Pharmacognostical studies of the 'Gil Gyung'

Abstract

Platycodon grandiflorum (Campanulaceae) is listed in Shin-Nong-Bon-Cho-Kyung (Korean Source) as the remedy for ventilation the lung, resolving phlegm, promoting pus discharge and subduing carbuncles. The prescriptions of Gil-Gyung- Tang (Korean Source) are also recorded in many other Chinese medicinal books. The identification of the cultivation year of P. grandiflorum is very important in commercial market as well as in research field. However, any reports about it have not been clearly established yet. To clarify the criterion, the morphological and anatomical characteristics of the roots of P. grandiflorum cultivated in Korea for various years were studied. The characteristics of the cork layer, latex tube, and vessels were shown to be useful keys to confirm the cultivation year of P. grandiflorm. As a result, it was clarified that Kilkyung from Korea was the two years root of Platycodon grandiflorm.