By Eric Brand

A few weeks ago I went to Sichuan province with my teacher Zhao Zhongzhen. He was there for a book launching and field research at the herbal market, and during our visit to the herbal market he was kind enough to authenticate a batch of samples for the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. I tried to bring back as many authenticated specimens of whole, uncut herbs as possible because whole herbs are hard to find in the West. This specimen of Dang Gui is distinctive and worth a few comments.

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Generally speaking, when one sees whole Dang Gui in Chinese wholesale markets the roots appear larger and brighter than the roots pictured above. This is because most Dang Gui is sulfured to extend its shelf life and give it a lighter, brighter appearance. Additionally, cultivation techniques that make the Dang Gui fatter and larger are prominent, because many people think bigger is better when it comes to Chinese herbs. Although some Chinese herbs are indeed thought to be better when they are larger, Dang Gui is an exception to the "bigger is better" rule.

While it is difficult to see without a comparison photo of the larger, lighter roots on the market, the roots pictured above represent the most authentic, traditional look of Dang Gui. These roots are relatively small and dark, with a strong pungent odor. Sulfur causes the roots to look lighter and it gives them a slightly acrid odor of sulfur in addition to the characteristic Dang Gui odor. By contrast, the unsulfured roots pictured above lack the distinctive sulfur smell and just have the characteristic smell of Dang Gui. They are dried to the point where they are still pliable and oily without having unnecessary water weight, whereas the sulfured product is generally sold with more water weight.

Dang Gui is one of the most commonly sulfured items on the raw herb market, and the heads (Dang Gui Tou) on the U.S. market are almost always heavily sulfured when they are sold separately. On the bright side, unsulfured Dang Gui is available from several large suppliers in the U.S., and many companies that make granules and prepared medicines can easily avoid using the sulfured product by starting from whole, unsulfured raw herbs. (At Blue Poppy, we avoid the use of sulfured herbs by buying the herbs whole and slicing them on-site at our manufacturing facility.)