Herbal Textual Research on Polygonati Rhizoma and Ethnic Usage / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Polygonati Rhizoma was first recorded in Mingyi Bielu（《名医别录》） as both medicine and food due to its high edible and medicinal values.However，there is no systematic textual research on its use as medicine and food. Polygonati Rhizoma and Polygonati Odorati Rhizoma show similar morphology，so they are often confused.Clematis apiifolia and Polygonatum odoratum are often regarded as the original plants of Polygonati Odorati Rhizoma. By reviewing the related records in Chinese herbal books of the past dynasties，this paper aimed to clarify the relationship between Polygonati Rhizoma，C.apiifolia and P.odoratum，trace the historical evolution of Polygonati Rhizoma as medicine and food from the name，harvesting and processing，property，flavor and meridian tropism，efficacy and indications，edible and medicinal records，and contraindications，and summarize its application in ethnic medicine，in order to inherit and develop the ethnic medicine. The findings demonstrated that the name of Polygonati Rhizoma and its synonyms were derived from its pictogram，function，and place of origin，containing a wealth of myth implication and Taoism thought.Polygonati Rhizoma，C.apiifolia and P.odoratum are three species，different from the conclusions in previous textual research. The seedlings，flowers，seeds，and rhizomes of Polygonati Rhizoma all could be used for edible and medicinal purposes，with its edible records exceeding the medicinal records. There were 22 medical books from the ethnic minority groups such as The Annals of National Medicine in Yunnan，Zhongguo Minzu Yaozhi Yao，and Dictionary of Chinese Ethnic Medicine recording the knowledge and application of 12 species in Polygonatum by 26 ethnic minorities.Due to their different living environments，lifestyles，and cultural customs，ethnic minorities have formed their unique medical cultures.