Witnessed by: TCM · Western
Dang shen (Codonopsis pilosula), of the Campanulaceae family. Perennial twining herb with bell-shaped flowers, from a long fleshy root; native range: Northern and western China (notably Shanxi, Gansu) and the Korean peninsula; woodland and hill slopes. Globally recognized as dang shen (党参) in Chinese, and codonopsis, poor man's ginseng, bonnet bellflower, bastard ginseng in English. The part used is root. A long, wrinkled, yellowish-brown root with a swollen head marked by raised rings; sweetish and slightly aromatic, chewing to a soft, faintly sticky sweetness.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
DANG SHEN
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Dang shen
- Scientific name
- Codonopsis pilosula (Franch.) Nannf.
- Family
- Campanulaceae
Form
- Part used
- root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet
- Western
- sweet
Temperature
- TCM
- neutral
- Western
- neutral
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Spleen · Lung
- Western
- digestion · lungs · immune
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- tonifies Spleen and Lung qi, nourishes blood and generates fluids; a gentler, non-heating substitute for ren shen (ginseng) in qi and blood depletion
- Western
- energy and qi tonic, mild adaptogen, immune restorative, and a demulcent tonic for convalescence and depletion
Cautions
- Contraindications
- excess and heat patterns with strong pathogenic factors, where a tonic would lodge the pathogen; classically incompatible with li lu (Veratrum)
- Toxicity
- very low; a gentle food-grade tonic well tolerated in ordinary use
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