Medicinal value of Gastrodia elata

I believe everyone has heard of Gastrodia elata. Let us first recognize and understand what Gastrodia elata is. Gastrodia elata is a famous Chinese medicine. We also call it Helicao or Shencao. Gastrodia elata not only has high medicinal value, but can also be used for cooking. Therefore, Gastrodia elata has high therapeutic value. We can see Gastrodia elata in many health-preserving medicinal foods.

We can use Gastrodia elata as an ingredient to make many medicinal foods with health-preserving effects. For example, we can make medicinal foods such as Gastrodia elata stewed with chicken and ginkgo, Gastrodia elata stewed with fish head, and Gastrodia elata stewed with oolong tea, so Gastrodia elata has a high therapeutic value.

1. Tianma Pills from Shengji Zonglu:

①For treating hemiplegic headache, head wind attack, swollen, painful and blurred eyes, spinning head, and inability to sit up: Gastrodia elata 1.5 liang, Aconitum (processed, peeled and navel removed) 1 liang, Pinellia ternata (washed seven times with decoction, remove the slippery parts) 1 liang, Schizonepeta spicate 0.5 liang, Costus root 0.5 liang, cinnamon (peeled) 1 fen, Chuanxiong 0.5 liang. Grind the above seven ingredients into powder, add frankincense and mix evenly. Add water to make pills as big as sycamore seeds. Take five pills each time, gradually increase to ten pills, with tea, three times a day.

② Treat paralysis of hands and feet, pain in muscles and bones, difficulty walking, heaviness in waist and knees caused by stroke: 2 liang of Gastrodia elata, 1 liang of Sanguisorba officinalis, 3 fen of Myrrh (ground), 1 liang each of Scrophularia ningpoensis and Aconitum (processed, peeled, navel removed), 1 fen of Musk (ground). Take the above six ingredients, except musk and myrrh, which are finely ground, and pound them into powder. Mix well with the ground herbs, and make into pills as big as sycamore seeds with refined honey. Take 20 pills each time, with warm wine, on an empty stomach before dinner.

③Treat rheumatism, athlete's foot, pain in muscles and bones, and numbness of the skin: 5 liang of Gastrodia elata (raw), 10 liang of Ephedra (remove the roots and nodes), 5 liang each of Aconitum carmichaelii (fried, peeled), Patchouli leaves, Pinellia ternata (fried until yellow), and white flour (fried). Grind the above six ingredients into fine powder, make into pills as big as a chicken's head and coat with cinnabar. Take one pill each time, chew it with tea or wine, three times a day, at any time.

2. "Bencao Huiyan": For treating convulsions and sprains caused by wind and phlegm in children, acute and chronic convulsions, and epilepsy: 2 liang of Gastrodia elata (washed with wine and fried), 3 liang of Gastrodia elata, 2 liang of Bombyx batryticatus (all fried), 1 liang of Indian rhubarb, and 5 qian of realgar. Grind them all into fine powder, mix together, add 2 liang of Pinellia tuber and Qu, grind into powder, and make into pills as big as marbles. Soak mint and ginger in a thick soup and dissolve one, two or three pills.

3. Tianma Pills from Xiji Fang: dispel wind and resolve phlegm, clear the head and eyes, relax the chest and relieve the diaphragm, treat restlessness, dizziness, tight neck, stiff shoulders and back, coma and excessive sleep, pain in limbs, itchy skin, hemiplegic headache, nasal congestion, and puffy face: half a liang of Tianma, two liang of Chuanxiong. Grind it into powder, and make pills with refined honey as big as water chestnuts. Chew one pill after each meal, with tea or wine.

4. "Ten Convenient Prescriptions" Tianma Wine: Women with rheumatism and paralysis of hands and feet: 2 liang each of Tianma (cut), Achyranthes bidentata, Aconite root and Eucommia bark. Grind the above medicines into fine powder, put them into a raw silk bag, and soak them in one dou and five liters of good wine for seven days. Take a small cup of it each time while it is warm.

5. Tianma Pills from Wei's Family Prescriptions: For treating various types of fright in children: half a liang of Tianma, one liang of whole scorpion (detoxified and fried), half a liang of Arisaema (fried and peeled), two qian of white silkworm (fried and silk removed). Grind them into fine powder, cook with wine and flour to make pills as big as Gastrodia elata seeds. One year old baby can take 10 to 15 pills each time. This medicine is warm in nature and can be taken regularly after taking it with Jingjie Decoction.

6. "Medical Prescriptions of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty":

①Mainly used to treat forehead headache and wash prescription. Ingredients: 3g Gastrodia elata, 6g Angelica dahurica, 4.5g Saposhnikovia divaricata, 4.5g Pueraria root, 6g Honeysuckle, 9g Gypsum, 3g Sichuan pepper, 3g frankincense. Boil in water and wash it.

② Mainly used to treat hemicrania, dizziness, etc., with the prescription of Gastrodia elata to remove wind and clear the upper body. Ingredients: 3g Gastrodia elata, 9g Saposhnikovia divaricata, 6g Chuanxiong, 6g Angelica dahurica, 3g Mint, 6g Mulberry leaf, 4.5g Chamomile. Boil it thoroughly with water and wash it.

7. "Medical Thoughts": It is mainly used to treat symptoms such as phlegm and fluid rising up, palpitations due to excessive phlegm, dizziness and headache, etc. It is treated with Pinellia, Atractylodes and Gastrodia Decoction. Ingredients: 9 grams of Pinellia, 9 grams of Gastrodia, 9 grams of Atractylodes, 9 grams of Poria, 9 grams of Tangerine Peel, 6 grams of Licorice, 6 grams of Ginger, and 3 dates.

8. “The Authentic Surgery”: Yuzhen Powder. Treat tetanus caused by wind poison and phlegm. The jaw is clenched, the lips are tightly pursed, the body is rigid, the body is arched, and the pulse is tight. 6 grams of Arisaema, 6 grams of Saposhnikovia, 6 grams of Angelica dahurica, 6 grams of Gastrodia elata, 6 grams of Notopterygium wilfordii, and 6 grams of Aconitum carmichaelii. Grind the above ingredients into powder, take 10 grams each time, mix with a cup of hot wine, and apply to the injured area. In the formula, Gastrodia elata is good at extinguishing wind and stopping convulsions, and is an adjuvant.

9. "New Interpretation of Syndromes and Treatments of Miscellaneous Diseases in Internal Medicine of Traditional Chinese Medicine": Tianma Uncaria Drink. Treats hyperactivity of liver yang and liver wind disturbance. Headache, dizziness, insomnia, red tongue with yellow coating, and stringy pulse. 9 grams of Gastrodia elata, 12 grams of Uncaria rhynchophylla, 18 grams of Semen Cassiae, 9 grams of Gardenia jasminoides, 9 grams of Scutellaria baicalensis, 12 grams of Cyathula capitata, 9 grams of Eucommia ulmoides, 9 grams of Leonurus japonicus, 9 grams of Viscum album, 9 grams of Polygonum multiflorum, and 9 grams of Poria cocos. Decoction in water. In the formula, Gastrodia elata enters the liver meridian, has the effect of calming the liver and extinguishing wind, and is also good at relieving dizziness, so it is the main medicine.

Above we introduced what Gastrodia elata is. We know that Gastrodia elata is a precious Chinese medicine. We can use Gastrodia elata as medicine, or we can use it as an ingredient for medicinal food. Gastrodia elata can be used to make many medicinal foods with good health effects, so in our daily life, we must be good at discovering the functions of Gastrodia elata and serve our health.