Tibetan Red Flower

[Andy]

Is anyone here familiar with an herb known as Tibetan Red Flower? My understanding is that it is a heart sedative. If you have any knowledge of it please let me hear from you.

[herb ox]

Tibetan Red Flower may be better known as saffron or Zang Hong Hua, but is referred to mostly as Fan Hong Hua (foreign red flower - croci stigma) as it is primarily grown in China these days. Indeed, this precious material is cold and sweet, and enters the heart and liver channels, both of which are controllers of blood. Its main actions are to invigorate the blood, cool the blood, and dispel stasis, so it is commonly used to treat toxic blood rashes and fullness of the chest due to emotional distress. It is said that long term use of Zang Hong Hua "causes a person's heart to be happy" (Bensky, Materia Medica 3rd ed, p 630). It is generally used for severe conditions only as its cost is very high.

Compared to Hong Hua (safflower - carthami flos), Zang Hong Hua has a better ability to cool and nourish the blood and resolve toxicity, whereas Hong Hua has a better expel stagnation function. Furthermore, Hong Hua is spicy and warm...

Finally, Zang Hong Hua can cause vomiting, GI bleeding and convulsions if overdosed. It is usually decocted alone in a double boiler and the liquid is either added to the rest of the formula or consumed alone.

cheers,

herb ox