Actions
What does Dan Shen Yin do?
Dan Shen Yin (Salvia Decoction) invigorates the blood, moves qi, and dispels stasis to stop pain, targeting blood stasis with qi stagnation that has settled in the chest and epigastrium (the "Middle Jiao"). It is a small, spare formula — just three herbs — built around one very large dose of its chief herb.
The three ingredients divide by role:
- Chief: Dan Shen, used at a dose several times larger than the other two herbs combined (30 g in our records reference composition against 4.5 g each for the rest). It enters the Heart and Liver blood level, invigorating blood and dispelling stasis while mildly cooling and calming — the herb the whole formula is built to deliver.
- Deputy: Tan Xiang (Sandalwood), an aromatic, warm qi-mover that enters the Lung, Spleen, and Stomach channels, directs qi upward and outward through the chest, and helps unblock the stagnation that is trapping Dan Shen’s blood-moving action.
- Assistant/envoy: Sha Ren, aromatic and warm, moves qi and harmonizes the Stomach in the Middle Jiao specifically, guarding the digestion against Dan Shen’s cooling, bittersweet nature and anchoring the formula’s action at the epigastrium.
Together the qi-moving deputy and assistant clear the way so the chief herb’s blood-invigorating action can reach and resolve the stasis, rather than working against it.
Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references + Bensky & Barolet, Formulas & Strategies (chief/deputy/assistant analysis; dose ratio). Traditional-use framing; not medical advice.
Indications
What is Dan Shen Yin used for?
Dan Shen Yin treats blood stasis with qi stagnation in the chest, epigastrium, or upper abdomen — classically described as "Heart and Stomach pain." The hallmark is pain with a stasis character rather than a simple qi-stagnation ache.
- Pain quality: fixed in location, stabbing or piercing, and may radiate toward the chest, back, or shoulder; a sensation of stuffiness or oppression in the chest can accompany it.
- Site: epigastric or upper-abdominal pain, sometimes with an underlying qi-stagnation component (distention, a tendency toward irritability or a stifled mood).
- Tongue and pulse (formula literature, not Sacred Lotus sources & references): tongue may be purplish, dark, or show stasis marks; pulse is typically wiry, choppy (se), or wiry-tight, reflecting stagnant qi driving blood into stasis.
It is a comparatively mild, well-tolerated formula for blood stasis — suited to cases that are not yet severe enough to need stronger stasis-breaking formulas.
Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references + Bensky & Barolet, Formulas & Strategies. Traditional-use framing; not medical advice.
Western Uses:
What is Dan Shen Yin used for in modern practice?
In modern practice Dan Shen Yin is referenced for angina pectoris and coronary heart disease, and for chronic gastritis or epigastric pain — a direct extension of its classical "Heart and Stomach pain" indication, since Dan Shen enters the Heart channel and both target organs sit in the same anatomical region the formula was designed to treat.
These biomedical correlates are offered as a reference to the formula’s traditional blood-stasis-with-qi-stagnation pattern, not as a claim that it treats coronary heart disease or gastritis. Current research is preclinical — animal and mechanistic studies, not human clinical trials (see research). Chest pain or diagnosed heart or stomach disease requires evaluation and care from a qualified physician; this formula does not substitute for that.
Source: traditional-use correlates summarized from Bensky & Barolet, Formulas & Strategies, and formula-origin literature; reference only, not a treatment claim.
Ingredients
3 substances in Dan Shen Yin — each links to its full herb monograph.
Dan Shen30 gInvigorate Blood and Remove Stagnation
Tan Xiang4.5 gRegulate the Qi
Sha Ren4.5 gAromatic Herbs that Transform and Dissolve DampnessPreparation & dosage
How is Dan Shen Yin prepared?
Dan Shen Yin is traditionally taken as a "drink" (yin, 饮) — a lighter decoction than a heavily simmered tang, reflecting the formula’s original naming and its use for pain that benefits from a promptly acting, easily absorbed preparation.
The chief herb, Dan Shen, is used at several times the dose of the other two herbs so its blood-invigorating action dominates; Tan Xiang and Sha Ren are aromatic herbs typically added toward the end of decocting to preserve their volatile qi-moving properties.
Source: Bensky & Barolet, Formulas & Strategies (preparation conventions for aromatic qi-moving herbs; "yin" decoction form).
Decoction (yin). Sacred Lotus reference composition: Dan Shen 30 g (chief, large dose); Tan Xiang 4.5 g; Sha Ren 4.5 g. Formula literature commonly cites a similar ratio — Dan Shen roughly 9-30 g against 3-6 g each for Tan Xiang and Sha Ren — with Dan Shen always the dominant dose. Tan Xiang and Sha Ren are aromatic and typically added near the end of decocting. Reference only; not a prescription.
Safety — read before use
What are the cautions for Dan Shen Yin?
Dan Shen Yin is for pain caused by blood stasis with qi stagnation, not for deficiency-type pain that is dull, intermittent, and eased by pressure or warmth — using a blood-invigorating formula on a deficiency pattern can aggravate it.
- Pregnancy: Dan Shen is a blood-invigorating herb; blood-moving formulas are generally used with caution or avoided in pregnancy and only under professional guidance.
- Anticoagulant/antiplatelet medication: Dan Shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) has a documented pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interaction with warfarin, increasing anticoagulant effect and bleeding risk in case reports; caution is warranted with any blood-thinning medication, and combination should only happen under medical supervision.
- Bleeding disorders: use cautiously given Dan Shen’s blood-invigorating action.
Source: Bensky & Barolet, Formulas & Strategies (pattern differentiation, blood-invigorating cautions) + Chan TY, "Interaction between warfarin and danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza)," Ann Pharmacother 2001 (warfarin interaction, case reports). Traditional-use framing; not medical advice.
Originally Appeared In:
- Collected Songs About Contemporary Formulas (Shi Fang Ge Kuo)
Notes:
How is Dan Shen Yin different from other blood-stasis formulas, and are there variant versions?
Dan Shen Yin is one of the smallest and mildest blood-stasis formulas — three herbs, built for early or moderate stasis with qi stagnation in the chest/epigastrium, rather than severe or long-standing stasis.
- vs Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang: Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang is a larger, more comprehensive chest blood-stasis formula (11 herbs) for more pronounced or chronic chest stasis with more complex qi involvement; Dan Shen Yin is simpler and gentler, favoring epigastric/upper-abdominal presentations.
- vs Shi Xiao San: Shi Xiao San (Pu Huang and Wu Ling Zhi) targets sharper, more acute stasis pain; Dan Shen Yin’s action is milder and combines blood-invigorating with Middle-Jiao qi-regulating in one small formula.
- Common modifications: add Yan Hu Suo or Chuan Xiong to strengthen pain relief and blood movement for more severe stasis pain.
Discrepancy: some contemporary patent products sold under the "Dan Shen Yin" name add a fourth herb, Gan Cao (licorice), to the classical three-herb formula. Sacred Lotus sources & references here (Dan Shen, Tan Xiang, Sha Ren only) matches the classical decoction from the formula’s original source and Bensky & Barolet; the four-herb version appears to be a manufacturer variant rather than the classical formula.
Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references + Bensky & Barolet, Formulas & Strategies (comparison formulas); commercial-product variant noted from manufacturer listings, not treated as the classical formula.
Clinical Studies & Research:
Is there modern research on Dan Shen Yin?
Yes, but it is entirely preclinical — rat and mechanistic studies on cardiovascular and gastric protection, not human clinical trials. The formula’s cardiovascular research reflects its modern use for angina/coronary heart disease; its gastric-protective research reflects its use for stomach pain and gastritis.
- Acute myocardial ischemia (preclinical): in a rat coronary-ligation model, oral Dan Shen Yin (5 and 10 g/kg) reduced infarct size and lowered inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6, TNF-α, MDA) while raising antioxidant enzyme activity (SOD, glutathione), suggesting anti-inflammatory/antioxidant cardioprotection (PMID 22969888).
- Post-infarction myocardial fibrosis (preclinical): in rats with LAD-ligation-induced myocardial infarction, Dan Shen Yin improved cardiac function and reduced fibrosis markers (TGF-β, Collagen I/III, α-SMA, MMP2/9) and inflammatory gene expression via network-pharmacology-predicted pathways (PMID 39522849).
- Atherosclerosis mechanism (preclinical): network pharmacology and experimental validation showed Dan Shen Yin inhibits endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition via the LASP1/PI3K/AKT pathway (PMID 36091823).
- Gastric mucosal protection (preclinical): in rats, pretreatment with Dan Shen Yin granules reduced ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage by inhibiting oxidative stress and apoptosis via the Akt/Nrf2 pathway (PMID 39053247).
Sources: PubMed 22969888; PubMed 39522849; PubMed 36091823; PubMed 39053247. Research context only, all preclinical (animal/mechanistic); no clinical-trial evidence located, and none of this is a therapeutic claim.
Sources & References
Compiled and edited by Thomas Dehli, Founder & Editor, Sacred Lotus Updated
The information here is referenced from numerous sources — teachers, practitioners, class notes from Five Branches University, the books below, and the published research literature, with citations given as resolvable PubMed identifiers. Where sources disagree, I have flagged the discrepancies directly. If facts couldn't be verified, I have left them out. How we source our content.
Reference information for students and practitioners — not medical advice. Consult a qualified practitioner. Terms of use.
Chinese Formulas Books & References
https://amzn.to/4fYI3f8
https://amzn.to/4j55NRA
https://amzn.to/4gMROyv
https://amzn.to/4h7msSK