While it’s known by several different names (monk’s pepper, "the women’s herb") the best we came across, by far, was the "herb for female complaints". The name says it all. Sister stealing your clothes? Chaste berry. Boy drama? Chaste berry. PMS? Chaste berry. Ok, so the first two were a joke...but when it comes to treating symptoms of PMS, chaste berry means serious business.
If we’re being scientific, dong quai’s official name is Angelica sinensis, but it’s also commonly referred to as “female ginseng.” The herb hails from the same plant family as carrots, parsley, dill and celery, and is harvested from way up in the mountains of China, Japan and Korea. PMS symptoms so bad they’re worth trekking up a mountain to find relief? We get it. So what makes dong quai worth the trip? Long story short, it kills cramps.