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Ethnopharmacological relevance Gastrodia elata Blume ( Orchidaceae ) is commonly called Tian ma in Chinese and mainly distributed in the mountainous areas of eastern Asia, such as China, Korea, Japan and India. It is an extensively used traditional Chinese herbal medicine in the clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine, to treat headache, migraine, dizziness, epilepsy, infantile convulsion, tetany and so on. The present paper reviews the advancements in investigation of botany and ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and quality control of Gastrodia elata Blume. Finally, the possible tendency and perspective for future investigation of this plant are also put forward. Materials and methods The information on Gastrodia elata Blume was collected via piles of resources including classic books about Chinese herbal medicine, and scientific databases including Pubmed, Google Scholar, ACS, Web of science, ScienceDirect databases, CNKI and others. Plant taxonomy was validated by the databases “The Plant List”, and “Mansfeld’s Encyclopedia”. Results Over 81 compounds from this plant have been isolated and identified, phenolics and polysaccharides are generally considered as the characteristic and active constituents of Gastrodia elata Blume. Its active compounds possess wide-reaching biological activities, including sedative, hypnotic, antiepileptic, anticonvulsive, antianxietic, antidepressant, neuroprotective, antipsychotic, anti-vertigo, circulatory system modulating, anti-inflammationary, analgesic, antioxidative, memory-improving and antiaging, antivirus and antitumor effects. Conclusion Despite the publication of various papers on Gastrodia elata Blume, there is still, however, the need for definitive research and clarification of other bioactive compounds using bioactivity-guided isolation strategies, and the possible mechanism of action as well as potential synergistic or antagonistic effects of multi-component mixtures derived from Gastrodia elata Blume need to be evaluated. It is also necessary and important to do more quality control and toxicological study on human subjects in order to maintain its efficacy stable in the body and validate its safety in clinical uses. In addition, more investigations on other parts of this plant beyond the tubers are needed. Further studies on Gastrodia elata Blume will lead to the development of new drugs and therapeutics for various diseases, and how to utilize it better should be paid more attention to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to explore the connections between expanding female education and the participation of women in paid employment in Japan, China and India, three of Asia's largest economies. Analysis based on existing data and literature shows that despite the large expansion in educational access in these countries in the last half century, women have lacked egalitarian labour market opportunities. A combination of social discouragement and individual choice largely explains the withdrawal, non-participation or intermittent female presence in the labour force, notwithstanding increased educational access. In taking stock of these issues and debates across these countries, it is argued that the parallel experiences of women in these countries can be traced back to persistent gender norms which, amongst other things, imply the centrality of marriage and non-market unpaid labour for women. The paper argues that there is a need for gender-sensitive public policy in order for increased education to translate to labour market gains for women, leading to sustainable development outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]