Angelicae radix

Angelica root or angelica is a drug that is used as a herbal medicine with digestive, antispasmodic and antiflatulent effects. Angelicae radix is obtained from the dried roots of the angelica plant. Occurs in the temperate zones of Europe and Asia, mainly in damp meadows, fens, bushes and forests.

Quality listed in the European Pharmacopoeia.

HPMC: not processed.
ESCOP monograph: dyspeptic complaints, mild abdominal cramps, delayed digestion, flatulence and bloating; loss of appetite, bronchitis;
Commission e-monograph: loss of appetite; digestive complaints such as mild gastrointestinal cramps, bloating, flatulence.

Empirical medicine: dyspeptic complaints, expectorant, diuretic, nervous sleep disorders.

In the food industry: spice extracts, in the production of bitter schnapps and herbal liqueurs.

Angelicae radix contains essential oil (angelica oil) (0.5 to 1 %) with pentadecanolide, linear furanocoumarins such as ammoidin, imperatorin, angular furanocoumarins such as angelicin and archangelicin. Also tannins, phytosterols and sugar.

Angelicae radix has spasmolytic and cholagogue effects and promotes the secretion of gastric juice. It also has a mild antidepressant, analgesic and antimicrobial effect.

Angelicae radix is used for indications such as loss of appetite and dyspeptic complaints such as bloating, gastrointestinal cramps, anorexia or flatulence.

The oil from the roots is also used for herbal liqueurs and bitter schnapps, e.g. Boonekamp, Bénédictine and Chartreuse.

It is also used in the production of Schneeberger snuff.

The furanocoumarins in the drug cause an increased light sensitivity; already at low UV light exposure a dermatitis solaris may occur.

Gloves should be worn when harvesting the angelica root and the herb of the plant. Direct contact with the eyes should also be avoided.

Stomach and intestinal ulcers. Caution in pregnancy and lactation - neither high doses nor long-term administration!

The fixed combination"angelica root+gentian root+caraway" positively monographed by Commission E consists of:

• Angelicae radix (angelica root)
• Gentianae radix (gentian root) and
• Carvi fructus .

This combination of medicines is used for flatulence, loss of appetite and dyspeptic complaints.

The fixed combination of angelica root + gentian root + wormwood consists of:

• Angelicae radix (angelica root)
• Gentianae radix (gentian root)
• Absinthii herba (wormwood)

stimulates the appetite, promotes the secretion of gastric juice and is used in cases of loss of appetite and dyspeptic complaints such as bloating and flatulence.

1. Chang YX et al. (2013) Simultaneous determination of scopoletin, psoralen, bergapten, xanthotoxin, columbianetin acetate, imperatorin, osthole and isoimperatorin in rat plasma by LC-MS/MS for pharmacokinetic studies following oral administration of Radix Angelicae Pubescentis extract.J Pharm Biomed Anal 77:71-75.
2. Schilcher H (2016) Leitfaden Phytotherapie, Urban & Fischer Verlag Munich, p. 53 f.
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