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Dong quai (sometimes called Tang kuei or Chinese angelica sinensis) is one of the individual ingredients in both the Cold Snap and OHCO-Motion formulas. It is an herb that has been severely misunderstood in this country.

Its reputation is for influencing hormonal shifts in women and is generally available on health food store shelves. Used by itself, dong quai is generally too harsh, especially for women of certain constitutions. For example, large doses of the individual herb during the first trimester of pregnancy can cause the loss of the fetus. For this reason and others, dong quai is very seldom given by itself. However, if mixed properly with other "sister" ingredients, it very effectively prevents the fetal loss and is often prescribed for women who habitually abort.

The effect of dong quai in Cold Snap is largely to help transform the tightening and contracting process of a cold into a "softer" reaction. It also works to counteract any negatives some of the herbs might have if they were used by themselves. For example, bupleurum, another ingredient in Cold Snap, can be drying as a single ingredient. It is balanced by several herbs, among them dong quai. In OHCO-Motion, it supplements and harmonizes the Blood, nourishing it and moving it.

Dong quai is a non-toxic root. Its outer surface is middle brown with irregular wrinkles. The flesh is yellow or pale brown. The taste is somewhat acrid and its strong smell a sign of superior quality.

Dong quai is in Cold Snap and OHCO-Motion in appropriate amounts. The outcome to the various systems is strengthening and harmonizing. This effect cannot be attributed to the individual parts but rather to the whole of the synthesis that makes a complete formula. It is balance that makes Cold Snap and OHCO-Motion so extraordinary. The best way to judge them is to try them. Since dong quai does not act as a stimulant, the results are cumulative. You will be able to experience it as an ideal part of a combination of ingredients in balanced proportions for Westerners.