Xiaocaoba Gastrodia Elata

Xiaocaoba Gastrodia Elata

　　Xiaocaoba Gastrodia Elata is a specialty of Xiaocaoba Town, Yiliang County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province. The Gastrodia Elata from Xiaocaoba is large, thick, plump, and semi-transparent, with a solid texture and no hollow center. It is of superior quality and world-class medicinal value, representing both Zhaotong and Yunnan’s Gastrodia Elata, and is known as “Yun Gastrodia Elata” (Yunnan Gastrodia Elata).

　　Xiaocaoba Gastrodia Elata is renowned both in China and abroad. Yiliang County has been honored as the origin of the world’s Gastrodia Elata, with the main cultivation areas concentrated in Long’an, Xiaocaoba, Lianghe, and other towns. The current cultivation area is nearly 13,000 acres, with an annual output of about 2.5 million kilograms. The market price of fresh Gastrodia Elata ranges from 50 to 100 yuan per kilogram, while dried Gastrodia Elata is priced between 200 and 600 yuan per kilogram. Xiaocaoba Gastrodia Elata is large, thick, plump, and semi-transparent, with a solid texture and no hollow center. It is of superior quality and world-class medicinal value, representing both Zhaotong and Yunnan’s Gastrodia Elata, and is known as “Yun Gastrodia Elata” (Yunnan Gastrodia Elata). In 1950, during a Yunnan Province agricultural product exhibition, Yiliang Xiaocaoba Gastrodia Elata won an award. In 1993, at a "Food Experts Appraisal Meeting," Yiliang Xiaocaoba’s "Wild Gastrodia Elata Wine" and "Premium Packaged Wild Gastrodia Elata" won gold and silver awards, respectively.

　　According to analysis and testing by the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the content of gastrodin, inorganic elements, and amino acids in Xiaocaoba Gastrodia Elata from Yiliang is significantly higher than that of major producing areas outside the province. The average gastrodin content is 1.13%, and the trace elements zinc, manganese, and copper per gram of Gastrodia Elata are 28.96 micrograms, 37.17 micrograms, and 10.54 micrograms, respectively. The contents of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and arginine are as high as 0.92%, 0.91%, and 0.30%, respectively. Gastrodia Elata is a valuable traditional Chinese medicine and a green health food. Due to its unique pharmacological and health benefits, its reputation is no less than that of cordyceps, notoginseng, or ginseng. Its functions are summarized as “three resistances, three sedations, and one tonification,” meaning “resistance to epilepsy, convulsions, and rheumatism; sedation, antispasmodic effect, and pain relief; and tonifying deficiencies.” Modern pharmacological research shows that Gastrodia Elata mainly has four therapeutic effects: sedative, anticonvulsant, and analgesic effects on the central nervous system; cardiotonic and blood pressure-lowering effects on the cardiovascular system; anti-hypoxia capability; and immune system enhancement.