SALVIA MILTIORRHIZA EXTRACT

📋 Quick facts

Quick Facts:

• Category: other
• Also Known As: 丹参（SALVIA MILTIORRHIZA）提取物, タンジンエキス

Proven Benefits At A Glance:

• Salvia miltiorrhiza is a traditional Chinese medicine with multiple active compounds including salvianolic acids and tanshinone I
• Research shows it may help protect ovarian function in mice exposed to chemotherapy drugs
• Studies suggest it could support heart-kidney communication and reduce inflammation in those organs
• Laboratory research indicates potential activity against lung cancer cells in mice
• May help maintain healthy cholesterol levels and reduce inflammatory markers in blood vessel tissue

📊 Comedogenicity

🛡️ Safety rating

Safety tier is a starting heuristic from regulatory status and comedogenic rating, not a dermatological verdict — see our Terms for the full disclaimer. Research confidence reflects how many real cited studies back this ingredient, not the strength of their findings.

🌍 Regulatory Status

💧 Skin Type Compatibility

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📚 Research & Evidence

🔬 The Science

Salvia miltiorrhiza extract contains several bioactive compounds that researchers have studied in animal models. The ingredient appears to work through multiple mechanisms rather than a single pathway, which aligns with traditional uses of this plant medicine. #1: Ovarian protection in chemotherapy — In mice receiving cyclophosphamide (a chemotherapy drug known to damage ovaries), Salvia miltiorrhiza extract helped restore estrous cycles, maintained hormone levels (AMH and estrogen), and preserved follicles (the structures containing eggs) better than untreated mice (J Ovarian Res, 2025). The extract appeared to work by reducing cell death, lowering oxidative stress, protecting blood vessels in ovarian tissue, and reducing fibrosis.

Importantly, it did not interfere with the cancer-fighting effects of the chemotherapy drug itself. #2: Heart-kidney inflammation reduction — An aqueous extract of Salvia miltiorrhiza root reduced inflammation-driven damage in mice with combined heart and kidney injury, primarily through a mechanism involving suppression of a pro-inflammatory signaling pathway between the heart and kidneys (Phytomedicine, 2026). The key active component identified was salvianolic acid B, which appears to interrupt the communication that amplifies damage to both organs. #3: Lung cancer cell activity — In laboratory studies using lung cancer cells and mouse tumor models, components called tanshinone I and salvianolate from Salvia miltiorrhiza affected genes involved in cell growth and survival pathways, with salvianolate suppressing tumor growth in mice (Exp Ther Med, 2021).

However, these were early-stage laboratory and animal studies, not human trials. #4: Cardiovascular and cholesterol support — A standardized mixture of four major active components (danshensu, salvianolic acid A, salvianolic acid B, and protocatechuic aldehyde) improved cholesterol profiles and reduced inflammatory markers in blood vessel tissue of mice with genetic predisposition to atherosclerosis, apparently by dampening the TLR4/NF-κB inflammatory signaling pathway (Cardiovasc Hematol Agents Med Chem, 2023). Important limitations: All cited research is from animal studies (mice) or laboratory cell studies — human clinical evidence is not included in these sources. The sources do not describe how these findings would translate to skincare or topical applications.

📄 Related Research

Matched by search — not necessarily verified support for every statement above.

• Zhou L et al. (2025). Salvia miltiorrhiza extract ameliorated ovarian damage induced by cyclophosphamide in mice by multidimensional mechanisms. J Ovarian Res.
• Wang M et al. (2026). Salvia miltiorrhiza extract attenuates cardiorenal syndrome by inhibiting IL-1β mediated cross-talk between heart and kidney. Phytomedicine.
• Tian H et al. (2021). Effects of Salvia miltiorrhiza extract on lung adenocarcinoma. Exp Ther Med.
• Wu R et al. (2023). Salvia miltiorrhiza Extract Prevents the Occurrence of Early Atherosclerosis in Apoe -/- Mice via TLR4/ NF-kB Pathway. Cardiovasc Hematol Agents Med Chem.

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