Codonopsis pilosula. Campanumaea pilosula   党 参 Dǎng shēn   Codonopsis    Family: Campanulaceae    
Classed by the Pentsao with true Ginseng.[4]
PART USED: Dry root
Nature: Neutral     FLAVOR: Sweet, pleasant
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Tonics- Replenishing Qi
1. Strengthens the Spleen/Stomach.[1] Benefit Qi, tone up Spleen.[2] Fortifies central energy.[1]
2. Promotes salivation and quenches thirst.[1]
INDICATIONS
1. Spleen/Stomach deficiency. Exhaustion, poor appetite thirstiness.[1] Palpitation, fatigue, poor appetite.[2]
2. Lung Deficiency manifesting as shortness of breath.[1] Shortness of breath.[2]
PATENT COMBINATIONS
- Spleen and Stomach Qi deficiency and Collapse middle Heater Qi: Tonifies the Spleen and Stomach Qi and lifts up the sinking Yang Qi of the middle Heater Ginseng & Astragalus- Bu zhong yi qi wan.
- Bi Syndrome Due to deficiency of Liver and Kidney, Qi and Blood, with attack by Cold, Wind and Damp: Disperses painful obstruction, dispels Wind, Cold and Damp, tonifies the Liver and Kidney, replenishes the Qi and Blood Du huo & Loranthus- Du huo ji sheng wan.
- Kidney Yang Deficiency: Warms and tonifies the Kidney Yang, tonifies the Qi Rehmannia Eight Formula- Fu gui ba wei wan.
- Deficiency of Qi, Yin and Blood: Tonify Qi and nourish Yin and Blood Ginseng & Rehmannia- Gu ben wan.
- Deficiency of Spleen Qi and Heart Blood: Tonifies the Qi and Blood, strengthens the Spleen, nourishes the Heart and calms the Shen Ginseng & Longan- Gui pi wan. 
- Damp heat in the Liver with the Liver attaching the Spleen, Liver Qi stagnation and Spleen Qi deficiency: Spreads the Liver Qi and harmonises the Liver and the Spleen, clears Damp Heat, clears Heat and resolves toxicity Liver tonic- Guo tai hu gan jiao nang.
- Deficiency of Spleen Qi, Liver Qi stagnation and retention of Dampness: Tonifies the middle Heater, strengthens the Spleen, regulates the Liver Qi, transforms Dampness and stops vaginal discharge Atractylodes & Dioscorea- Wan dai tang.
- Water retention due to Kidney Yang deficiency: Warms Kidney and Spleen Yang, Tonifies Spleen Qi, promotes diuresis Codonopsis Formula- Zhen wu tang.             
PREPARATIONS: Decoction 9-12 g.[1] Dry root 9-15 g.[2]
Fluid extract 1:1 in 45% alcohol.[3]

References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Research

Dangshen (Codonopsis pilosula) activates IGF-I and FGF-2 pathways to induce proliferation and migration effects in RSC96 Schwann cells.
Chen HT, Tsai YL, Chen YS, Jong GP, Chen WK, Wang HL, Tsai FJ, Tsai CH, Lai TY, Tzang BS, Huang CY, Lu CY.
Abstract
This study evaluates the proliferative and migrative effects of dangshen on RSC96, Schwann cells. We investigated the molecular signaling pathways, which include: (1) survival signaling, IGFs-IGFIR-Akt-Bcl2 and proliferative signaling, cell cycle factors and MAPK pathways. (2) migrate and anti-scar signaling, FGF-2-uPA-MMPs. After treatment with different concentrations (20 microg/ml, 40 microg/ml, 60 microg/ml, 80 microg/ml, and 100 microg/ml) of dangshen. We observed a dose dependent proliferative effect using PCNA Western blotting assay, MTT assay and the wound healing test. We also found that dangshen stimulates the protein expressions of IGF-I pathway regulators, cell cycle controlling proteins and excites the MAPK signaling pathway regulators ERK and P38. Dangshen even stimulates the FGF-2-uPA-MMP 9 migration pathway in RSC 96 Schwann cells. Using MAPK chemical inhibitors, U0126, SB203580, and SP600125, the proliferative effects of dangshen on RSC 96 cells were identified to be ERK- and P38- dependent. Based on these results, applying an appropriate dose of dangshen with biomedical materials would be a potential approach for enhancing neuron regeneration.
PMID: 20387231 DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X10007907  Am J Chin Med. 2010;38(2):359-72. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Restorative Effects of Inulin From Codonopsis pilosula on Intestinal Mucosal Immunity, Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Gut Microbiota of Immunosuppressed Mice
Yuan-Feng Zou, Cen-Yu Li, Yu-Ping Fu, Xin Feng, Xi Peng, Bin Feng, Li-Xia Li, Ren-Yong Jia, Chao Huang, Xu Song, Cheng Lv, Gang Ye, Ling Zhao, Yang-Ping Li, Xing-Hong Zhao, Li-Zi Yin, Zhong-Qiong Yin
Abstract
An inulin (CPPF), isolated from a traditional Chinese herbal medicine Codonopsis pilosula, was characterized and demonstrated with potential prebiotic activity in vitro before. Based on its non-digested feature, the intestinal mucosa and microbiota modulatory effects in vivo on immunosuppressed mice were investigated after oral administration of 200, 100 and 50 mg/kg of CPPF for 7 days. It was demonstrated that the secretions of sIgA and mucin 2 (Muc2) in ileum were improved by CPPF, and the anti-inflammatory activities in different intestine parts were revealed. The intestine before colon could be the target active position of CPPF. As a potential prebiotic substance, a gut microbiota restorative effect was also presented by mainly modulating the relative abundance of Eubacteriales, including Oscillibacter, unidentified Ruminococcus and Lachnospiraceae after high-throughput pyrosequencing of V4 region of 16S rRNA analysis. All these results indicated that this main bioactive ingredient inulin from C. pilosula was a medicinal prebiotic with enhancing mucosal immune, anti-inflammatory and microbiota modulatory activities.
Front Pharmacol 2022 Feb 14;13:786141. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.786141. eCollection 2022. PMID: 35237158 PMCID: PMC8882912 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Codonopsis pilosula polysaccharide attenuates Aβ toxicity and cognitive defects in APP/PS1 mice
Lu Wan, Qing Zhang, Hongbin Luo, Zhendong Xu, Sheng Huang, Fumin Yang, Yi Liu, Yacoubou Abdoul Razak Mahaman, Dan Ke, Qun Wang, Rong Liu, Jian-Zhi Wang, Xiji Shu, Xiaochuan Wang
Abstract
Codonopsis pilosula Polysaccharides (CPPs), a traditional Chinese medicine used for thousands of years, is a potential neuroprotective polysaccharide via a relatively poorly understood mechanism. We previously reported that CPPs attenuated tau pathology in hTau transfected mice and therefore in the current work investigated the effect of CPPs on Aβ toxicity and cognitive defects in APP/PS1 mice model. It was found that one-month intragastric administration of CPPs significantly ameliorated cognitive defects in APP/PS1 mice. In addition, CPPs treatment mitigated the loss of the synaptic plasticity and increased the synaptic proteins including synaptotagmin and PSD95. The expression of Aβ42 and Aβ40 was remarkably decreased in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice after CPPs treatment. We also found that CPPs coincubation significantly reduced the amount of APPβ and Aβ42 expression in cells. Intriguingly, the activity of BACE1 was decreased following CPPs treatment in both the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice and in vitro experiments. Collectively, these results indicated that CPPs attenuated Aβ pathology in APP/PS1 mice, and down-regulating BACE1 might be the underlaying mechanism which could be a therapeutic target for alleviating cognitive defects in AD pathology.
Aging (Albany NY) . 2020 Jul 11;12(13):13422-13436. doi: 10.18632/aging.103445. Epub 2020 Jul 11. PMID: 32652518 PMCID: PMC7377903 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov