Where does Gastrodia grow, when is it harvested, and which month is it best to eat?
Gastrodia, also known as Chi Jian, Bai Long Pi, Mu Pu, Ming Tian Ma, Ding Feng Cao, Shen Cao, Li Mu, Du Yao Zhi, He Li Cao, Gui Du You and so on, is a fairly common perennial herbaceous medicinal herb in China, cultivated in most regions of the country, so where does Gastrodia grow? When is the best time to harvest it? In which month is Gastrodia good to eat?
Gastrodia distribution areas:
Gastrodia is mainly distributed in Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Taiwan, China, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Xizang. It is also distributed in Nepal, Bhutan, India, Japan, the Korean Peninsula and as far as Siberia. Its type specimen was collected in East Asia.
Gastrodia harvest time:
For winter planting, harvest in the second winter or the third spring. For spring planting, harvest in the same winter or the following spring.
Wild Gastrodia is dug around Grain in Ear. When digging, take care to harvest the large ones and leave the small ones, letting the small ones continue to grow. After digging, remove the stems, wash off the soil, wipe off the coarse skin, and sort into 3 to 4 grades by size. After the water boils, add a little alum to the water, then put the Gastrodia into the water; boil the large ones for 10 to 15 minutes and the small ones for 3 to 4 minutes, until they are cooked through. When drying over a heated bed, first use a high fire and then a low fire, turning them frequently (it is not advisable to turn them directly by hand, as this can contaminate them and cause them to turn black), and wipe off the moisture on the Gastrodia with a clean cloth. If they swell, prick a few small holes with a needle to release air. When half dry, press them with a stone or wooden board overnight to flatten them, then sun-dry or dry over a heated bed until completely dry.
In which month are they good to eat?
In terms of taste, Gastrodia before National Day is not good to eat, because it has not fully matured and is commonly said to be rather tender. The parrot beak of the Gastrodia is still white, and the gastrodin has certainly not fully matured. In terms of both nutrition and taste, it is rather poor.
Therefore, Gastrodia dug after National Day is fully mature and very good to eat. However, the best-tasting fresh Gastrodia is still the one dug around the time of the Lunar New Year each year. At this time the Gastrodia tastes excellent and is rather mealy.
Efficacy and effects of Gastrodia:
1. Calming the liver and extinguishing wind: Gastrodia is moist and full of fluid, can nourish blood and extinguish wind, and can treat headache and dizziness caused by internal movement of liver wind due to blood deficiency. It can also be used for infantile convulsions, epilepsy and tetanus.
2. Dispelling wind and relieving pain: Gastrodia is used for dizziness, migraine and general headache, numbness of the limbs and hemiplegia caused by wind-phlegm, and is suitable for dizziness caused by internal wind.
3. Sedation and analgesia: Gastrodia has sedative, analgesic and anticonvulsant effects, can increase cerebral blood flow, reduce cerebrovascular resistance, mildly constrict cerebral blood vessels and increase coronary blood flow.
4. Blood pressure-lowering effect: Gastrodia can lower blood pressure, slow the heart rate and has a protective effect on myocardial ischemia.
5. Protecting the brain and nervous system: Gastrodia has a clear protective and regulating effect on the human brain and nervous system, and can enhance the resolving power of the optic nerve.
6. Promoting energy metabolism of myocardial cells: Gastrodin has the effect of promoting energy metabolism in myocardial cells, especially obtaining energy under hypoxic conditions.
7. Anticonvulsant effect: Gastrodia has a certain therapeutic effect on facial nerve twitching, numbness of the limbs, hemiplegia, epilepsy and so on, and also has the effect of relieving smooth muscle spasms, relieving angina pectoris and biliary colic.
8. Lowering blood pressure: 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 bones and muscles, and can also increase peripheral and coronary arterial blood flow, with a protective effect on the heart.
9. Analgesic effect: The Gastrodia injection made from Gastrodia has a clear analgesic effect on trigeminal neuralgia, vascular neuropathic headache, cerebrovascular disease headache and toxic polyneuritis.
10. Preventing and treating cardiovascular disease: Gastrodia can increase cerebral blood flow, reduce cerebrovascular resistance, mildly constrict cerebral blood vessels and increase coronary blood flow.
11. Sedative effect: Gastrodia can inhibit the central excitatory effect caused by caffeine, and also strengthens the sleep-prolonging effect of pentobarbital sodium.