Investigations And Protective Strategies For Medicinal Plant Resources In Yongdeng County, Gansu Province

There are abundant medicinal plant resources in Yongdeng County which locatesin the center of Gansu province. This research made an investigation to thedistribution, species diversity and pharmaceutical performance of medicinal plant,key-point investigation medicinal plant in Gansu province, traditional medicinalknowledge, Chinese herbal medicine cultivation and Chinese herbal medicine marketin Yongdeng County under the support of the fourth national Chinese medicineresource survey project sponsored by State Chinese Medicine Administration Bureauto provide basis information for protection and utilization of medicinal plants inYongdeng County. The results are listed as follows:(1) By sorting out the specimen collected through field investigation, it has beendetermined that there are398species of medicinal plants belonging to272genera and104families, in which20species,16genera and15families are fungi, accounting for5.02%of total species;5species,5genera and5families are bryophytes, accountingfor1.26%of total species;5species,4genera and3families are pteridophytes,accounting for1.26%of total species;8species,6genera and3families aregymnosperm, accounting for1.78%of total species;360species,241genera and78families are angiosperm, accounting for89.68%of total species.(2) In Yongdeng County, medicinal plants have a tendency of decrease after thefirst increase in species diversity as the rise of elevation. The most species distributein the elevation of1800~2100m and2100~2400m, and the number of spices declinesin the elevation higher than3000m. Medicinal plants mainly distribute in Lianchengtownship. There are also many in Minle and Wushengyi township.(3) After analyzing the key-point investigated63medicinal plants, it has beenfound that there are7species like Polyporus umbellatus, Cistanche deserticola,Sinopodophyllum hexandrum, Tussilago farfara, Dioscorea nipponica in urgent needof protection,50species in need of protection and4species in general need ofprotection.(4) Perennial herbs of medicinal plants in Yongdeng County are obviouslydominant, accounting for51.00%. The number of1,2years raw herbs and shrubs arealso large, accounting for22.61%and15.33%, respectively. The number of arbors, fungi and vines is the least, accounting for4.77%,5.03%and1.26%, respectively.(5) According to different medicinal parts, the medicinal plants in YongdengCounty could be classified to10types, such as whole plants, roots, flowers and leaves.There is172kinds of medicinal plants using the whole grass (strains), which are themost among its and account for43.11%; while there is only10kinds of medicinalplants using leaves, which are the least among its and account for2.51%.(6) The number of bitter tasted medicinal plants is the most, accounting for39.82%. The number of sweet and pungent taste plants is less, accounting for32.16%and23.01%respectively. The percentage of sour, salty and diluted is2.06%,0.88%and2.06%, respectively.(7) There are137kinds of cold Chinese medicine, accounting for34.42%; thereis only2kind of hot Chinese medicine, accounting for0.50%; there are85kinds ofwarm Chinese medicine, accounting for21.36%; there are65kinds of cool Chinesemedicine, accounting for16.33%; there are109kinds of mild Chinese medicine,accounting for27.39%.(8) The medicinal plants in Yongdeng County having the efficacy of clearingheat are the most, accounting for40.45%, followed by those having the efficacy ofexpelling wind-damp or tonifying deficiency, accounting for12.81%and10.80%,respectively. The medicinal plants in Yongdeng County inducing astringency are theleast, accounting for0.25%only.(9) Chinese herbal are cultivated in every township in Yongdeng County, most ofthem are cultivated in Zhongchuan, Kushui, Qinchuan, Shangchuan and Shupingtownship, where the most commonly cultivated herbal is rose, followed by Datong,Liushu, Wushengyi and Minle township, the most species are cultivated in Wushengyi,Minle, Liancheng and Qinchuan township.(10) It was found in traditional medicinal knowledge survey that half of thefamous traditional Chinese doctors learned medical knowledge by self-education orfrom their elder generation. They are aging now and many of them have not foundany student yet. They usually use medicinal plants like Glycyrrhiza uralensis,Astragalus membranaceus, Lonicera japonica, Mentha haplocalyx, Forsythiasuspense, Atractylodes lancea, Schisandra chinensis, Saposhnikovia divaricata in their prescriptions.(11) The commonly used Chinese herbal medicines traded on Yongdeng Chineseherbal medicine market mainly are mainstream varieties. Most of them are cultivar,and there is no difference between purchasing and selling price, thus reducing theburden for people to see a doctor and buy medicine. But there are still some problemslike lack of reasonable rules and constraints in Chinese herbal medicine market,Chinese herbal medicine administrators unequipped by scientific managementknowledge, irregular market circumstances and backward equipments.(12) Although the type of medicinal plants is abandent in Yongdeng County, thereserve is not high. Therefore, the timely collection and evaluation of information isvery important for sustainable exploitation, utilization and protection of these wildresources.