ABSTRACT
Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (SM) is a perennial herbal plant that usually grows on sunny slopes, by riversides, and on canal banks or edges of forests. It is normally 30-100 cm tall, villous, with purple flowers on the terminal or auxiliary spike (Fig. 1a). The root of SM is forked, brick-red, slender, wrinkled, with a solid and almost brittle texture (Fig. 1b). It is about 10-20 cm long and 0.3-1 cm in diameter. The part of SM used for medication is its dried root, which has a bitter and astringent taste (1).
