title: The rhizome of Gastrodia elata Blume - An ethnopharmacological review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gastrodia elata Blume (Orchidaceae) is commonly called Tian ma in Chinese and mainly distributed in the mountainous areas of eastern Asia, such as China, Korea, Japan and India. It is an extensively used traditional Chinese herbal medicine in the clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine, to treat headache, migraine, dizziness, epilepsy, infantile convulsion, tetany and so on. The present paper reviews the advancements in investigation of botany and ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and quality control of Gastrodia elata Blume. Finally, the possible tendency and perspective for future investigation of this plant are also put forward.
  
  
  METHODS
  The information on Gastrodia elata Blume was collected via piles of resources including classic books about Chinese herbal medicine, and scientific databases including Pubmed, Google Scholar, ACS, Web of science, ScienceDirect databases, CNKI and others. Plant taxonomy was validated by the databases "The Plant List", and "Mansfeld's Encyclopedia".
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over 81 compounds from this plant have been isolated and identified, phenolics and polysaccharides are generally considered as the characteristic and active constituents of Gastrodia elata Blume. Its active compounds possess wide-reaching biological activities, including sedative, hypnotic, antiepileptic, anticonvulsive, antianxietic, antidepressant, neuroprotective, antipsychotic, anti-vertigo, circulatory system modulating, anti-inflammationary, analgesic, antioxidative, memory-improving and antiaging, antivirus and antitumor effects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the publication of various papers on Gastrodia elata Blume, there is still, however, the need for definitive research and clarification of other bioactive compounds using bioactivity-guided isolation strategies, and the possible mechanism of action as well as potential synergistic or antagonistic effects of multi-component mixtures derived from Gastrodia elata Blume need to be evaluated. It is also necessary and important to do more quality control and toxicological study on human subjects in order to maintain its efficacy stable in the body and validate its safety in clinical uses. In addition, more investigations on other parts of this plant beyond the tubers are needed. Further studies on Gastrodia elata Blume will lead to the development of new drugs and therapeutics for various diseases, and how to utilize it better should be paid more attention to.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Dan
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Yu
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Yun-Peng
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
authors.forename: Xin-Liang
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Hao
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: fsui@icmm.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China. Electronic address: hrhuo@icmm.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Hai-Ru
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Huo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
authors.forename: Ting-Liang
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D019448:Ethnobotany; D020834:Ethnopharmacology; D031668:Gastrodia / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D064209:Phytochemicals / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use / Q000633:toxicity; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use / Q000633:toxicity; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D027343:Rhizome / Q000737:chemistry*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D064209:Phytochemicals; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (PubChem CID: 126); Clinical applications; Ethnopharmacology; Gastrodamine (PubChem CID: 5702160); Gastrodia elata Blume; Gastrodin (PubChem CID: 115067); Hydroxybenzyl alcohol (PubChem CID: 125); Parishin (PubChem CID: 44421666); Parishin B (PubChem CID: 44715528); Parishin C (PubChem CID: 46173915); Pharmacology; Phytochemistry; Tian ma; Vanillin (PubChem CID: 1183); Vanillyl alcohol (PubChem CID: 62348); β-sitosterol (PubChem CID: 222284)