Didangtang： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

As one of the classic prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine， Didangtang is an effective prescription for breaking and expelling blood stasis. It was considered that Didangtang damage the healthy qi and contained toxic Chinese medicinal materials such as leeches and gadflies， and thus it was rarely used. However， as the attention to classic prescriptions increases， Didangtang has been widely used in clinical practice and demonstrated definite efficacy in treating diabetes mellitus and its complications， malignant tumors， Alzheimer's disease， stroke， renal diseases， cardiovascular diseases， peripheral vascular diseases， gynecological disease， and male diseases according to the disease location， pathogenesis， symptoms， and pharmacological effects. Didangtang has the effects of mitigating insulin resistance， improving microvascular and peripheral vascular circulation， delaying diabetic macrovascular lesions， preventing vascular fibrosis， improving immunity， inhibiting tumor growth， protecting the brain tissue， nerve cells， vascular endothelial function， and kidney， reducing inflammation， and delaying aging. This paper summarizes the clinical application of Didangtang and initially explores the underlying mechanism.