Safflower – 1 lb (454 g)

Safflower, known in Chinese as 红花 (Hónghuā) and scientifically as Flos Carthami, 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 Safflower carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Safflower 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, Safflower provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Safflower 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 Safflower, 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 Honglanhua, Cihonghua, and Caohonghua. It is the flower of Carthamus tinctorius L., a plant of the Asteraceae family. The main production areas are Henan, Zhejiang, and Sichuan provinces, with Henan and Sichuan having the largest yields. It blooms in late May; flowers are harvested from late May to mid-late June when the corolla changes from yellow to red, then dried in shade or sun.

[Properties] Pungent in taste, warm in nature. Enters the Heart and Liver meridians.

[Actions] Activates blood circulation and regulates menstruation, dispels blood stasis and relieves pain.

[Applications]
1. Used for blood stasis causing amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea; often combined with Tao Ren (Semen Persicae), Dang Gui (Radix Angelicae Sinensis), Chuan Xiong (Rhizoma Chuanxiong), as in Tao Hong Si Wu Tang (Peach and Safflower Four-Substance Decoction). For heat-induced irregular menstruation with heat entering the blood chamber causing delirium, add Hong Hua and Dan Pi (Cortex Moutan) to Si Wu Tang. For postpartum blood fainting, coma, or fetal death due to febrile disease, use concentrated decoction of Hong Hua with child’s urine or combined with Sheng Di (Radix Rehmanniae), Niu Xi (Radix Achyranthis), Chi Shao (Radix Paeoniae Rubra), Yi Mu Cao (Herba Leonuri) decocted together.
2. Used for traumatic injury with blood stasis and pain; often combined with Su Mu (Caesalpinia sappan), Chi Shao, Dang Gui decocted for internal use, or ground with Bai Shao (Radix Paeoniae Alba) and Zhi Zi (Fructus Gardeniae) and mixed with egg white for topical application. Hong Hua tincture or oil applied topically can treat sprains, bruises, and subcutaneous hematoma with swelling and pain.
3. Used for chest impediment due to blood stasis and qi stagnation, stomach pain, food obstruction, and abdominal masses. For chest pain caused by blood stasis and qi stagnation, combine with Chi Shao, Dan Shen (Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae), Wu Ling Zhi (Excrementum Trogopterori), Gua Lou (Fructus Trichosanthis). For cold-congealed blood stasis causing fixed stomach pain, combine with Ding Xiang (Flos Caryophylli), Mu Xiang (Radix Aucklandiae), Wu Ling Zhi. For food obstruction or throat obstruction, fresh Hong Hua juice can be taken or dry herb soaked in wine and juice taken. For abdominal masses, combine with E Zhu (Rhizoma Curcumae), San Leng (Rhizoma Sparganii), Bie Jia (Carapax Trionycis), Tao Ren.
4. Used for hemiplegia and joint pain. For stroke-induced hemiplegia and limb paralysis, often combined with Huang Qi (Radix Astragali), Dang Gui, Tao Ren, Di Long (Lumbricus), as in Bu Yang Huan Wu Tang. For wind-cold-damp painful obstruction syndrome with joint pain, Hong Hua and Dang Gui can be added to wind-damp dispelling formulas to activate blood and relieve obstruction.
5. Used for blood-heat stagnation with difficult-to-emerge rashes and dark discoloration, often combined with Fu Ping (Lemna), Chan Yi (Cicadae Periostracum), Zi Cao (Radix Lithospermi), Da Qing Ye (Folium Isatidis).

Additionally, Hong Hua can treat skin fissures, corns, and calluses, often using fresh Hong Hua mixed with Di Gu Pi (Cortex Lycii) pounded into a paste for topical application, or ground alone mixed with sesame oil for topical use. Currently, Hong Hua injection is used intramuscularly to treat neurodermatitis, flat warts, psoriasis, and acute and chronic muscle strain.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 3–9 g. External use: appropriate amount, decoction for washing; or ground powder for topical application; or fresh herb pounded into a paste for external use. Use less when nourishing and activating blood; use more when activating blood and dispelling stasis.

[Cautions] Contraindicated in pregnancy. Not suitable for those with bleeding tendencies; excessive or prolonged use may cause persistent bleeding.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical Constituents: Hong Hua contains carthamin, precarthamin A and B, safflower yellow pigment, safflor yellow A, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, catechol, pyro-catechol, dopa. It also contains volatile oils including ethyl acetate, benzene, 1-penten-3-ol, 3-hexanol, 2-hexanol, (E)-2-hexenal, 3-methylbutyric acid, etc. Additionally, it contains amino acids, sugars, stigmasterol, palmitic acid, myristic acid, lauric acid, oleic acid, and others.
2. Pharmacological Effects: Hong Hua mildly stimulates the heart, reduces coronary artery resistance, increases coronary blood flow and myocardial nutritive blood flow, and has certain anti-myocardial ischemia, anti-myocardial infarction, and anti-arrhythmic effects. Decoctions, aqueous extracts, and safflower yellow pigments have varying degrees of antihypertensive effects. Hong Hua inhibits platelet aggregation and enhances fibrinolysis. Decoctions excite the uterus in both pregnant and non-pregnant animals, sometimes causing spasms, especially in pregnant uterus, thus having anti-early pregnancy, abortifacient, and pregnancy-terminating effects. Hong Hua injection, alcohol extracts, carthamin, and safflower yellow pigment significantly improve hypoxia tolerance and strongly protect brain neurons from hypoxic-ischemic degeneration. Safflower yellow pigment reduces serum lysozyme content, decreases phagocytic function of peritoneal macrophages and whole blood leukocytes, reduces plaque-forming cells (PFC), spleen-specific rose flower-forming cells (SRFC), and antibody production, and inhibits delayed-type hypersensitivity. Safflower yellow pigment has strong analgesic effects effective for both sharp and dull pain and enhances the central inhibitory effects of barbiturates and chloral hydrate.
3. Clinical Reports: 1) Cerebral arteriosclerosis: 10% Hong Hua injection 2 ml mixed with 10% glucose 2 ml injected at Fengfu, Yamen, Fengchi acupoints, 1 ml per point, once every 3 days, 10 treatments per course; total 110 cases, overall effective rate 96.6%. [Shanxi Medical Journal, 1983, 12(5):297] 2) Cerebral thrombosis: 50% Hong Hua injection 15 ml added to 10% glucose 500 ml for intravenous drip once daily, 15 treatments per course; total 137 cases, overall effective rate 94.2%. [Jiangsu Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1982, (2):58] 3) Diabetic retinopathy: on top of conventional diabetes treatment, 50% Hong Hua injection 5 ml added to 250 ml saline for intravenous drip once daily, gradually increased to 20 ml if tolerated; total 46 early-stage and 12 mid-stage eyes treated, all showed significant effect. [Shanxi Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1993, 9(6):23] 4) Erythema nodosum: 50% Hong Hua injection 10–15 ml added to 5% glucose 250 ml for intravenous drip once daily for 10 days per course; total 326 cases treated, 299 cured, 15 markedly effective, 12 improved. [Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, 1994, (2):37]