The use of orchids in Chinese medicine

<i>Gastrodia elata</i> modulates amyloid precursor protein cleavage and cognitive functions in mice

“…Herbs with potential neuroregenerative activities that have been identified include Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale, Huperzia serrata, Nigella sativa, Rhizoma acori graminei, Verbena officinalis Linn, and Tianma (4,13,(28)(29)(30)(31). According to ancient Chinese medical literature, Tianma is an herbal medicine for the control of the internal movement of wind.…”

“…According to ancient Chinese medical literature, Tianma is an herbal medicine for the control of the internal movement of wind. The dry tuber of Tianma has long been officially listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and is used in treating headaches, dizziness, tetanus, epilepsy, infantile convulsions, numbness of the limbs and also for the improvement of cognitive functions (4,(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36). From scientific investigations, Tianma possesses anti-oxidative and free radical scavenging (37), neuroprotective (38), and antidepressant effects (7,39,40).…”

“…In traditional herbal medicine practice, synergistic and or antagonistic therapeutic efficacy among the herbs in any one prescription plays an important role in the treatment of illness. These observations may explain the medicinal effects related to AD and VD observed for Tianma and some other herbs (28)(29)(30)(31)(33)(34)(35)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61)(62). For instance, Gouteng has been traditionally used alongside with Tianma in treating high blood pressure (63).…”

“…Gastrodin and vanillin, derived from Tianma, were shown to exert sedative and anticonvulsive effects. Gastrodin seems to be a safe and effective drug for treating anxiety, insomnia, neurasthenia, and mental hyper-excitation while vanillin is presumably an anti-convulsive agent (4,31). In addition to gastrodin and vanillin, other bioactive components of Tianma include vanillyl alcohol, 4-hydroxybenzylaldehyde, and 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol (64) with gastrodin being the primary active ingredient (65).…”

Testes fitoquímicos em extratos foliares de Oeceoclades maculata Lindl. (Orchidaceae)

“…(Boscolo & Valle, 2008;Carniello et al, 2010;Gaspi et al, 2011). Mesmo assim, diante de tais informações à cerca da utilização de espécies medicinais de Orchidaceae, comparados à Índia e China, nosso conhecimento é ainda incipiente (Pedroso-de-Moraes et al, 2006;Bulpitt et al, 2007;Singh & Duggal, 2009). Entretanto, um fato curioso é o de que espécies de Orchidaceae dos Neotrópicos, geralmente são quimicamente caracterizadas por apresentar maiores quantidades FIGURA 1.…”