Editing Polygonatum (section)

==Uses==

===Gardening===
Several species are valued as [[ornamental plant]]s, including:<ref name=RHSAZ>{{cite book|title=RHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants|year=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-1405332965|pages=1136}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=15em}} 
* ''[[Polygonatum biflorum]]
* ''[[Polygonatum hirtum]]''
* ''[[Polygonatum hookeri]]''
* ''[[Polygonatum humile]]''
* [[Polygonatum × hybridum|''Polygonatum'' × ''hybridum'']]
*''[[Polygonatum multiflorum]]''
*''[[Polygonatum odoratum]]''
*''[[Polygonatum stewartianum]]''
*''[[Polygonatum verticillatum]]''
{{div col end}}

===Food===
The berries are poisonous to humans.

Many species have long been used as food in China, such as ''Polygonatum sibiricum''. Leaves, stems, and rhizomes are used raw or cooked and served as a side dish with meat and rice. The rhizomes of two local species are eaten with [[Chicken feet|chicken's]] or [[Pig's trotters|pig's feet]] during festivals. The rhizomes are used to make [[tea]] or soaked in [[wine]] or [[liquor]] to flavor the beverages. They are also fried with sugar and honey to make sweet snacks. The starchy rhizomes can be dried, ground, and added to [[flour]] to supplement [[staple food|food staples]]. The rhizome of ''P. sibiricum'' is pulped, boiled, strained, and thickened with barley flour to make a sweet liquid seasoning agent called ''tangxi''. At times, people in China have relied on ''P. megaphyllum'' as a [[famine food]].<ref name=wuj/>

The shoots of some ''Polygonatum'' can be boiled and used like [[asparagus]]. ''P. cirrifolium'' and ''P. verticillatum'' are used as leafy [[vegetable]]s in [[India]]. The American species ''P. biflorum'' has a starchy root that was eaten like the [[potato]] and used as flour for bread.<ref name=wuj/>

''P. sibiricum'' is used for a tea called ''dungulle'' in [[Korea]].<ref name=wuj/>

=== Traditional medicine ===
The berries may be poisonous to humans.

{{medical citations needed|section|date=October 2015}}
The traditional use of ''Polygonatum'' in the treatment of [[diabetes]] was first observed in 1930 by [[Hedwig Langecker]]. After experiments, she concluded that it was effective in fighting nutritional [[hyperglycemia]], though not that caused by [[adrenaline]] release, probably due to its [[glucokinin]] content.<ref>Source:Quer, Pío Font "Plantas Medicinales - El Dioscórides renovado". 1961/2005 Barcelona: Ediciones Península, {{ISBN|9788483072424}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=October 2015}}

''P. verticillatum'' is used in [[Ayurveda]] as an [[aphrodisiac]].<ref name=kasmi>Kasmi, I., et al. (2012). [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S222218081260276X Aphrodisiac properties of ''Polygonatum verticillatum'' leaf extract.] ''Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease'' S841-45.</ref> It is also used to treat pain, fever, inflammation, allergy, and weakness.<ref name=khan>Khan, H., et al. (2011). [http://ecommons.aku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=pakistan_fhs_mc_bbs&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fq%3Dpolygonatum%2Btraditional%26btnG%3D%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%252C5#search=%22polygonatum%20traditional%22 Antinociceptive activity of aerial parts of ''Polygonatum verticillatum'': Attenuation of both peripheral and central pain mediators.] ''Phytotherapy Research'' 25(7) 1024-30.</ref>

An [[herbal remedy]] called ''rhizoma polygonati'' is a mix of ''Polygonatum'' species used in [[traditional Chinese medicine]]. It is supposed to strengthen various organs and enhance the ''[[qi]]''.<ref name=wuj/> Polygonatum is believed to be restorative to mental vitality, especially when the mind has been overworked, overstressed, or is in a state of exhaustion.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Teeguarden|first1=Ron|title=The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs|date=1 March 2000|publisher=Grand Central Publishing|isbn=978-0446675062|page=216 | edition=1st}}</ref>

''P. cyrtonema'' is a compound that is often used in ''Traditional Chinese Theory'' as a treatment for depression, which is thought to originate from problems in the liver and the kidney. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is considered by TCT to be a form of depression is also sometimes treated with ''P. cyrtonema.'' There is some evidence that ''P. cyrtonema'' can inhibit [[Post-traumatic stress disorder|Post Traumatic Stress]] by regulating oxidative stress and inflammation associated with the NLRP3 gene.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Xie |first=Chen |date=2024 |title=Polysaccharides from Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua prevent post-traumatic stress disorder behaviors in mice: Mechanisms from the perspective of synaptic injury, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2023.117165 |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |volume=319, 117165|issue=Pt 1 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2023.117165 |pmid=37696440 |s2cid=261674498 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>