The traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Gastrodia elata Blume: A comprehensive review

As a rare medicinal plant, Gastrodia elata Blume (G. elata)as a medicinal use history of more than 2,000 years. In order to offer scientific references for developing and applying G. elata, the research gathered range of related publications through employing different electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar and CNKI. Through conducting a comprehensive search, the research progress on G. elata was explored systematically from such aspects as folk and traditional uses, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology. This genus, involves about 67 species, 9 varieties, nearly 700 classical formulations, and 630 metabolites, among which metabolites contain 360 chemical constituents, 243 volatile constituents, and 27 trace elements. Besides, in the analysis of modern pharmacology, it is found that G. elata has many different functions, such as anti-anxiety and anti-depressant activity, neurodegenerative diseases treatment, anti-convulsive activity, and improvement of memory activities, anti-cancer, and 25 other pharmacological activities. It was previously found that G. elata serves a possibly medicinal and edible plant that has abundant, chemical constituents and pharmacological activities, which can be broadly used in the pharmaceutical and food industry. At present, the clinical and food research on G. elata expanding. However, the utilization of Gastrodia resources remains suboptimal, with many traditional formulas receiving insufficient attention in research and development. Meanwhile, few studies have focused on non-medicinal parts and the characterization of polysaccharide structures. This implies that to provide a theoretical basis for the development and reasonable uses of Gastrodia resources, it is essential to further conduct comprehensive research on the genus, classical formulas, non-medicinal parts and the characterization of polysaccharide structures of Gastrodia.