Title: Gastrodia
Additional Names: Chi-jian; red arrow
Literature References: Parasitic herbaceous plant, Gastrodia elata Blume, Orchidaceae; used in Asian traditional medicine as an analgesic and anticonvulsant. Medicinal portion is the dried tuber, known as tianma. Growth is dependent on 2 fungi, Armillaria mellea for nutrients and Mycena osmundicola for seed germination. Habit. Woodlands of Japan, Korea and the central provinces of China. Constit. Gastrodin, vanillin, b-sitosterol, q.q.v., vanillyl alcohol, 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, 4-hydroxybenzyl aldehyde, parishin, gastrodioside. Isoln of constituents: H. Taguchi et al., Chem. Pharm. Bull. 29, 55 (1981). HPLC determn of active constituents in tuber extracts: C. L. Liu et al., Chromatographia 55, 317 (2002). Effects on learning and memory in rats: C.-R. Wu et al., Planta Med. 62, 317 (1996); on amyloid b peptide-induced cell death: H.-J. Kim et al., J. Ethnopharmacol. 84, 95 (2003). Review of constituents and pharmacology: W. Tang, Chinese Drugs of Plant Origin (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1992) pp 545-548. Review of life cycle and cultivation: J. Xu, S. Guo, Chin. Med. J. 113, 686-692 (2000). |