Gastrodiae Rhizoma (天麻 tiān má): a review of biological activity and antidepressant mechanisms

Gastrodiae Rhizoma, also called chì jiàn (赤箭), guǐ dū yóu (鬼督郵), or tiān má (天麻) in Chinese, is considered a top grade (上品 shàng pǐn) medicine described to enter liver channel (肝經 gān jīng) in classic literatures of traditional Chinese medicine and has been used for centuries. Many studies investigating its various bioactivities and active compounds have been conducted worldwide. This article reviews these biological activities and details the antidepressant pharmacology of Gastrodiae Rhizoma. Gastrodiae Rhizoma treatment exerts an effective inhibition of diverse diseases and disorders, including convulsion, oxidative stress, mental disorders, amnesia, cardio-cerebral-vascular diseases, and inflammation, among others. The antidepressant effect of Gastrodiae Rhizoma was evaluated in animal models and several mechanisms of activity were found, including the modulation and regulation of monoamine oxidase activity, monoamine concentration and turnover, antioxidatant activity, GABAergic system induction, BDNF induction, neuroprotection and anti-inflammatory activity.