Eucommia ulmoides (Du Zhong)

Du Zhong (Eucommia ulmoides Oliver) is an important medicinal plant found in China. It is the only member of the genus Eucommia and is found in the family Eucommiaceae. The plant is grown commercially Japan, Korea and of course China. The plant is widely grown in the following Chinese regions of Guizhou, Hubei, Shanxi, Gansu, and Henan Provinces. The total planting area is 67,000 hectares (Jiao et al., 2015).

The fruit of E. ulmoides is a flattened elliptical samara which is 30 to 40 mm long, 8 to 15 mm wide, and 2 to 5 mm thick. It turns  dark brown as it ripens and contains 1 or 2 linear seeds. The oil content in the samara of E. ulmoides is 7% to 15%, while the content increases to 30% to 40% in the seeds. E. ulmoides seed oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acid, especially α‐linolenic acid (ALA) which accounts for 56% to 63% of the total fatty acid content (Jiao et al., 2015).

Benefits

The bark and leaves are the main components of Eucommia.

Reference

Jiao, H. L., Liu, Y. L., & Zhang, D. D.(2015). Qualities of Eucommia ulmoides seeds oils from different areas and oil extraction techniques. Cereals and Oils, 28, pp. 53–57.