Raw Hawthorn and Safflower Tea
Ingredients
- Raw hawthorn (dosage per public sources, pending verification)
- Safflower (hong hua) (dosage per public sources, pending verification)
Principle
Raw hawthorn aids digestion, strengthens stomach, moves qi, and disperses stasis; safflower activates blood, unblocks collaterals, disperses stasis, and relieves pain. Together they activate blood, resolve stasis, and strengthen digestion (syndrome differentiation required). Safflower is a blood-activating herb, not an everyday food.
Effects & uses
Suitable for blood stasis with purple tongue and chest tightness; also cited for blood-stasis dysmenorrhea, stabbing abdominal pain, and trauma (syndrome differentiation required). The 2026 stroke food care guidelines recommend hawthorn but not safflower; for daily care after cerebral infarction, [Notoginseng and Salvia Congee](/en/remedies/sanqi-danshen-zhou/) (without safflower) is often safer. Does not replace standard treatment.
Method
- Steep tea bag in boiling water, cover 20 minutes; or decoct about 20 minutes.
How to use
- Drink in place of tea.
Caution
Use with caution with low platelets, bleeding tendency, or blood disorders; not recommended in pregnancy. Consult a physician if taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs. Do not long-term self-brew safflower. Daily dietary food care is not a substitute for medication.
Source
Recommended by Zheng Yanhui, Nephrology Department, Nanjing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Specific proportions pending verification. To be manually verified.