) and Baishao (Paeonia lactiflora). Currently used to treat thrombocytopenic purpura, combined with Huangqi (Astragalus membranaceus), Dangshen (Codonopsis pilosula), Huangjing (Polygonatum sibiricum), Baizhu (Atractylodes macrocephala), etc.
2. Used for liver and kidney yin deficiency with soreness and weakness of the waist and knees, dizziness, tinnitus, seminal emission, and premature graying of hair; often combined with Dihuang (Rehmannia glutinosa), Tusizi (Cuscuta chinensis), Sangshen (Morus alba fruit), Heizhima (black sesame), Duzhong (Eucommia ulmoides), etc.
3. Used for blood deficiency and fluid depletion causing dry intestines and constipation, especially suitable for elderly patients with deficiency and constipation; can be combined with Danggui and Huomaren (Cannabis seeds).
4. Used for chronic malaria with qi and blood deficiency; often combined with Renshen (Panax ginseng) and Danggui; if yin and blood deficiency with more heat than cold, can be combined with Biexue (soft-shelled turtle blood) and Zhusha (cinnabar).
5. Used for skin itching, ulcers, carbuncles, and scrofula. The itching treated by this herb is caused by blood deficiency and dryness generating wind; often combined with Fangfeng (Saposhnikovia divaricata) and Jingjie (Schizonepeta). For widespread ulceration with itching and pain, combined with Fangfeng, Kushen (Sophora flavescens), and Bohe (Mentha haplocalyx) for external wash; for heat toxin ulcers, combined with Xuanshen (Scrophularia ningpoensis) and Lianqiao (Forsythia suspensa); for scrofula, combined with Kunbu (Laminaria japonica) and Xiakucao (Prunella vulgaris). Currently, this herb is widely used clinically for hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis, hypertension, coronary heart disease due to deficiency, and sequelae of cerebrovascular accidents; can be combined with Shanzha (Crataegus pinnatifida), Gegen (Pueraria lobata), Niuxi (Achyranthes bidentata), etc.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 6–12 g. External use: appropriate amount, decocted water for washing, powdered for sprinkling or mixed for topical application. To nourish blood, enrich yin, secure the kidney, and blacken hair, use prepared Shouwu; to moisten intestines, relieve constipation, arrest malaria, and detoxify, use raw Shouwu.

[Cautions] This herb is sweet, moistening, bitter, and purgative; caution in cases of loose stools or diarrhea and presence of damp phlegm.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: This herb contains anthraquinone derivatives such as emodin, chrysophanol, physcion, emodin anthrone, and lecithin; also contains resveratrol, piceid, gallic acid, and β-sitosterol.
2. Pharmacological actions: Radix Polygoni Multiflori can prevent and treat hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis through multiple pathways including cholesterol absorption and metabolism, thereby reducing blood hypercoagulability; it enhances immunity by protecting the thymus and enhancing thymus-dependent T cell function, improving the body’s disease resistance; it promotes erythropoiesis and development, nourishing the brain marrow; it delays aging by increasing superoxide dismutase content and decreasing monoamine oxidase B activity; its decoction has a protective effect on acute myocardial ischemia; it promotes intestinal peristalsis to relieve constipation; it inhibits Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Shigella flexneri.
3. Clinical reports: 1) Hyperlipidemia: oral administration of Shouwu tablets, 5 tablets per dose, 3 times daily; total 40 cases treated, with a total effective rate of 94.44% for high β-lipoprotein. [Chinese Patent Medicine, 1990, (10):26] 2) Premature graying: prepared Shouwu and cooked Rehmannia each 30 g, Danggui 15 g, soaked in 1500 ml grain alcohol, 15–30 ml daily; 36 cases observed, 24 cured, 8 improved, total effective rate 88.89%. [Shandong Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1983, (4):41] 3) Female genital leukoplakia: 40% Shouwu injection alternately injected at lesion site and Shangliao (BL31) acupuncture point; 2 ml at lesion site per injection, 1 ml at Shangliao after needle sensation, once daily; 29 cases treated, 20 cured, 8 effective, 1 ineffective. [Chinese Rural Medicine, 1986, (5):26]

[Addendum] Prepared Shouwu (Zhiheshouwu) is the processed product of Shouwu steamed with black bean juice. Its properties and actions are the same as Shouwu. It tonifies liver and kidney, benefits essence and blood, and blackens hair. It is used for blood deficiency with sallow complexion, dizziness, tinnitus, premature graying of hair, soreness and weakness of waist and knees, numbness of limbs, uterine bleeding and leukorrhea, chronic malaria with deficiency, and hyperlipidemia.