Which Variety of Gastrodia Is the Best? A Guide to Selecting High-Quality Gastrodia

Of course, it is pure natural wild gastrodia. For pure natural wild gastrodia, the first choice is large ones; dried ones generally weighing more than two liang (100 g) are all good gastrodia. This kind of gastrodia will not be hollow, and during growth it absorbed the most nutritional value, which is why it grew so large. The second point is the saying circulated in the industry, “parrot beak, round navel”.

Which Kind of Gastrodia Is Best

Below is the gastrodia jargon summarized within the industry.  

1. The appearance is oval, slightly flat, curved in the middle, which is what people often call short, small and plump;  

2. The surface is grayish yellow or light brown, with longitudinal fine wrinkles, commonly called “ginger skin-like”;  

3. There are obvious rings formed by small brownish-black dots, commonly called “sesame dots”;  

4. One end is slightly pointed, sometimes still bearing a dried residual bud that is brownish red, commonly called the “parrot beak”; the other end has a round navel-shaped scar, commonly called the “belly button”.  

5. Resin-like fracture surface, hard in texture, not easy to break, flat fracture surface, semi-transparent leathery, white or light brown, heavy and solid.  

The gastrodia identification mnemonic: “parrot beak, concave navel, dried ginger skin with ring dots outside, remember the resin-like fracture surface.

The Efficacy and Effects of Gastrodia  

Gastrodia is sweet in nature, neutral in taste, and enters the liver meridian. It has the effects of calming wind, relieving convulsions, and treating dizziness with dark vision, head wind and headache, numbness of the limbs, hemiplegia, stiff and difficult speech, and infantile convulsions with wind agitation, among others.  

1. Analgesic effect: The gastrodia injection made from gastrodia has a clear analgesic effect on trigeminal neuralgia, vascular neurogenic headache, cerebrovascular disease headache, toxic polyneuritis, and so on. In recent years, through clinical trials by some medical units on more than 1000 patients, the effective rate reached 90%.  

2. Sedative effect: Some medical units used synthetic gastrodin (gastrodia glycoside) to treat patients with neurasthenia and neurasthenic syndrome, with effective rates of 89.44% and 86.87% respectively. It can also inhibit central excitation caused by caffeine, and has the effect of prolonging the sleep time induced by pentobarbital sodium.  

3. Anticonvulsant effect: Gastrodia has a certain curative effect on facial nerve twitching, numbness of the limbs, hemiplegia, epilepsy, and so on. It also has the effect of relieving smooth muscle spasms and alleviating angina pectoris and biliary colic.  

4. Blood pressure-lowering effect: Gastrodia can treat high blood pressure. Taken over a long period, it can calm the liver and boost qi, benefit the waist and knees, strengthen the tendons and bones, and can also increase peripheral and coronary artery blood flow, with a protective effect on the heart.  

5. Effect of improving vision and boosting intelligence: Gastrodia also has the effect of improving vision and significantly enhancing memory. Gastrodia has an obvious protective and regulating effect on the human brain nervous system, and can enhance the resolving power of the optic nerve. It is currently used as a brain health food or brain health medicine for high-altitude flight personnel. Japan uses gastrodia injection to treat senile dementia, with an effective rate of 81%.

The Market Prospects of Gastrodia  

1. Gastrodia has moved from purely medicinal use into the ranks of health products, and the development and application market for health products is huge with unlimited potential. The hot sales of gastrodia tea and gastrodia drinks have opened up deep-processing channels for gastrodia and digested a large amount of commercial gastrodia.  

2. With the development of science and technology in developed countries, applied research on gastrodia is even more advanced. After China joined the WTO, with the disappearance of tariff and non-tariff barriers, importing gastrodia from abroad has become more convenient.  

3. Due to the special biological characteristics of gastrodia, such as a long production cycle and high one-time investment, it is impossible to greatly increase the production area and the output quantity of gastrodia in a short period.

How to Store Fresh Gastrodia  

1. Refrigerator storage method: After fresh gastrodia is cooked, slice it and dry it in the sun, then put it in the refrigerator. If it is not dried in the sun, it will not keep for very long either; generally, eating it within 1 to 2 months is more suitable.  

2. Soak in honey: Slicing fresh gastrodia and soaking it in a honey jar can preserve it for one year. Of course, this method is more suitable for people who like sweet foods.  

3. Soak in baijiu: Many medicinal materials can be soaked in liquor, and fresh gastrodia is no exception. After slicing it and soaking it in liquor, there is no problem preserving it for several years. However, drinking too much alcohol harms the body, so it is recommended to drink less.

Speaking of gastrodia, I think everyone is very familiar with it. Gastrodia is a very nutritious traditional Chinese medicine, and it has a very good effect on treating people's migraines. But fresh gastrodia is very difficult to store, and the storage time is not very long, so dried gastrodia is more common on the market.