Gastrodia elata, also known as red arrow, headwind grass, water potato and so on. Yunnan is one of the main producing areas of gastrodia elata in China, which is mainly produced in counties of Zhaotong area, especially Zhenxiong and Yiliang, where gastrodia elata has the best texture and the highest yield. According to Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, Gastrodia elata has the functions of treating convulsion, coma, invigorating qi and benefiting spirit.
When it comes to gastrodia elata, we can't help but mention the most famous producing area of gastrodia elata-Xiaocaoba in yiliang county, Zhaotong area. In fact, Zhaotong 1 1 cities and counties have the most suitable environment for the growth of wild gastrodia elata, with high yield and good quality, ranking first among all gastrodia elata producing areas in China. "China Native Products Complete Collection" contains: Zhaotong "Gastrodia elata is big, full, yellow, white and bright, named' Yun Gastrodia elata', which sells well at home and abroad."
Gastrodia elata is a valuable traditional Chinese medicine, with gastrodin as the main medicinal component, which has many therapeutic and tonic effects, such as antiepileptic, anticonvulsant, antirheumatic, sedative, spasmolytic, analgesic, tonic and so on. It has obvious effects in the clinical treatment of hypertension, angioneurotic headache, sequelae of concussion, speech disorder, rheumatism, cold joint pain, limb spasm, infantile convulsion and so on. According to the test results of Kunming Institute of Botany, the content of gastrodin and other 13 brain-benefiting components in Zhaotong Gastrodia elata is as high as 0.42%-0.46%, which is about L times higher than similar products in China. The test results of Gastrodia elata in Xiaocaoba are even more gratifying: it contains 14 essential trace elements and 6 macroelements; There are 16 kinds of amino acids, including threonine, valine, methionine, leucine, phenylalanine, amino acids, isoleucine and so on. The contents of aspartic acid, glutamic acid and arginine which cannot be synthesized by human body and are beneficial to brain nerve and liver are 0.55%, 0.8% and 0.25% respectively. The average content of gastrodin is 1. 13%, which is 2-4 times higher than other producing areas.
Zhaotong Tianma is famous. In the fifty years of the reign of emperor Qianlong (1785), the magistrate in Yibin, Sichuan invited the emperor to enter the DPRK, and specially sent a confidant official to lead a drug dealer and a drug farmer to dig gastrodia elata in Xiaocaoba, and selected the first-class products and put them in brocade boxes to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty. As soon as the atmosphere opened, the fallacy spread, and it became a drawback for the government and county officials to regard Gastrodia elata as the self-interest of their cronies and promote it. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, gastrodia elata was unearthed every year, and officials and businessmen from all over the country gathered in Xiaocaoba to buy it. This is a remote mountainous area, just like a busy city, and the daily market volume exceeds 1000 kg. 1973 At the Guangzhou Autumn Fair, the price of "China Xiaocaoba Tianma" was as high as RMB 0/20,000 per ton, and buyers were still overwhelmed.
Zhaotong gastrodia elata is mainly wild gastrodia elata, with varieties of "Zhu Jie Wu" and "Tomorrow Ma", especially "Zhu Jie Wu" with the best quality. In the 1950s, the annual purchasing volume of the whole region reached about 30,000 kilograms. Since then, due to overexploitation, the output has shown a downward trend.
In order to meet the market demand at home and abroad and rationally develop and utilize wild resources, under the guidance of Kunming Institute of Botany, sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction experiments of Gastrodia elata have been carried out since the end of 1950s. 1978 The scientific research achievements of artificially cultivated Gastrodia elata were appraised and popularized in 1 1 cities and counties, and the annual acquisition of Gastrodia elata increased to about 30,000 kg. Zhaotong Pharmaceutical Factory takes Gastrodia elata as the main medicine, supplemented by honey "Tianma Pill" processed by other local medicinal materials, with fine selection of materials, exquisite production and positive clinical effect, and won the title of quality product in Yunnan Province. The "Gastrodia elata wine" developed in Yiliang County is amber, crystal clear, delicious and mellow, which retains the medicinal efficacy of Gastrodia elata, and is favored by consumers for its special taste, fragrance and charm.