Weight loss, arthritis, acne treated with TCM safflower

What is safflower (carthamus tinctorius)?
Medicinally, especially in Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), safflower refers to the dried flowers of Carthamus tinctorius L., an annual plant in the family Compositae. Common names include safflower flower and flos carthami. To guarantee high quality, it must be harvested during summer when the tubular flowers turn from yellow to red. When picking it needs to be careful not to damage the ovary located on the base. After the picking, next remove impurities, and dry in the shade or beside a low fire.

The plant is native to Asia, parts of Africa, area from central India to the upstream of the Nile along the Middle East, and Ethiopia. It is an annual plant and 30 to 90cm high. The whole plant is smooth and hairless. Stems are erect, highly branched in the upper part, and with woody base. Leaves are alternate, hard, nearly sessile and amplexicaul, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 3.5 to 9cm long, 1 to 3.5cm wide, with taper base, acute apex, and spiny margin. Inflorescence is large and apical. Bracts have multiple columns, among which 2 to 3 columns outside are lobate, lanceolate, and with needled margin while inside columns are oval and with thornless white membranous margin. Achenes are oval or obovate, about 5mm long, and with slightly askew base. Its flowering is from June to July and fruiting from August to September. In China, it is commercially cultivated all over the country, mainly in Henan, Zhejiang, Sichuan and other places.

Main chemical constituents are carthamin, precarthamin, safflower yellow A and B, and safflomin A. And it also contains safflower oil, which includes palmitic acid, myristic acid, lauric acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, and oleic acid.

Carthamus tinctorius benefits
This herb provides many health benefits. According to the study, safflower seed oil contains high linoleic acid, which is able to lower blood lipids and serum cholesterol, soften and expand arteries, prevent Atherosclerosis, increase blood circulation, and regulate the heart and aged endocrine system. And the ancients often added a handful of it in the herbal formula in order to get rid of the blood stasis inside the body. And today its decoction is also frequently used, soaking the foot twice a day, for a variety of blood stasis patterns, such as varicose veins, peripheral neuritis, poor blood circulation, legs and feet numbness, or bruising. Besides, carthamus tinctorius tea, supplement, extract, seed oil, and capsules are widely used in skin care, cosmetics, weight loss, acne, arthritis, bodybuilding, Diabetes, diet, muscle growth, hair loss, and so on.