Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Review Article

Neuropharmacological Potential of Gastrodia elata Blume and Its Components

Table 1

Pathological models used to identify the effects of Gastrodia elata (GE) and its components on neurodegenerative disorders.


Model	Inducer	Extracts/components	Dose/route/regimen	Animal or cell	Major finding	Reference

Seizure	Cocaine	GE rhizome—methanol extract	500 or 1000 mg/kg, p.o., 5 times every 12 h before cocaine treatment	C57BL/6J mice	Seizure onset time ↑ Seizure duration ↓	[29]
	KA	EFME of GE	200 or 500 mg/kg, p.o., 14 days before and 4 days after KA injection	ICR mice	Onset time of neurobehavioral change ↑ Severity of convulsions ↓ Hippocampal neuronal damage ↓	[25]
	KA	GE rhizome—ethanol extract	0.5 or 1.0 g/kg, p.o., 30 min before KA injection	SD rats	Seizure onset time ↑ Seizure-like behavior ↓	[24]
	KA	GE rhizome—aqueous extract	0.5 or 1.0 g/kg, p.o., 1 week before or 2 weeks after KA injection	SD rats	Three types of seizure (wet dog shakes, paw tremor, and facial myoclonia) ↓	[26]
	PTZ	EFME of GE rhizome	500 mg/kg, p.o., for 10 days	SD rats	Seizure recovery time ↓ Seizure severity ↓	[30]

Ischemia	Hypoxia	Gastrodin	25–100 μg/mL	Rat cortical neurons	Neuronal survival ↑	[42]
	MCAO	Gastrodin	50 mg/kg, i.p., 10 min before MCAO	SD rats	Infarct volume ↓ Cerebral injury ↓ Amino acids ↑	[41]
	MCAO	Gastrodin	50 or 100 mg/kg, i.p., at the onset of MCAO	SD rats	Infarct volume ↓ Edema volume ↓	[40]
	Transient global ischemia	EFME of GE rhizome	200 or 500 mg/kg, p.o., 14 days before brain ischemia	Mongolian gerbils	Neuronal damage in hippocampal CA1 ↓	[39]
	Transient global ischemia	Vanillin, 4-HBAL, and 4-HBA	40 mg/kg, i.p., 30 min before and after ischemia	Mongolian gerbils	Neuronal survival in hippocampal CA1 ↑	[38]

Alzheimer’s disease	Aβ (1–42)	GE rhizome—chloroform extract	20 μg/mL, for 24 h	PC12 and primary neuronal cells	Neuronal cell protection ↑	[45]
	Aβ (1–42)	GE rhizome—methanol extract, gastrodin, and 4-HBA	10 μg/mL, for 48 h	BV2 mouse microglial cell	Cell viability ↑	[48]
	Aβ (25–35)	GE rhizome powder	500 or 1000 mg/kg, p.o., for 52 days	Wistar rats	Amyloid deposits ↓ Spatial memory ↑ Choline acetyltransferase ↑	[47]

Parkinson’s disease	MPP⁺	Gastrodin	1, 5, and 25 μM, 4 h prior to MPP⁺ exposure	SH-SY5Y cells	Cell viability ↑ Oxidative stress ↓	[54]
	MPP⁺	GE rhizome—ethanol extract	10, 100, and 200 μg/mL, 4 h prior to MPP⁺ exposure	SH-SY5Y cells	Cell viability ↑ Cytotoxicity ↓	[53]
	MPP⁺	GE rhizome—ethanol extract Vanillyl alcohol	10, 100, and 200 μg/mL 1, 10, and 100 μM	MN9D cells	Cell viability ↑ Cytotoxicity ↓	[55]
	MPTP, MPP⁺	Gastrodin	10, 30, and 60 mg/kg, p.o., for 15 days 1, 5, and 25 μM, 4 h prior to MPP⁺ exposure	C57BL/6 mice, SH-SY5Y cells	Bradykinesia ↓ Motor impairment ↓ Cell viability ↑	[52]

4-HBA: 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol; 4-HBAL: 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde; 6-OHDA: 6-hydroxydopamine; EFME: ether fraction of methanol extract; GE: Gastrodia elata; ICR: Institute of Cancer Research; KA: kainic acid; L-DOPA: L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine; MCAO: middle cerebral artery occlusion; MPP⁺: 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium; MPTP: 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; PC: pheochromocytoma; PTZ: pentylenetetrazole; SD: Sprague Dawley.