An old Chinese root whose evidence belongs to the multi-herb formulas it sits in rather than to the root itself. Those formulas reduce menstrual pain more than painkillers, improve red-cell measures in kidney-related anemia, and improve breathing tolerance in lung scarring. Tested alone, the root has repeatedly done nothing. Blood-thinner interaction unresolved; hormone-driven tumour growth seen in animals. (Full Review)
| Marker | Target | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hemoglobin | 13.5–15.0 g/dL (women), 14.5–16.5 g/dL (men) | Tracks whether the blood-tonic effect is producing anything measurable |
| Hematocrit | 38–44% (women), 42–48% (men) | The endpoint that improved most consistently in the renal anemia meta-analysis |
| Ferritin | 50–150 ng/mL | Iron store status; identifies both a deficit to correct and an overload ceiling |
| Transferrin saturation | 25–40% | Detects iron overload risk from hepcidin suppression, especially in hemochromatosis carriers |
| International normalised ratio | Within the individual's prescribed warfarin target, usually 2.0–3.0 | The only marker with a documented human interaction consequence |
| Estimated glomerular filtration rate | Above 90 mL/min/1.73 m², or stable against the individual's own baseline | Tracks the kidney population in which the proteinuria finding was generated |
| Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio | Below 30 mg/g, or falling from the individual's own baseline | The endpoint that outperformed losartan in the glomerulonephritis trial |
| Platelet count | Above 100 × 10⁹/L | The baseline measure for antiplatelet users, and the threshold below which the root is avoided |
Cadence: Warfarin users: international normalised ratio at 1, 2 and 4 weeks after starting, then quarterly, and again after stopping. Everyone else: blood count, iron panel and, where relevant, kidney markers at 12 weeks, then every 6 months.