Literature Survey on Edible Medicinal Plants in Lancang-Mekong Countries / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Lancang-Mekong countries refer to the six countries that the Lancang-Mekong River flows through， including China， Laos， Myanmar， Thailand， Cambodia， and Vietnam. These countries are geographically adjacent with similar cultures and have long history of traditional medicine and high plant diversity. Since ancient times， medicinal plants have been introduced into China from the countries along the river， including a variety of medicinal plants with edible and healthcare values， which is an important way for the transnational circulation of medicinal resources. This paper briefly described the history and application of edible medicinal plants in the six Lancang-Mekong countries and summarized more than 150 edible medicinal plants from the other five countries except China. These 150 medicinal plants belong to 66 families such as Labiatae， and 12 species of them are used as edible medicinal plants in all the six countries. Further， we collected the information of these edible medicinal plants， including the origins， efficacy， indications， medicinal edible parts， edible values， and the traditional application of these plants in China. Some valuable edible medicinal plants in the other five countries are considered to have a promising prospect of application in China and may be introduced to China as new medicinal resources. These efforts will be conducive to the cooperation in traditional medicine among Lancang-Mekong countries.