Dan Shen
3 foods contain this ingredient
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About Dan Shen
Dan Shen is the dried root of Salvia miltiorrhiza, a Chinese medicinal herb included in some pet supplements for its tanshinone compounds.
Dan Shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) is a traditional medicinal herb sometimes used in pet supplements for its antioxidant and circulatory-supporting compounds (tanshinones and salvianolic acids) rather than as a primary nutritional ingredient; evidence for cardiovascular or hepatic benefits in dogs and cats is limited and largely extrapolated from human and laboratory studies. Because Dan Shen can affect blood clotting and may interact with anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications, and because safe dosing in pets is not well established, it should only be used under veterinary guidance and avoided in pregnant animals or those scheduled for surgery.
- Derived from
- dried root of Salvia miltiorrhiza
- Primary role
- traditional circulatory-support herb in supplements
Why it's used
Dan Shen root contains tanshinones and salvianolic acids, compounds studied in laboratory and human research for cardioprotective and antioxidant activity. In pet products it appears as a supplement ingredient aimed at circulatory or heart-adjacent support, drawing on centuries of use in Chinese herbal medicine, though controlled clinical evidence in dogs and cats specifically is limited.
Common concerns
- Warfarin and anticoagulant interaction Salvianolic acids in Dan Shen can displace warfarin from plasma protein binding, and animal studies have shown increases in unbound warfarin concentration, which is why human pharmacology sources advise avoiding concurrent use with warfarin.
- Bleeding and antiplatelet drugs Because Dan Shen has blood-activating properties in traditional use, veterinary herbal medicine sources caution that combining it with anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs may prolong bleeding.
- Pregnancy Chinese herbal medicine references advise against Dan Shen use during pregnancy, a caution that would extend to pregnant pets absent species-specific data.
- Dosing in dogs and cats Established dosing for dogs and cats has not been well defined in the literature, so use is generally recommended only under veterinary or veterinary-herbalist guidance.
Also relevant
Because clinical trial evidence for Dan Shen is drawn largely from human and rodent studies rather than dogs or cats, pet-specific benefit claims should be treated as extrapolated rather than established.
3 sources cited
- Dan Shen's tanshinones (tanshinone I, tanshinone IIA, cryptotanshinone) show anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective activity in research but have limited bioavailability; Chinese herbal medicine texts advise against use in pregnancy and caution in bleeding disorders
- Salvianolic acids and lithospermic acid can displace warfarin from serum albumin binding; animal studies found increased unbound warfarin, though a human clinical trial of a Danshen-containing formula found no significant pharmacodynamic effect on warfarin
- In veterinary Chinese herbal medicine, blood-activating herbs like Dan Shen may interfere with anticoagulant or antiplatelet drugs and lead to prolonged bleeding
Common Questions
What category is Dan Shen?
Dan Shen is categorized as a herb ingredient in the KibbleLab database.
Is Dan Shen part of an allergen group?
No allergen group is linked to Dan Shen in the KibbleLab database.
Which foods contain Dan Shen?
3 foods in the KibbleLab database contain Dan Shen, including NaturVet.
Foods with Dan Shen
Alphabetical by brand. Scores run 0 to 10, higher is better, on published veterinary science.
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