Present Day Usage:

1. for epilepsy,

2. for external injury of the brain,

3. as a painkiller, for neurasthenia,

4. for depression,

5. for the blood-vessel type of migraine.

Pharmaceutical name:

Rhizoma Gastrodiae Elatae

Latin botanical name:

Gastrodia elata Bl.,  

Pron. in Japanese:

tenma

Pron. in Korean:

ch'onma

Pron. in Cantonese:粵音﹕

tin ma

   別名﹕

ming tian ma 明天麻﹐ming chi jian 名赤箭﹐ding feng cao定風草﹐shui yang yi 水洋芋,  chi jian zhi 赤箭芝, du yao zhi独摇芝  ,  ding feng cao 定風     草  ,  li mu 离母  ,  he li cao 合离草  ,  shen cao 神草  ,  gui tu you 鬼督邮, chi jian 赤箭 。

處方名：天麻  ,  明天麻  ,  天麻片  ,  炒天麻  ,  煨天麻  ,  薑天麻等

Common Name:

英文名﹕

Gastrodia Tuber

Distribution:

分佈﹕

It is mainly produced in Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.  Other producing regions include Northeast China and North China.

Properties (characteristics)﹕性味﹕

Sweet in taste and neutral in nature.

Channels (meridians) entered:

Liver.

Actions & Indications:

1. Calming the internal wind and relieving convulsion and spasm. For suppressing symptoms of liver-wind, no matter if cold type or heat type.

2. Calming the liver and suppressing liver yang ascending 肝陽上亢. For such symptoms as vertigo and headache.

3. Removing obstruction in the channels to relieve pain. For arthralgia due to the wind, cold and dampness, or for numbness and paralysis caused by liver and shenxu (kidney deficient) 腎虛

4. For neurasthenia and insomnia

有息寒 型 或 熱 型 之 肝 風   ,  有 止痙 的功能。

主治:

1. 四肢拘挛  ,  小兒 驚 風 ,

2. 肝 陽 上 亢 之 眩暈  ,  頭 痛  ,

3. 麻木  ,  風濕疼痛 ,

4. 神經衰弱  ,  失眠 。

Medical Function:

1. Effect on the CNS: sedation, anti-seizure, painkilling effect.

2. Effect on heart and blood vessels: protects the heart muscle from lacking circulation, improves blood flow in the coronary artery,

3. Improves blood flow to the brain,

4. mitigate the effect of adrenalin on blood vessel constriction, lower blood pressure.

5. Effect on tolerance of lack of oxygen.

6. Improve the immune system.

7. Other effects: increase the skin temperature; increase the expansion and contraction ability of the smooth muscle of the intestine; improve the secretion of the bile in the gall bladder (vanillyl alcohol); slow down breathing; inhibits 5-HT, PGE_2;

8. Vanilline can be absorbed in the small intestine rapidly and shows up in the liver and the brain, especially the cerebrum, and the medication quickly permeates the blood-brain barrier. Vanilline is excreted through the urine within 10-12 hours.

9. Toxicity: Relatively safe.

1. 鎮痛、 鎮靜、惊厥、

2. 抑 制 腎 上 腺 素 而 降 低 血 管 收 縮 而 降 低血壓

3. 增 進 腦 血 液 循 環

4. 香莢蘭醛  容 易 被 小 腸 吸 收 ﹐ 很 快 到 達 肝 臟 與 腦 部﹐ 特 別 是 在 大 腦

5. 明目

6. 增强記 憶 力

Chemical ingredients:

看 中 文 網 天 麻 化 學 成 份

Dosage:

用量﹕

• As a decoction, 3 -10 g daily.

• As powder, 1 - 1.5 g each time.

Samples of formulae:

處方舉例﹕

Use for paralysis after stroke; also for spastic muscles: tian ma, 3 portions; niu xi , 3 portions; du zhong, 3 portions; dang gui, 2 portions; jiang huo, 2 portions. Grind into fine powder. Mix with cooked honey to make into cubes. Take 5g each time 3x day with warm boiled water.   (Source of formula: Long Xiang Fei)

症狀﹕肌肉肢體 拘挛;中風癱瘓

處方﹕天麻3份﹐牛膝3份﹐杜仲3份﹐當歸2份﹐薑活2份。磨成細末。煉蜜為丸。每次服5克。每日3次﹐開水送服。處方來源﹕龍翔飛。

tian ma wan 天麻丸

傳 統 上 ，天麻常與鉤 藤、半 夏 、 川 芎、 防風等配伍使用。

Differentiation:

鑒 別 ﹕

Tian ma is long and elliptical, shrunk, crooked and slightly flat, 3-15 cm long, 1.5-6 cm wide, and 0.5-2cm thick. At one end of the tuber, there is a reddish-brown withered bud or a remaining stem. At the other end, there is an umbilicate scar. Tian ma ( Gastrodia) tuber is usually peeled. Its surface is yellowish white or yellowish brown with longitudinal wrinkles and some spotted segmental rings. It is hard and semi-transparent. It does not break easily.  Its cross-section is smooth and lustrous. It has a peculiar odor and a sweet, slightly pungent taste.   Fakes are the roots of Mirabilis jalapa L. and Dahlia pinnata Cav., or the tuber of potato, Solanum tuberosum L. They do not have the spotted segmental rings and longitudinal wrinkles on the surface, and the cross-section has no resin-like luster.

天麻偽 品常见者有 大麗 菊Dahlia pinnata cav．(菊科)  ,  紫茉莉 Mirabilis jalapa L.(紫茉莉科)  ,  馬 鈴 薯 Solanum tuberosumL(茄科)  ,  羽裂蟹甲草 Cacalia tangutica Hand．(菊科)  ,  芭蕉芋Canna edulis Ker．(美人蕉科)  ,  芋頭 Colocasia esculenta Sch．(天南星科)  ,  大九股牛Dobinea delavayi Engl. (槭 樹 科)等十餘種 植物的根或塊 茎的仿製 品。

Cautions:

禁忌﹕

Should not be used in case of yinxu (yin deficient)

. 陰虛者忌 用。