Corydalis Root — Mother Nature’s Chill Pill
Have you ever noticed that when your body relaxes, your mind starts to relax, too? Think of a restorative yoga class, a massage or a nice bath. You know that feeling of being at peace with your body and with the world?
Our emotional and mental stress responses are closely linked, both in times of tranquility and tension. That’s why we’re such big fans of a special little root that addresses both women’s stress relief and pain responses. Meet corydalis, one of the stars of our Wile Women’s Stress supplement.
Why We Love Corydalis Root Extract
- Corydalis is a nervine, which means that it acts on your nervous system. Nervines like corydalis promote stress resilience and calm.
- Corydalis has both stress and pain-relieving qualities. This means that it is uniquely equipped to treat the double-whammy of physical and mental tension that contributes to burnout in midlife women. Talk about a mood supplement super herb!
- Corydalis has over 80 identified alkaloid compounds. These are active ingredients with a wide array of potential benefits for stress relief and more.
Key Benefits:
Sedative - One of the alkaloids in corydalis, THP, acts as a mild sedative. This compound promotes women’s stress relief and a feeling of well-being by interacting with dopamine receptors in the brain. It sends relaxing signals to your nervous system that release tension, reduce occasional anxiety symptoms and can even promote sleep. This makes corydalis a great ingredient in mood supplements like Wile Women’s Stress.
Pain Relief - Corydalis is an effective analgesic, or pain reliever. It works by temporarily quieting a specific kind of brainstem activity, which in turn increases the amount of pain necessary to put your brain on alert. It’s frequently used for menstrual pain and headaches, but corydalis is a safe way to reduce all kinds of mild or moderate pain.
Improves Health - The world is finally waking up to the importance of gut wellness and we’re here for it. Corydalis, which promotes a healthy stomach lining, can be part of your journey to great gastrointestinal health.
Traditional Uses:
Recorded corydalis use goes back over 1100 years, to the Chinese Tang Dynasty. Corydalis is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for:
- Pain relief, especially chest pain
- Digestive issues
- Healthy postpartum blood flow
- Qi enhancement
About Corydalis:
Corydalis is a small plant with clusters of pink or purple trumpet-shaped flowers and fern-like leaves. Though the flowers are definitely cute, our favorite part of the plant is the root, where all the medicinal goodness is.
Corydalis is native to high-altitude grasslands throughout Asia, especially in China.
There’s still lots of exciting research being done on corydalis, including studies on how it may help with substance use disorders. Keep an eye on corydalis!
Found In
Things to Know About Corydalis:
Sometimes people use the word corydalis to refer to a whole genus of flowers and plants. Make sure that any corydalis supplements you take contain only Corydalis yanhusuo, which is the species with all the medicinal benefits.
It’s important to note that you may see a few toxicity warnings when researching corydalis. This is because one study injected mice with high concentrations and doses of corydalis root extract, and it didn’t go well for the mice. However, it would take about 15 and a half pounds to kill a 150 pound human! If you’re capable of consuming 15 pounds of literally anything, we have 2 suggestions: don’t eat 15 pounds of corydalis root, and look into getting your own reality TV show. The daily dose in our Women’s Stress supplements is less than a gram, which is very safe and effective for adult humans.
Do not take corydalis if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Talk to your doctor before use if you take any medications that act on your central nervous system.
Clinical Research
- Alhassen, Lamees, Travis Dabbous, Allyssa Ha, Leon Hoang Lam Dang, and Olivier Civelli. “The Analgesic Properties of Corydalis Yanhusuo.” Molecules 26, no. 24 (December 10, 2021): 7498. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26247498.
- Sun, Gao Ge, Jui-Hu Shih, Shih Hwa Chiou, Chen-Jee Hong, Shaowei Lu, and Li-Heng Pao. “Chinese Herbal Medicines Promote Hippocampal Neuroproliferation, Reduce Stress Hormone Levels, Inhibit Apoptosis, and Improve Behavior in Chronically Stressed Mice.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 193 (December 4, 2016): 159–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2016.07.025.
- Tian, Bing, Ming Tian, and Shu-Ming Huang. “Advances in Phytochemical and Modern Pharmacological Research of Rhizoma Corydalis.” Pharmaceutical Biology 58, no. 1 (March 29, 2020): 265–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/13880209.2020.1741651.
- Zhang, Jingxia, Su-Rong He, Jing Wang, Changli Wang, Jianhua Wu, Weifeng Wang, Fan Li, Shasha Li, Chongbo Zhao, and Fang Li. “A Review of the Traditional Uses, Botany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics, and Toxicology OfCorydalis Yanhusuo.” Natural Product Communications, September 30, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/1934578x20957752.
Sources
- Clark, Alena, PhD. “What Is Corydalis?” Verywell Health, September 29, 2022. https://www.verywellhealth.com/corydalis-benefits-4589168#citation-11.
- Jones, David. “Spotlight on Herbs: Corydalis.” Herbalogic, July 9, 2020. https://www.herbalogic.com/blogs/herbiage/spotlight-on-herbs-corydalis.
- Romm, Aviva. Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health. Churchill Livingstone, 2017.
This article is intended for informational purposes and is not intended to replace a one-on-one medical consultation with a professional. Wile, Inc researches and shares information and advice from our own research and advisors. We encourage every woman to research, ask questions and speak to a trusted health care professional to make her own best decisions.
