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Dracocephalum, Pri yang ku པྲི་ཡང་ཀུ

Dragonhead
Pri yang ku (D. tanguticum, Nodding Dragonhead) (Tibet)
Faranjmushk (D. moldavicum) (Unani)
Xiang Qing Lan (D. moldavicum); Yang Qing Lan (D. rupestre) (TCM)
Dracocephalum moldavicum
Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen, Sturm  (1796)

Botanical name:
Dracocephalum tanguticum (Tibet); D. fruticulosum has also been mentioned
Dracocephalum moldavicum (syn. Nepeta moldavicum) (Unani)

D. foetidum is listed as a source of Pri yang ku in Mongola (Mongolian Medicine Plants, WHO). It lists D. moldavicum and D. moldavicum var. foetidum as synonyms. D. moldavicum is used in Unani. This suggests D. tanguiticum (Tibet) and D. moldavicum (Unani) could be used synonymously

D. heterophyllum (Jib rtsi dkar po) and D. wallichi (Jib rtsi chen po) are also used similarly in Tibetan Medicine, although are classed as different medicines.

Parts used:
Herb; Aerial parts
Seeds are also used in Unani

Temperature & Taste:
Cool. Bitter, Sweet

Uses:
1. Clears Wind-Heat: (TCM)
-Common cold, Fever
-acute Sore Throat, Cough:
-Lung heat disorders (Bhutan)

2. Clears Liver Heat: (Tibet, Unani, TCM)
-heat of the Stomach and Liver (Tibet)
-Dysentery, Jaundice (TCM)

3. Clears Damp-Heat, Opens Obstructions: (Tibet, Unani)
-water retention
-Lymph disorders from Damp-Heat
-Brown-Phlegm (Smug po) disorders (Tibetan Medicine)
-Swellings, Tumors, Cancers

4. Clears Heat, Stops Bleeding:
-stops Bleeding, and used for Wounds (Tibet)
-used for Bleeding (TCM)

5. Improves Circulation, Benefits Heart and Brain: (Unani)
-regarded as a Heart and Brain tonic (Unani)
-used for Cardiovascular diseases; Cardioprotective effect
-prevents Ischemia
-Altitude Sickness


DOSE:
2–5 grams

COMMENT:
1. Dracocephalum tanguticum (Pri yang ku, Tibet) and D. moldavicum (Faranjmushk, Unani) appear to be equivalent medicines. The latter, or a variety of it is used in Mongolia as a source of Pri yang ku.  Further, their uses appear to be similar even though some indications are only noted in one of the systems.

Main Combinations:
1. Skin diseases, Dracocephalum moldavicum with Chicory, Nigell seed, Celery seed, Basil seed, Licorice (Uyghur formula)
2. Cardiovascular disease, Dracocephalum moldavicum with Silkworm Cocoon, Bugloss, Indian Spikenard, Saffron, Lavender, Rose (Uyghur formula)
3. Liver heat, Liver disease, Dracocephalum tanguticum with Meconopsis (Ut pal), Safflower, Tabasheer, Shilajit (as in Safflower 7 of Tibetan Medicine)
4. Liver heat, Hepatitis, Gastritis, Colitis, Liver heat with Liver Wind (Headache, Hypertension), Dracocephalum tanguticum with Sandalwood, the 6 Special Medicines, Chebula, Picrorhiza, Madder (as in Sandalwood 18 of Tibetan Medicine)
5. Altitude Sickness:
i. Dracocephalum tanguticum with Rhodiola Hong Jing Tian
ii. Dracocephalum tanguticum with Dang Gui, Astragalus Huang Qi, Rhodiola Hong Jing Tian

Major Formulas:
Safflower 7 (Gur gum 7) (Tibetan Medicine)
Sandalwood 18 (Tibetan Medicine)

Cautions:
None noted

Main Preparations used:

Research:
ANTIMICROBIAL:
1. Comparison of antimicrobial effect of Ziziphora tenuior, Dracocephalum moldavica, Ferula gummosa, and Prangos ferulacea essential oil with chlorhexidine on Enterococcus faecalis: An in vitro study.
2. Phytochemical, antioxidant and antibacterial properties of Melissa officinalis and Dracocephalum moldavica essential oils.
3. The antimicrobial activity of essential oil from Dracocephalum foetidum against pathogenic microorganisms.

ANTIOXIDANT:
4. Phytochemical, antioxidant and antibacterial properties of Melissa officinalis and Dracocephalum moldavica essential oils.
5. Antioxidative and cardioprotective effects of total flavonoids extracted from Dracocephalum moldavica L. against acute ischemia/reperfusion-induced myocardial injury in isolated rat heart.
6. Vasoactive and antioxidant activities of plants used in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

ISCHEMIA / VASODILATORY:
7. The protective mechanism underlying total flavones of Dracocephalum (TFD) effects on rat cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury.
8. The inhibitory effects of Dracocephalum moldavica L. (DML) on rat cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury.
9. Antioxidant activities of Dracocephalum tanguticum maxim extract and its up-regulation on the expression of neurotrophic factors in a rat model of permanent focal cerebral ischemia.
10. Badiranji Buya Keli, a Traditional Uyghur Medicine, Induces Vasodilation in Rat Artery: Signaling Mediated by Nitric Oxide Production in Endothelial Cells.
11. Vasoactive and antioxidant activities of plants used in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
12. Antianoxic effects of Dracocephalum tanguticum on brain of mice.

CARDIOPROTECTIVE/CARDIOVASCULAR:
13. Antioxidative and cardioprotective effects of total flavonoids extracted from Dracocephalum moldavica L. against acute ischemia/reperfusion-induced myocardial injury in isolated rat heart.
14. Flavonoids from Dracocephalum tanguticum and their cardioprotective effects against doxorubicin-induced toxicity in H9c2 cells.
15. Vasoactive and antioxidant activities of plants used in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

ALTITUDE SICKNESS:
16. The treatment of Uygur medicine Dracocephalum moldavica L on chronic mountain sickness rat model.

OTHER:
17. Neuropharmacological study of Dracocephalum moldavica L. (Lamiaceae) in mice: sedative effect and chemical analysis of an aqueous extract.
18. Three new phenylacetamide glycosides from Dracocephalum tanguticum Maxim and their anti-hyperglycemic activity.
19. Neuroinflammatory response to experimental stroke is inhibited by eriodictyol.
20. Effects of total flavonoids from Dracocephalum moldavica on the proliferation, migration, and adhesion molecule expression of rat vascular smooth muscle cells induced by TNF-α.