How to distinguish the authenticity of Gastrodia elata

In recent years, due to excessive mining of medicine, wild Gastrodia elata is decreasing, and medicinal materials are very scarce. Gastrodia elata is an important medicine for the treatment of vertigo. Gastrodia elata is a kind of important medicine for the treatment of vertigo. Its main function is to calm the liver and calm the wind, such as dizziness, redness, head-weight caused by hyperactivity of the liver-yang, or high fever caused by internal movement of the liver wind, epilepsy convulsions, angle arch tension, etc., taken with Gastrodia elata combined with other drugs, often have a good effect. In view of this, some unscrupulous businessmen impersonate Gastrodia elata with similar other roots to deceive consumers. The common false Gastrodia elata on the market are purple jasmine root, dahlia tuber root, potato, banana taro underground stem, hairy taro and so on. The rhizome shape of these plants is very similar to Gastrodia elata, sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between true and false, and it is necessary to master the essentials to identify them.

Gastrodia elata is long oval, slightly flat, wrinkled and bent, with residual stem base at one end, red or reddish brown, commonly known as "parrot mouth", and round root marks at the other end. The surface is yellowish white or yellowish brown, translucent, often with light flaky skin residue, more longitudinal wrinkles, and several lines of less obvious fibrous root scars arranged in rings. The quality is hard and not easy to break. Its cross section is slightly flat, horny yellow-white or brown, shiny. Chew it in your mouth, it's crisp and sticky. The smell is special and sweet. According to the experience of the old pharmacist, the method of distinguishing between true and false Gastrodia elata can be summarized as follows: Gastrodia elata is long, flat and slightly curved, with a point-shaped ring of more than ten circles; a stem-based parrot mouth on the top of the head, and a scar like a navel at the bottom. If it can not be identified again, it is necessary to invite experts to carry out microscopic identification and physical and chemical identification.

The color of Gastrodia elata is yellow and white, translucent, hypertrophic and solid, while the color is grayish brown, light, and the cross section is hollow. According to the region, Guangyuan in Sichuan, Ningqiang in Shaanxi, Baishan in Jilin and Shennongjia in Hubei all produce high-quality Gastrodia elata, which is called authentic medicinal materials.