Pharmacognostical studies on the folk medicine 'JoRitDae'

Abstract

Korean folk medicine 'JoRitDae' has been used mainly to cure vomiting and cancer. With regard to the botanical origin of 'JoRitDae', it has been considered to designate the rhizome of Sasa species (Gramineae), but there was no pharmacognostical confirmation on it. To clarify the botanical origin of 'JoRitDae', the anatomical characteristics of the rhizome of Sasa species growing wild in Korea and Japan, Sasa borealis, S, kurilensis, S. quelpaertensis, S. charatacea and S. senanensis were studied. As a result, it was found the morphological criteria for the five Sasa species that could discriminate them by the number of cell layers in cortex, the ratio of thickness of cortex to rhizome radius, the number of cell layers in the va scular bundle sheath, the total number of vascular bundle and thickness of vascular bundle sheath. According to these criteria, it was clarified that the commercial folk medicine 'JoRitDae' was the rhizome of Sasa borealis.