Herbal Textual Research on Morindae Officinalis Radix in Famous Classical Formulas / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

By consulting ancient herbal medicines， medical and prescription books， combined with modern documents， the textual research of Morindae Officinalis Radix has been conducted to verify the name， origin， changes in production areas， quality evaluation， harvesting， and processing methods， so as to provide reference and basis for the development and utilization of the famous classical formulas. After textual research， the production areas of Morindae Officinalis Radix has experienced great changes from north to south in history. The original plants involve 11 families， 14 genera and 21 species， and the mainstream varieties in ancient times were Damnacanthus officinarum and D. indicus， and the basis of Morindae Officinalis Radix in modern times has changed into the dry roots of Morinda officinalis produced in Guangdong province and other places. The medicinal parts of Morindae Officinalis Radix in ancient and modern times are all roots， and the quality is better if it has many beads， thick flesh， and purple color. Ancient medical books recorded that it was usually harvested in February and August， dried in the shade， and used to remove the wood core. And the modern harvesting and processing method is to dig throughout the year， first remove the fibrous roots， dry in the sun until 60%-70% dry， gently beat flatten and dry in the sun. The processing methods of the past dynasties are mainly salt-， vinegar-， wine-processed， etc. Based on the systematic research of Morindae Officinalis Radix， from the perspective of clinical experience and safety and effectiveness， it is recommended that the famous classical formulas should be developed from the mainstream variety since modern times， namely Morindae Officinalis Radix.