Radix Notoginseng

Radix Notoginseng (三七, Sān Qī) — also known as Tian Qi or Pseudo-ginseng — is the dried root of Panax notoginseng, a plant of the same family as the celebrated Panax ginseng. Cultivated primarily in the Wenshan region of Yunnan Province, where it has been grown for over six centuries, Sān Qī is one of the most highly prized and extensively researched herbs in the entire Chinese materia medica. Its name “three-seven” (三七) refers variously to the plant’s characteristic leaf arrangement or to the traditional cultivation cycle of three to seven years needed to produce a mature, potent root.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Sān Qī occupies a unique and almost paradoxical position: it is simultaneously the most powerful haemostatic (bleeding-stopping) herb in the Chinese pharmacopoeia and one of the most effective herbs for invigorating Blood and resolving stasis. This dual action — stopping bleeding without causing stasis, and moving Blood without provoking further bleeding — is described in classical texts as “dissolving stasis without harming new Blood, stopping bleeding without leaving static Blood.” Raw Sān Qī predominantly moves Blood and stops bleeding; steamed (熟三七, shú sān qī) is more tonifying to Qi and Blood. It is the principal ingredient in the celebrated Yunnan Baiyao formula and is extensively used in cardiovascular and trauma medicine.

Radix Notoginseng rose to prominence during the Ming Dynasty, when it was discovered by military physicians in Yunnan as an extraordinary wound herb. Its remarkable ability to control haemorrhage while preventing clot formation earned it the designation “divine medicine of trauma” and “gold that does not change,” reflecting its extraordinary value.