Salvianolic Acids

Salvianolic Acids at a Glance

“Salvianolic acid” is a family name, not a molecule. Salvianolic acids A, B, C, D and K are distinct compounds with distinct formulas, distinct potencies and — in two cases — their own research literatures. Almost everything written about “salvianolic acid” in the singular is really about salvianolic acid B, which is the most abundant of them by a wide margin and the one the Chinese Pharmacopoeia uses as danshen’s water-soluble marker compound ^{2,6Reference 2Du G et al. · 2020ReviewChemical and pharmacological research on the polyphenol acids isolated from Danshen — a review of salvianolic acidsView study →Reference 6Su CY et al. · 2015Salvia miltiorrhiza — traditional medicinal uses, chemistry, and pharmacologyView study →}.

This page is the family hub. It covers what the members have in common — a shared caffeic-acid-oligomer chemistry, a shared water solubility that determines which preparations deliver them, a shared antioxidant/antithrombotic profile, and a shared, dismal oral bioavailability — and points to salvianolic acid A and salvianolic acid B for congener-specific detail. Every potency figure below is attributed to a named congener wherever the source names one; where a paper says only “salvianolic acids”, only that is said here.

Two facts govern the rest:

First, these are the hydrophilic half of danshen. Salvia miltiorrhiza is chemically two herbs in one root — lipophilic tanshinones (abietane diterpene quinones, extracted by ethanol) and hydrophilic salvianolic acids (extracted by water) ^{5,6Reference 5Li ZM et al. · 2018Salvia miltiorrhiza Burge (Danshen) — a golden herbal medicine in cardiovascular therapeuticsView study →Reference 6Su CY et al. · 2015Salvia miltiorrhiza — traditional medicinal uses, chemistry, and pharmacologyView study →}. A decoction and a tincture of the same root are close to disjoint preparations. The salvianolic fraction is the one a traditional water decoction actually delivers ^{7Reference 7Dong Q et al. · 2017Establish quality evaluation method based on standard decoction of Danshen extractView study →}.

Second, they barely absorb. Salvianolic acid B’s oral bioavailability in conscious rats was 2.3% ^{15Reference 15Wu YT et al. · 2006AnimalBioavailability of salvianolic acid B in conscious and freely moving ratsView study →}. Nearly all the human evidence below is intravenous, which is a fact about the evidence, not about supplements.

The Salvianolic Acids

The whole family is built out of two C₆–C₃ (phenylpropanoid) building blocks: caffeic acid and danshensu (3,4-dihydroxyphenyllactic acid, the tyrosine-derived half). Rosmarinic acid is the ester of one of each — the dimer. The salvianolic acids are what you get when the plant keeps going.

Member	Formula (MW)	Oligomer level	Where it comes from	Notes
Rosmarinic acid	C₁₈H₁₆O₈ (360.3)	Dimer — 1 caffeic + 1 danshensu	Lamiaceae and Boraginaceae generally	The precursor, not itself a salvianolic acid. Has its own page.
Salvianolic acid A	C₂₆H₂₂O₁₀ (494.4)	Trimer-level — three phenylpropanoid units, one decarboxylated to a dihydroxystyryl group	Danshen root	With Sal B, the most potent of the group on anti-lipid-peroxidation and antithrombotic assays 2Reference 2Du G et al. · 2020ReviewChemical and pharmacological research on the polyphenol acids isolated from Danshen — a review of salvianolic acidsView study →
Salvianolic acid B	C₃₆H₃₀O₁₆ (718.6)	Tetramer — 3 danshensu + 1 caffeic acid, cyclised to a 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran	Danshen root — the most abundant constituent	Identical to lithospermic acid B and monardic acid B 28Reference 28PubChemCompound records for salvianolic acid A (CID 5281793), salvianolic acid B (CID 6451084, synonyms lithospermic acid B and monardic acid B), salvianolic acid C (CID 13991590), salvianolic acid D (CID 75412558), rosmarinic acid (CID 5281792) and danshensu (CID 11600642) — molecular formulas, masses, CAS numbers and synonymyView study →
Salvianolic acid C	C₂₆H₂₀O₁₀ (492.4)	Trimer-level, aromatised to a full benzofuran	Danshen; also reported in Salvia officinalis	The Sal A analogue with the ring closed 26Reference 26Ayoub IM et al. · 2022AnimalInsights into the neuroprotective effects of Salvia officinalis L. and Salvia microphylla Kunth in the memory impairment rat modelView study →
Salvianolic acid D	C₂₀H₁₈O₁₀ (418.3)	Smaller — danshensu plus a carboxymethyl-caffeoyl unit	Danshen	Minor
Salvianolic acid K	—	Trimer-level	Salvia officinalis, S. microphylla	Named in sage metabolite profiling 26Reference 26Ayoub IM et al. · 2022AnimalInsights into the neuroprotective effects of Salvia officinalis L. and Salvia microphylla Kunth in the memory impairment rat modelView study →
Danshensu	C₉H₁₀O₅ (198.2)	Monomer	Danshen	The C₉ building block, not a salvianolic acid; a metabolite of the whole family 16Reference 16Lu P et al. · 2019AnimalPharmacokinetics of salvianolic acid B, rosmarinic acid and Danshensu in rat after pulmonary administration of Salvia miltiorrhiza polyphenolic acid solutionView study →

Formulas and masses are PubChem values ^{28Reference 28PubChemCompound records for salvianolic acid A (CID 5281793), salvianolic acid B (CID 6451084, synonyms lithospermic acid B and monardic acid B), salvianolic acid C (CID 13991590), salvianolic acid D (CID 75412558), rosmarinic acid (CID 5281792) and danshensu (CID 11600642) — molecular formulas, masses, CAS numbers and synonymyView study →}; the oligomer descriptions follow from those structures. The phrase “trimer/tetramer of caffeic acid” is the analytical literature’s own shorthand for these — it is exactly how they were reported when found in comfrey ^{21Reference 21Trifan A et al. · 2018Is comfrey root more than toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids? Salvianolic acids among antioxidant polyphenols in comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) rootsView study →}.

The naming is a mess and it matters. Salvianolic acid B was characterised as lithospermic acid B from Lithospermum (Boraginaceae) and as monardic acid B from Monarda before “salvianolic acid B” became the dominant name ^{28Reference 28PubChemCompound records for salvianolic acid A (CID 5281793), salvianolic acid B (CID 6451084, synonyms lithospermic acid B and monardic acid B), salvianolic acid C (CID 13991590), salvianolic acid D (CID 75412558), rosmarinic acid (CID 5281792) and danshensu (CID 11600642) — molecular formulas, masses, CAS numbers and synonymyView study →}. If you search only for the Salvia name you will miss part of the literature — and you will also miss why finding these compounds outside Salvia is unsurprising.

Built From Rosmarinic Acid

This is the cleanest structural story in the phenolic acids, and it is worth getting right because it explains both the chemistry and the plant distribution.

Rosmarinic acid is an unusual ester: the caffeic acid half comes from phenylalanine via the phenylpropanoid pathway, the 3,4-dihydroxyphenyllactic acid (danshensu) half comes from tyrosine, and the two are joined and then hydroxylated to a catechol-rich diester ^{24Reference 24Petersen M · 2003Rosmarinic acidView study →}. It is the chemotaxonomic signature of the mint family (Lamiaceae) and the Boraginaceae ^{24Reference 24Petersen M · 2003Rosmarinic acidView study →}.

In danshen the plant does not stop there. It oligomerises rosmarinic acid — adding further caffeoyl and danshensu units, and in several members closing a benzofuran ring — to produce the salvianolic acids ^{1,2Reference 1Ho JH · 2011Salvianolic acids — small compounds with multiple mechanisms for cardiovascular protectionView study →Reference 2Du G et al. · 2020ReviewChemical and pharmacological research on the polyphenol acids isolated from Danshen — a review of salvianolic acidsView study →}. The biosynthetic machinery is shared: the transcription factor SmMYB2 in S. miltiorrhiza upregulates the same set of genes (including the key hydroxylase CYP98A14) and raises rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid B together, which is direct genetic evidence that they sit on one pathway rather than two ^{25Reference 25Deng C et al. · 2020SmMYB2 promotes salvianolic acid biosynthesis in the medicinal herb Salvia miltiorrhizaView study →}.

Three consequences follow, and they are the reason this section exists:

• Where you find rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acids are chemically plausible. That is the Lamiaceae and the Boraginaceae — which is why comfrey turns out to matter (below).
• The “salvianolic” name is parochial. These are rosmarinic acid oligomers that happen to have been characterised in Salvia, then found in Lithospermum and Monarda under other names ^{28Reference 28PubChemCompound records for salvianolic acid A (CID 5281793), salvianolic acid B (CID 6451084, synonyms lithospermic acid B and monardic acid B), salvianolic acid C (CID 13991590), salvianolic acid D (CID 75412558), rosmarinic acid (CID 5281792) and danshensu (CID 11600642) — molecular formulas, masses, CAS numbers and synonymyView study →}.
• Potency tends to track oligomer size in antioxidant assays, because each added unit brings more free catechol hydroxyls — which is also why antioxidant rank-orders in this family are close to a class property rather than a distinguishing pharmacology ^{1,3Reference 1Ho JH · 2011Salvianolic acids — small compounds with multiple mechanisms for cardiovascular protectionView study →Reference 3Wu Y et al. · 2020The effect of salvianolic acid on vascular protection and possible mechanismsView study →}.

The Hydrophilic Half of Danshen

Danshen is the textbook case of an herb whose extraction solvent decides what drug you are taking.

A quality-control study that built a “standard decoction” of danshen and profiled it by UPLC-QTOF/MS found that the main components of the decoction were phenolic acids, with salvianolic acid B used as the index compound for transfer rate and batch consistency ^{7Reference 7Dong Q et al. · 2017Establish quality evaluation method based on standard decoction of Danshen extractView study →}. That is the practical answer to the question to settle: yes, a traditional water decoction of danshen delivers salvianolic acids, and it is the salvianolic fraction — not the tanshinones — that a decoction is mostly made of.

The modern Chinese pharmaceutical landscape follows the same split:

Preparation	Fraction	Route	What it delivers
Traditional danshen decoction	Hydrophilic	Oral	Phenolic acids, salvianolic acid B as index marker 7Reference 7Dong Q et al. · 2017Establish quality evaluation method based on standard decoction of Danshen extractView study →
Salvianolate injection (丹参多酚酸盐)	Hydrophilic	Intravenous	Purified danshen polyphenolic acids 8Reference 8Zhang D et al. · 2016Meta-analysisSalvianolate injection in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris — a systematic review and meta-analysisView study →
Salvianolic acids for injection (SAFI)	Hydrophilic	Intravenous	Salvianolic acid mixture, 100–130 mg per dose 9Reference 9Lyu J et al. · 2019Meta-analysisSalvianolic acids for injection combined with conventional treatment for patients with acute cerebral infarction — a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsView study →
Compound danshen dripping pill	Danshen + notoginseng + borneol	Oral	A compound formula — its danshen component is an extract, and the salvianolic contribution to its effect has not been isolated
Tanshinone IIA sodium sulfonate injection	Lipophilic, semi-synthetic	Intravenous	Not a salvianolic acid, and not tanshinone IIA either — a sulfonated water-soluble derivative

That last row is the trap. Tanshinone IIA sodium sulfonate is a semi-synthetic derivative made specifically to get a lipophilic molecule into a vein. Its clinical data belongs neither to tanshinone IIA nor here. Likewise, the compound danshen dripping pill’s large trial base (see the dan shen monograph) tests a three-herb formula, so it cannot be read as evidence for salvianolic acids specifically.

What It's Used For

Evidence by IndicationStrength of support · Beta

Support is an experimental score I’m building — a composite weighted by study type (human > animal > in vitro > review) and study volume, tempered for isolate-vs-source match and bioavailability. It’s a beta, not a validated metric. Scores here are capped by two things that recur in every row: the trials are intravenous, and several test a mixture rather than a named congener. The “Rests on” column names which congener each result actually belongs to.

01Angina & Coronary DiseasePromising55%Group-level — salvianolate injection, 22 RCTs / 2,050 patients, GRADE low ^{8Reference 8Zhang D et al. · 2016Meta-analysisSalvianolate injection in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris — a systematic review and meta-analysisView study →}

02Ischemic StrokePromising50%Group-level — SAFI, 14 RCTs / 1,309 patients, GRADE low ^{9Reference 9Lyu J et al. · 2019Meta-analysisSalvianolic acids for injection combined with conventional treatment for patients with acute cerebral infarction — a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsView study →}; Sal A preclinical mechanism ^{13Reference 13Yang H et al. · 2024Targeting post-stroke neuroinflammation with salvianolic acid A — molecular mechanisms and preclinical evidenceView study →}

03Liver FibrosisPromising46%Sal B oral, one 60-patient biopsy-endpoint RCT ^{10Reference 10Liu P et al. · 2002Clinical observation of salvianolic acid B in treatment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis BView study →}; Sal A rodent ^{12Reference 12Wang R et al. · 2019Salvianolic acid A attenuates CCl₄-induced liver fibrosis by regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR, Bcl-2/Bax and caspase-3/cleaved caspase-3 signaling pathwaysView study →}

04Antiplatelet & AntithromboticShaky44%Sal B in vitro ^{14Reference 14Li M et al. · 2004AnimalInhibition of shear-induced platelet aggregation in rat by tetramethylpyrazine and salvianolic acid BView study →}, corroborated indirectly by the herb-level warfarin interaction ^{17Reference 17Chan TY · 2001Interaction between warfarin and danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza)View study →}

05Cardioprotection After IschemiaShaky42%Sal B — 32-study, 732-animal preclinical meta-analysis ^{11Reference 11Yang Y et al. · 2024Meta-analysisProtective effect of salvianolic acid B against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury — preclinical systematic evaluation and meta-analysisView study →}

06Antioxidant & Endothelial ProtectionShaky38%Sal A and Sal B — extensive in vitro and animal work, no standalone human endpoint ^{1,3Reference 1Ho JH · 2011Salvianolic acids — small compounds with multiple mechanisms for cardiovascular protectionView study →Reference 3Wu Y et al. · 2020The effect of salvianolic acid on vascular protection and possible mechanismsView study →}

Mechanisms

Target / pathway	Effect	Relevant to	Which congener	Evidence
ROS / free-radical scavenging (catechol groups)	antioxidant	everything downstream	Sal A and Sal B	in vitro, review 1,3Reference 1Ho JH · 2011Salvianolic acids — small compounds with multiple mechanisms for cardiovascular protectionView study →Reference 3Wu Y et al. · 2020The effect of salvianolic acid on vascular protection and possible mechanismsView study →
Shear-induced platelet aggregation	dose-dependent inhibition	antithrombotic	Sal B	rat PRP in vitro 14Reference 14Li M et al. · 2004AnimalInhibition of shear-induced platelet aggregation in rat by tetramethylpyrazine and salvianolic acid BView study →
Leukocyte–endothelial adhesion, MMP expression	reduced	vascular protection	group	review 1,3Reference 1Ho JH · 2011Salvianolic acids — small compounds with multiple mechanisms for cardiovascular protectionView study →Reference 3Wu Y et al. · 2020The effect of salvianolic acid on vascular protection and possible mechanismsView study →
Protein–protein interaction interruption by competitive binding	target-specific	vascular protection	group	review 1Reference 1Ho JH · 2011Salvianolic acids — small compounds with multiple mechanisms for cardiovascular protectionView study →
Hepatic stellate-cell activation, PI3K/AKT/mTOR	suppressed	antifibrotic	Sal A	rat 12Reference 12Wang R et al. · 2019Salvianolic acid A attenuates CCl₄-induced liver fibrosis by regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR, Bcl-2/Bax and caspase-3/cleaved caspase-3 signaling pathwaysView study →
Neuroinflammatory cytokines, blood–brain barrier integrity	preserved	neuroprotection	Sal A	preclinical review 13Reference 13Yang H et al. · 2024Targeting post-stroke neuroinflammation with salvianolic acid A — molecular mechanisms and preclinical evidenceView study →
Myocardial infarct size after ischemia/reperfusion	reduced	cardioprotection	Sal B	32-study animal meta-analysis 11Reference 11Yang Y et al. · 2024Meta-analysisProtective effect of salvianolic acid B against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury — preclinical systematic evaluation and meta-analysisView study →
LPS/TLR4, gut microbiota composition	modulated	metabolic	Sal B	mouse 27Reference 27Li L et al. · 2020AnimalSalvianolic acid B prevents body weight gain and regulates gut microbiota and LPS/TLR4 signaling pathway in high-fat diet-induced obese miceView study →

Pharmacokinetics

This is the section that should change how you read every number above.

Oral bioavailability of salvianolic acid B in conscious, freely moving rats was 2.3% — AUC 5,030 ± 565 min·µg/mL after 100 mg/kg intravenously versus 582 ± 222 min·µg/mL after 500 mg/kg orally ^{15Reference 15Wu YT et al. · 2006AnimalBioavailability of salvianolic acid B in conscious and freely moving ratsView study →}. At 718.6 Da with ten free phenolic hydroxyls and four carboxyl/ester functions, salvianolic acid B is exactly the sort of large polyanionic molecule that does not cross a gut wall.

A comparison across routes makes the point sharper. After pulmonary administration of a Salvia miltiorrhiza polyphenolic-acid solution in rats, absolute bioavailability was 50.4% for salvianolic acid B and 89.6% for rosmarinic acid — a ≥10-fold increase for Sal B over the oral route by the authors’ own comparison ^{16Reference 16Lu P et al. · 2019AnimalPharmacokinetics of salvianolic acid B, rosmarinic acid and Danshensu in rat after pulmonary administration of Salvia miltiorrhiza polyphenolic acid solutionView study →}. The same study tracked danshensu, the C₉ monomer, in plasma, which is consistent with the general polyphenol pattern: what circulates after an oral oligomeric phenolic is substantially its smaller cleavage products, not the intact parent ^{16Reference 16Lu P et al. · 2019AnimalPharmacokinetics of salvianolic acid B, rosmarinic acid and Danshensu in rat after pulmonary administration of Salvia miltiorrhiza polyphenolic acid solutionView study →}.

Three practical consequences:

1. The intravenous clinical literature is not transferable to oral dosing. A 100–200 mg infusion of salvianolate is not reproducible by swallowing anything.
2. A traditional danshen decoction does deliver salvianolic acids to the gut ^{7Reference 7Dong Q et al. · 2017Establish quality evaluation method based on standard decoction of Danshen extractView study →} — but how much intact salvianolic acid B reaches plasma from that decoction has not been established in humans.
3. Some plausible actions do not need absorption. The gut-microbiota and LPS/TLR4 work ^{27Reference 27Li L et al. · 2020AnimalSalvianolic acid B prevents body weight gain and regulates gut microbiota and LPS/TLR4 signaling pathway in high-fat diet-induced obese miceView study →} and any luminal antioxidant effect operate exactly where an unabsorbed polyphenol actually is.

Clinical Trials

Preparation	Route	Indication	Scale	Ref
Salvianolate injection	IV	Unstable angina	22 RCTs, 2,050 patients (meta-analysis)	8Reference 8Zhang D et al. · 2016Meta-analysisSalvianolate injection in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris — a systematic review and meta-analysisView study →
Salvianolic acids for injection	IV	Acute cerebral infarction	14 RCTs, 1,309 patients (meta-analysis)	9Reference 9Lyu J et al. · 2019Meta-analysisSalvianolic acids for injection combined with conventional treatment for patients with acute cerebral infarction — a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsView study →
Salvianolic acid B tablets	Oral	Hepatitis-B liver fibrosis	1 RCT, 60 patients, biopsy endpoint	10Reference 10Liu P et al. · 2002Clinical observation of salvianolic acid B in treatment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis BView study →
Isolated salvianolic acid A	—	—	None	—

Everything in the top two rows is a mixture given by vein, in China, at low GRADE quality. The third row is the only oral single-congener human trial in the family. There is no trial of an oral salvianolic-acid supplement in the Western sense, and no Western regulatory approval for any of these preparations.

Last checked: August 2026.

Salvianolic Acids in Comfrey

This is an unusual claim and it deserves its own section, because it is both real and much thinner than the phrasing “salvianolic acids in comfrey” suggests.

The attribution check: a PubMed search for salvianolic AND Symphytum returns two records. Against salvianolic AND "Salvia miltiorrhiza", which returns 1,036, that is the entire non-Salvia comfrey literature.

What the primary paper actually found. Trifan and colleagues (2018) characterised a 65% ethanol comfrey root extract by HPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS. Rosmarinic acid was the main phenolic at 7.55 mg/g of extract. And — the finding that matters here — trimers and tetramers of caffeic acid, described as isomers of salvianolic acids A, B and C, were identified and quantified for the first time in comfrey root. The extract showed significant antioxidant activity across DPPH, ABTS, reducing power and 15-lipoxygenase inhibition ^{21Reference 21Trifan A et al. · 2018Is comfrey root more than toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids? Salvianolic acids among antioxidant polyphenols in comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) rootsView study →}.

Note the exact wording: isomers of salvianolic acids A, B and C. On MS/MS evidence these are caffeic-acid oligomers of the right molecular formulas and the right class — but the paper stops short of claiming they are the identical Salvia molecules, and nothing here should go further than the paper did.

The second record is weaker. A 2024 rat wound-healing study of comfrey creams lists “allantoin, salvianolic acid, and rosmarinic acid” among the extract’s bioactives and attributes the antioxidant activity to them — but it is a pharmacology paper reporting a composition, not an independent analytical characterisation ^{22Reference 22Mârza SM et al. · 2024AnimalHealing of skin wounds in rats using creams based on Symphytum officinale extractView study →}.

And one paper that is often miscited here found no salvianolic acids at all. Sowa and colleagues quantified the main phenolics of a S. officinale root extract by HPLC-DAD and reported exactly five compounds: rosmarinic, p-hydroxybenzoic, caffeic, chlorogenic and p-coumaric acids ^{23Reference 23Sowa I et al. · 2018Proliferative and antioxidant activity of Symphytum officinale root extractView study →}. That study is a legitimate source for comfrey’s simple phenolic acids and for its antioxidant and fibroblast-proliferative activity — but it is not a source for salvianolic acids, and should not be cited as one.

Why it is chemically unsurprising anyway. Rosmarinic acid is a marker of the Boraginaceae as well as the Lamiaceae ^{24Reference 24Petersen M · 2003Rosmarinic acidView study →}, and comfrey is a Boraginaceae with rosmarinic acid as its principal root phenolic ^{21Reference 21Trifan A et al. · 2018Is comfrey root more than toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids? Salvianolic acids among antioxidant polyphenols in comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) rootsView study →}. Since the salvianolic acids are rosmarinic-acid oligomers, a Boraginaceae with high rosmarinic acid is precisely where you would expect to find them. Salvianolic acid B was in fact named lithospermic acid B from Lithospermum — another Boraginaceae — before the Salvia name won out ^{28Reference 28PubChemCompound records for salvianolic acid A (CID 5281793), salvianolic acid B (CID 6451084, synonyms lithospermic acid B and monardic acid B), salvianolic acid C (CID 13991590), salvianolic acid D (CID 75412558), rosmarinic acid (CID 5281792) and danshensu (CID 11600642) — molecular formulas, masses, CAS numbers and synonymyView study →}.

The honest verdict. Caffeic-acid trimers and tetramers of the salvianolic type are genuinely present in comfrey root, on one careful analytical study; they plausibly contribute to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of comfrey root preparations alongside rosmarinic acid and allantoin. That is a real and underreported fact. What it is not is a second evidence base — none of danshen’s cardiovascular pharmacology transfers to comfrey, which remains a topical-only herb because of its hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

Which Findings Belong to Which Molecule

The single easiest error to make with this family is to let a group name absorb a congener’s evidence, or a congener absorb the group’s. A summary of who owns what:

Claim	Belongs to	Not to
2.3% oral bioavailability	Salvianolic acid B 15Reference 15Wu YT et al. · 2006AnimalBioavailability of salvianolic acid B in conscious and freely moving ratsView study →	The family — no other congener has been measured orally
Angina and stroke trial data	Mixtures given intravenously 8,9Reference 8Zhang D et al. · 2016Meta-analysisSalvianolate injection in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris — a systematic review and meta-analysisView study →Reference 9Lyu J et al. · 2019Meta-analysisSalvianolic acids for injection combined with conventional treatment for patients with acute cerebral infarction — a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsView study →	Any single congener; and not to oral dosing
Liver-fibrosis histology reversal in humans	Salvianolic acid B, oral tablets 10Reference 10Liu P et al. · 2002Clinical observation of salvianolic acid B in treatment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis BView study →	Danshen the herb; the trial used the isolate
Rodent antifibrotic PI3K/AKT/mTOR mechanism	Salvianolic acid A 12Reference 12Wang R et al. · 2019Salvianolic acid A attenuates CCl₄-induced liver fibrosis by regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR, Bcl-2/Bax and caspase-3/cleaved caspase-3 signaling pathwaysView study →	Salvianolic acid B
Post-stroke neuroinflammation pharmacology	Salvianolic acid A 13Reference 13Yang H et al. · 2024Targeting post-stroke neuroinflammation with salvianolic acid A — molecular mechanisms and preclinical evidenceView study →	The group, and not humans
Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion protection	Salvianolic acid B, animals 11Reference 11Yang Y et al. · 2024Meta-analysisProtective effect of salvianolic acid B against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury — preclinical systematic evaluation and meta-analysisView study →	Humans
Warfarin potentiation	Danshen the whole herb 17,18Reference 17Chan TY · 2001Interaction between warfarin and danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza)View study →Reference 18Lo AC et al. · 1992AnimalThe effects of Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of warfarin in ratsView study →	Any salvianolic acid — see below
Antibacterial and antitumour danshen data	The tanshinone fraction	This page entirely
Tanshinone IIA sodium sulfonate injection results	A semi-synthetic sulfonate	Tanshinone IIA, and certainly not the salvianolic acids

Salvianolic acids C, D and K have no independent pharmacology worth reporting. They are analytical findings — real molecules, correctly identified, with no dedicated study behind them.

Natural Sources

Source	Part	Status
Dan shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza)	Dried root	The type source and the only one with a pharmacological literature. Salvianolic acid B is the single most abundant water-soluble constituent and one of the herb’s two Chinese Pharmacopoeia marker compounds, with tanshinone IIA 6,11Reference 6Su CY et al. · 2015Salvia miltiorrhiza — traditional medicinal uses, chemistry, and pharmacologyView study →Reference 11Yang Y et al. · 2024Meta-analysisProtective effect of salvianolic acid B against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury — preclinical systematic evaluation and meta-analysisView study →
Sage (Salvia officinalis)	Leaf	Salvianolic acids — including salvianolic acids C and K — identified by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS in ethanol extracts, alongside carnosic acid, carnosol, rosmanol and methyl carnosate 26Reference 26Ayoub IM et al. · 2022AnimalInsights into the neuroprotective effects of Salvia officinalis L. and Salvia microphylla Kunth in the memory impairment rat modelView study →. salvianolic AND "Salvia officinalis" returns 10 records — occurrence is established, pharmacology is not
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)	Root	Caffeic-acid trimers and tetramers, reported as isomers of salvianolic acids A, B and C, quantified for the first time in 2018 21Reference 21Trifan A et al. · 2018Is comfrey root more than toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids? Salvianolic acids among antioxidant polyphenols in comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) rootsView study →. Two PubMed records total
Lithospermum species	Root	Salvianolic acid B occurs here under the name lithospermic acid B 28Reference 28PubChemCompound records for salvianolic acid A (CID 5281793), salvianolic acid B (CID 6451084, synonyms lithospermic acid B and monardic acid B), salvianolic acid C (CID 13991590), salvianolic acid D (CID 75412558), rosmarinic acid (CID 5281792) and danshensu (CID 11600642) — molecular formulas, masses, CAS numbers and synonymyView study →
Monarda species	—	Salvianolic acid B occurs here under the name monardic acid B 28Reference 28PubChemCompound records for salvianolic acid A (CID 5281793), salvianolic acid B (CID 6451084, synonyms lithospermic acid B and monardic acid B), salvianolic acid C (CID 13991590), salvianolic acid D (CID 75412558), rosmarinic acid (CID 5281792) and danshensu (CID 11600642) — molecular formulas, masses, CAS numbers and synonymyView study →

No per-gram figure is reproduced here. Published quantifications exist for salvianolic acid B in danshen root, but they vary widely with cultivar, provenance and extraction, and the standard-decoction study found the salvianolic acid B level “in a large range” driven mainly by raw-material quality ^{7Reference 7Dong Q et al. · 2017Establish quality evaluation method based on standard decoction of Danshen extractView study →}. Reporting a single number would imply a precision the literature does not have.

Practically: these are water-soluble, so decoctions, teas and aqueous extracts favour them, while ethanolic tinctures and CO₂ extracts of the same danshen root shift toward the tanshinones instead.

Discovery & Synthesis

There is no single discovery story, which is itself a symptom of the naming problem. The molecule now called salvianolic acid B was characterised independently as lithospermic acid B from Lithospermum and as monardic acid B from Monarda; the Salvia-derived name became dominant as Chinese cardiovascular research on danshen expanded through the 1980s, and the salvianolic A–D series was described from Salvia miltiorrhiza over that period ^{2,28Reference 2Du G et al. · 2020ReviewChemical and pharmacological research on the polyphenol acids isolated from Danshen — a review of salvianolic acidsView study →Reference 28PubChemCompound records for salvianolic acid A (CID 5281793), salvianolic acid B (CID 6451084, synonyms lithospermic acid B and monardic acid B), salvianolic acid C (CID 13991590), salvianolic acid D (CID 75412558), rosmarinic acid (CID 5281792) and danshensu (CID 11600642) — molecular formulas, masses, CAS numbers and synonymyView study →}.

Chemically the family are depsides — polyphenolic esters — built from caffeic acid and danshensu units on the rosmarinic-acid scaffold. Salvianolic acid B (C₃₆H₃₀O₁₆, 718.6 Da, CAS 121521-90-2, PubChem CID 6451084) carries three danshensu units and one caffeic-acid unit with an internal 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran ring; salvianolic acid A (C₂₆H₂₂O₁₀, 494.4 Da, CAS 96574-01-5, PubChem CID 5281793) is the trimer-level congener with a dihydroxystyryl arm; salvianolic acid C (C₂₆H₂₀O₁₀, PubChem CID 13991590) is the aromatised benzofuran analogue of A ^{28Reference 28PubChemCompound records for salvianolic acid A (CID 5281793), salvianolic acid B (CID 6451084, synonyms lithospermic acid B and monardic acid B), salvianolic acid C (CID 13991590), salvianolic acid D (CID 75412558), rosmarinic acid (CID 5281792) and danshensu (CID 11600642) — molecular formulas, masses, CAS numbers and synonymyView study →}.

Production is by extraction from danshen root, not synthesis. The commercial pharmaceutical preparations — salvianolate injection and salvianolic acids for injection — are purified aqueous danshen fractions ^{8,9Reference 8Zhang D et al. · 2016Meta-analysisSalvianolate injection in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris — a systematic review and meta-analysisView study →Reference 9Lyu J et al. · 2019Meta-analysisSalvianolic acids for injection combined with conventional treatment for patients with acute cerebral infarction — a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsView study →}. Plant biotechnology is an established alternative route: S. miltiorrhiza hairy-root cultures accumulate salvianolic acids, and overexpressing the transcription factor SmMYB2 raises rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid B together by upregulating the pathway gene CYP98A14 — a demonstrated metabolic-engineering target ^{25Reference 25Deng C et al. · 2020SmMYB2 promotes salvianolic acid biosynthesis in the medicinal herb Salvia miltiorrhizaView study →}. No total synthesis is used commercially.

Patents: not yet researched.

Toxicity & Safety

The family has a better-than-usual safety record for a phytochemical, and it is worth saying why the low grading is earned here rather than assumed. There is a six-month human trial of oral salvianolic acid B reporting no side effects ^{10Reference 10Liu P et al. · 2002Clinical observation of salvianolic acid B in treatment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis BView study →}; two meta-analyses covering roughly 3,400 patients on intravenous preparations reporting no serious adverse reactions ^{8,9Reference 8Zhang D et al. · 2016Meta-analysisSalvianolate injection in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris — a systematic review and meta-analysisView study →Reference 9Lyu J et al. · 2019Meta-analysisSalvianolic acids for injection combined with conventional treatment for patients with acute cerebral infarction — a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsView study →}; and an acute and seven-day repeated-dose mouse study of salvianolic acid B combined with ginsenoside Rg1 giving an intravenous LD₅₀ of 1,747 mg/kg with no organ histopathology or biochemical abnormality — more than a hundred times the effective dose ^{20Reference 20Zhao Q et al. · 2015AnimalThe safety evaluation of salvianolic acid B and ginsenoside Rg1 combination on miceView study →}.

That said, the intravenous trials were explicit that adverse-event reporting was too sparse to support a firm safety conclusion ^{8Reference 8Zhang D et al. · 2016Meta-analysisSalvianolate injection in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris — a systematic review and meta-analysisView study →}, and the dominant real-world concern is not toxicity but bleeding risk.

Safety at a Glance

✅ Low / no toxicityDrug interactions

• Well tolerated in the trials that exist. No side effects in a six-month oral salvianolic acid B trial ^{10Reference 10Liu P et al. · 2002Clinical observation of salvianolic acid B in treatment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis BView study →}; no serious adverse reactions across 36 injection RCTs ^{8,9Reference 8Zhang D et al. · 2016Meta-analysisSalvianolate injection in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris — a systematic review and meta-analysisView study →Reference 9Lyu J et al. · 2019Meta-analysisSalvianolic acids for injection combined with conventional treatment for patients with acute cerebral infarction — a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trialsView study →}.
• Wide margin in animal toxicology. IV LD₅₀ 1,747 mg/kg in mice for a salvianolic acid B combination, >100× the effective dose, with no organ damage ^{20Reference 20Zhao Q et al. · 2015AnimalThe safety evaluation of salvianolic acid B and ginsenoside Rg1 combination on miceView study →}.
• Poor oral absorption caps systemic exposure. 2.3% bioavailability in rats means an oral dose does not produce the plasma levels an infusion does ^{15Reference 15Wu YT et al. · 2006AnimalBioavailability of salvianolic acid B in conscious and freely moving ratsView study →}.
• Danshen potentiates warfarin — this is one of the best-documented herb–drug interactions there is. Published cases of gross over-anticoagulation and bleeding, plus rat data showing danshen changes both warfarin pharmacokinetics and prothrombin time. The interaction is documented for the whole herb, not for any isolated salvianolic acid ^{17,18,19Reference 17Chan TY · 2001Interaction between warfarin and danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza)View study →Reference 18Lo AC et al. · 1992AnimalThe effects of Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of warfarin in ratsView study →Reference 19Holbrook AM et al. · 2005Systematic overview of warfarin and its drug and food interactionsView study →}.
• Additive antiplatelet effect is plausible. Salvianolic acid B inhibits platelet aggregation in vitro ^{14Reference 14Li M et al. · 2004AnimalInhibition of shear-induced platelet aggregation in rat by tetramethylpyrazine and salvianolic acid BView study →}; combining danshen preparations with aspirin, clopidogrel, DOACs or heparin warrants medical supervision.
• Stop before surgery. Standard practice with any antiplatelet herb — discontinue danshen preparations well ahead of planned procedures and tell your surgical team.
• No reproductive or developmental data. Nothing is known about salvianolic acids in pregnancy or lactation; danshen itself is traditionally avoided in pregnancy.
• Injection safety is not oral safety. The Chinese intravenous preparations are hospital-administered products with their own adverse-event profile; none of that record applies to a supplement, and none of it is a Western-approved product.

The Danshen–warfarin Interaction, and Who Owns It

This must not be soft-pedalled, and it must not be misattributed. Both failures are common.

The evidence is strong. A 2001 review in Annals of Pharmacotherapy collated three published cases of gross over-anticoagulation and bleeding in patients on chronic warfarin who also took danshen, and set out the mechanistic basis: danshen inhibits platelet aggregation, interferes with the extrinsic coagulation pathway, shows antithrombin III-like activity, and promotes fibrinolysis ^{17Reference 17Chan TY · 2001Interaction between warfarin and danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza)View study →}. The rat work is unambiguous on both arms of the interaction — single-dose and steady-state studies found danshen increased warfarin’s absorption rate, AUC, Cmax and elimination half-life while decreasing clearance and volume of distribution for both R- and S-warfarin, and prothrombin time was significantly prolonged after warfarin dosing in danshen-treated animals ^{17,18Reference 17Chan TY · 2001Interaction between warfarin and danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza)View study →Reference 18Lo AC et al. · 1992AnimalThe effects of Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of warfarin in ratsView study →}. The interaction is catalogued in the standard systematic overview of warfarin’s drug and food interactions ^{19Reference 19Holbrook AM et al. · 2005Systematic overview of warfarin and its drug and food interactionsView study →}. The 2001 review’s conclusion was blunt: danshen should be avoided in patients taking warfarin ^{17Reference 17Chan TY · 2001Interaction between warfarin and danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza)View study →}.

The attribution is herb-level. Every one of those studies used danshen the herb — root, extract or preparation — not an isolated salvianolic acid. The mechanistic story is consistent with the salvianolic fraction contributing, since salvianolic acid B demonstrably inhibits platelet aggregation in vitro ^{14Reference 14Li M et al. · 2004AnimalInhibition of shear-induced platelet aggregation in rat by tetramethylpyrazine and salvianolic acid BView study →} and the fraction is what a decoction mostly contains ^{7Reference 7Dong Q et al. · 2017Establish quality evaluation method based on standard decoction of Danshen extractView study →}. But there is no study establishing that salvianolic acids alone reproduce the warfarin interaction, and the tanshinones have antithrombotic activity of their own. The pharmacokinetic half of the interaction — changed warfarin absorption and clearance — points at metabolic and transporter effects that have not been traced to any single molecule.

What follows practically. The warning attaches to danshen preparations, which is where the exposure actually is: decoctions, dripping pills, injections, tinctures. Anyone on warfarin, another anticoagulant, or dual antiplatelet therapy should not add a danshen product without their prescriber’s involvement and INR monitoring. That advice does not change if a product is labelled “salvianolic acid” — but the honest reason is precaution and shared mechanism, not a demonstrated molecule-level interaction.

Dosage

There is no established dose of any salvianolic acid, and the Chinese clinical figures should not be converted into one.

Three reasons those numbers are not a supplement dose. The angina and stroke figures are intravenous, and salvianolic acid B’s 2.3% rat oral bioavailability means there is no sensible oral equivalent ^{15Reference 15Wu YT et al. · 2006AnimalBioavailability of salvianolic acid B in conscious and freely moving ratsView study →}. The injections are mixtures, so a per-congener figure does not exist. And the one oral trial did not publish its dose in a form can be verified ^{10Reference 10Liu P et al. · 2002Clinical observation of salvianolic acid B in treatment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis BView study →}.

If salvianolic acids are what you want from danshen, the preparation matters more than any milligram figure: a water decoction of the root is the traditional delivery of this fraction ^{7Reference 7Dong Q et al. · 2017Establish quality evaluation method based on standard decoction of Danshen extractView study →}, while an ethanolic tincture shifts toward the tanshinones. Doses for the herb itself are on the dan shen monograph. Nothing here is a recommendation, and the antiplatelet caution above applies to any of it.

References

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28. PubChem, National Library of Medicine. Compound records for salvianolic acid A (CID 5281793), salvianolic acid B (CID 6451084, synonyms lithospermic acid B and monardic acid B), salvianolic acid C (CID 13991590), salvianolic acid D (CID 75412558), rosmarinic acid (CID 5281792) and danshensu (CID 11600642) — molecular formulas, masses, CAS numbers and synonymy. [Database — no per-record PMID.] https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

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