Background: Amomum Villosum
(
A. Villosum), called Chunsharen in Chinese, is widely used in treating gastrointestinal disease. Its
clinical benefits have been confirmed by both
in vitro and
in vivo studies. Facing the shortage of wild
A. Villosum, artificial
cultivating and natural fostering have been practiced in recent years. Therefore, it would be wondered whether the three different
types of
A. Villosum are comparable or not, particularly the herbal qualities, technological challenges, ecological impacts and
economic benefits.
Material and methods: In this study, we combined quality research by using GC-MS, and field investigation to provide a systematic
assessment about the three types of
A. Villosum from these four aspects.
Results: It found that the wild type had low output and was in an endangered situation. The artificial cultivation had larger
agriculturing area with higher productivity, but faced the ecological challenges. Lastly, the natural fostering type generated the
highest economic benefit and relatively low ecological impact. In addition, the natural fostering type had relatively better quality
than the other types.
Conclusion: Therefore, it suggests that natural fostering can be applied for long-term sustainable development of
A. Villosum.
