Study on the dynamic variation of the secondary metabolites in Viscum coloratum using targeted metabolomics / 中国天然药物

Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai is a well-known medicinal plant. However, the optimal harvest time for V. coloratum is unknown. Few studies were performed to analyze compound variation during storage and to improve post-harvest quality control. Our study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the quality of V. coloratum in different growth stages, and determine the dynamic variation of metabolites. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was used to quantify 29 compounds in V. coloratum harvested in six growth periods, and the associated biosynthetic pathways were explored. The accumulation of different types of compounds were analyzed based on their synthesis pathways. Grey relational analysis was used to evaluate the quality of V. coloratum across different months. The compound variation during storage was analyzed by a high-temperature high-humidity accelerated test. The results showed that the quality of V. coloratum was the hightest in March, followed by November, and became the lowest in July. During storage, compounds in downstream steps of the biosynthesis pathway were first degraded to produce the upstream compounds and some low-molecular-weight organic acids, leading to an increase followed by a decrease in the content of some compounds, and resulted in a large gap during the degradation time course among different compounds. Due to the rapid rate and large degree of degradation, five compounds were tentatively designated as "early warning components" for quality control. This report provides reference for better understanding the biosynthesis and degradation of metabolites in V. coloratum and lays a theoretical foundation for rational application of V. coloratum and better quality control of V. coloratum during storage.

Study on residues of heavy metals and harmful elements in Qingqiao and Laoqiao based on chemometrics / 中国中药杂志

Forsythiae Fructus is divided into Qingqiao and Laoqiao due to different harvesting periods. So far, the accumulation of heavy metals in the two types of Forsythiae Fructus has not been reported. In this study, the residual levels of copper(Cu), lead(Pb), chromium(Cr), arsenic(As), cadmium(Cd) and mercury(Hg) in 29 batches of Laoqiao and 60 batches of Qingqiao were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS). The samples were collected from Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, and Hebei Provinces. In addition, the diversity and correlation of harmful elements in Qingqiao and Laoqiao were analyzed by multivariate statistical method. Furthermore, principal component analysis(PCA) was used to analyze the harmful elements concentrations of Qingqiao and Laoqiao. The results showed that there was a significant difference on the residual levels of heavy metals and harmful elements between Qingqiao and Laoqiao. Among them, the content of Pb in Laoqiao is significantly higher than that in Qingqiao(P<0.01), while the content of Cu is significantly lower than that in Qingqiao. However, the difference in harmful elements among different producing areas of Forsythiae Fructus is not significant. PCA analysis showed that Qingqiao and Laoqiao were successfully grouped into two categories. This study suggests significant difference in the residual levels of heavy metals and harmful elements between Qingqiao and Laoqiao. Besides, Forsythiae Fructus has a certain enrichment of Pb in the fruit ripening stage(Laoqiao). This study provides a reference for the quality classification and safety of Forsythiae Fructus.

Study on Content Determination of 6 Active Ingredients in Paeonia lactiflora during Different Harvesting Periods and Their Variation / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE：To establish the method for content determination of 6 active ingredients in Paeonia lactiflora during different harvest periods ，and to investigate its variation rules so as to determine the optimal harvesting period. METHODS ：HPLC method was adopted to determine the contents of gallic acid ， catechin， alibiflorin， paeoniflorin， benzoic acid and benzoylpaeoniflorin，and principal component analysis was conducted . The determination was performed on Thermo C 18 column with mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile- 0.1％ phosphoric acid aqueous solution （gradient elution ）at the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection wavelength was 230 nm，and column temperature was 35 ℃. The sample size was 10 µL. RESULTS ：The linear range of the above 6 ingredients were 0.013 2-0.25 mg/mL（r＝0.999 2），0.013 2-0.25 mg/mL（r＝0.999 9），0.026 8-0.51 mg/mL（r＝0.999 7）， 0.42-8.01 mg/mL（r＝0.999 2），0.016-0.31 mg/mL（r＝0.999 4），0.02-0.38 mg/mL（r＝0.999 8），respectively. The limits of quantification were 0.009 3，0.008 5，0.016 3，0.021 7，0.011 3，0.017 4 mg/mL，and the limits of detection were 0.003 3，0.002 7， 0.005 4，0.007 3，0.003 8，0.005 9 mg/mL. RSDs of precision ，stability and repeatability tests were less than 2％. The recoveries were 96.01％-99.43％（RSD＝1.23％，n＝9），97.95％-100.45％（RSD＝0.79％，n＝9），97.98％-100.11％（RSD＝0.68％，n＝ 9），98.83％ -100.09％ （RSD＝0.65％ ，n＝9），98.58％ - 100.95％（RSD＝1.35％，n＝9），96.28％-103.26％（RSD＝ 1.76％，n＝9）. The contents of above 6 ingredients in Radix Paeoniae Rubra （roots） were 0.016％ -0.057％ ，0-0.067％ ， 0.207％-0.640％，2.350％-5.887％，0.030％- 0.245％，0.054％- 0.381％，respectively. On May 30th，the drying rate of Radix 0451-87266873。E-mail：wangzhen_yue@163.com Paeoniae Rubra was the lowest （about 33％），and on Sept. 15th，the drying rate was the highest （about 49％）. The contents of gallic acid and paeoniflorin in the leaves of P. lactiflora were higher than the root during Jul.-Oct. Results of principal component analysis showed that the variance contribution rates of the first two principal components were 71.845％ and 18.170％，respectively；cumulative variance contribution rate was 90.015％. The months with higher comprehensive scores were May to Jun. and Sept. to Oct. CONCLUSIONS ：Established method is simple ， accurate，reproducible and precise. It can be used to determine the contents of 6 active ingredients in Radix Paeoniae Rubra during different harvest periods. Sept. 30th to Oct. 15th is the optimum harvesting periods for Radix Paeoniae Rubra ，and leaves can be harvested around Jul. 15th.

Comprehensive evaluation of suitable harvesting period of Acanthopanax Senticosus leaves by multiple indicators / 中草药

Objective: The dynamic changes of eight active constituents and dry weight of Acanthopanax senticosus leaves in different periods were investigated, and the suitable harvesting period of A. senticosus leaves was discussed. Methods: The leaves of A. senticosus were collected at different times, and the dry weight of one hundred leaves was determined by electronic balance. The contents of L-phenylalanine, protocatechuic acid, syringin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, rutin, hyperoside, and quercetin in the leaves of A. senticosus in different periods were determined by HPLC, and the total amount of accumulation of the eight active ingredients was calculated and combined with the analysis results of the principal component analysis method for comprehensive evaluation. Results: The results showed that the vegetative dry weight of A. senticosus increased during the period from S1 to S5, and increased most rapidly in S1-S2. The content of eight active constituents in the leaves of A. senticosus showed dynamic changes in different periods. The content of acid reached the maximum in S1 (June 3); The other seven components reached the maximum in S2 (July 3), and the results of principal component analysis also showed A. senticosus leaves collected in S2. The comprehensive scores of the eight active ingredients in leaves were the highest; The total accumulation of the eight active ingredients in different periods increased first and then decreased. During the period from S1 to S2, the total amount showed an upward trend, and reached the maximum at S2. Conclusion: According to the changes of dry weight and eight active ingredients in A. senticosus leaves in different periods, the best harvest time is around S2 stage (from late June to early July) which provides basic information for determining the suitable harvest time of A. senticosus leaves.

Study on the Quality of Scutellaria baicalensis with Different Harvesting Periods by IR-TL and HPLC-MS / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE： To study effective component kinds and content difference of Scutellaria baicalensis with different harvesting periods collected in spring and autumn， and to determine the optimal harvesting time. METHODS： IR-IL was used to analyze the constitutions change of the components in S. baicalensis collected in different harvesting periods （annual， biennial and triennial， in spring and autumn， respectively）. HPLC-MS method was used to analyze the contents change of 6 flavonoids （qroxylin A， chrysin， wogonin， wogonoside， baicalin， baicalein）. RESULTS： Results of IR-TL analysis showed that S. baicalensis contained different components such as flavonoids， glycosides， saccharides， easters in different growth stages， among which the contents of glycosides in biennial S. baicalensis were the highest with more stable quality. The results of content determination of 6 flavonoids showed that different harvesting periods had a great influence on the contents of the above indicators. The overall content of biennial samples collected in spring was higher than that of autumn samples collected in the same year. CONCLUSIONS： This study provides a reliable analytical method for the quality control of S. baicalensis； spring harvest in two-year growth period may be the best harvesting time for S. baicalensis.

Effect of dynamic distribution of steroid saponins from Paris polyphylla var. chinensis on medical material quality / 中草药

Objective: To obtain the optimum cultivation period and best harvesting month of P. polyphylla var. chinensis by studying on change regularity of biomass accumulation rate and steroid saponins from P. polyphylla var. chinensis with the changes of its harvesting time and medicinal parts. Methods: A high performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light-scattering detector (HPLC-ELSD) method was established to characterize content of six steroid saponins (Paris saponins I, II, VI, VII, V, and H) from P. polyphylla var. chinensis and its dynamic change regularity was detected; Drying rate was measured by oven-dry method to indicate biomass accumulation rate. Results: Drying rate increased with the planting ages and reached the highest level in the eighth year. There was a waving trend between drying rate and harvesting time and drying rate reached crest in January and June; The main steroid saponins of P. polyphylla var. chinensis were Paris saponin VII and Paris saponin H. The content of total saponins varied by `V' shaped with the increases of planting-year and reached the highest in the second and eighth year, and it changed by waving shape with the change of harvesting month and reached the crest in March and November; There was a distinct difference of total saponins among different parts of P. polyphylla var. chinensis: stems and leaves > rhizome-forepart > rhizome-middle-part ≈ rhizome-end-part. The distribution of paris saponins VII decreased obviously from stems to rhizome-end-part while paris saponins H increased gradually. Conclusion: There were remarkable correlations among steroid saponins accumulation amounts and planting ages, harvesting month, and medicinal parts. The optimum cultivation period is eight years and best harvesting month is in November; The quality of medicinal materials would decline if only rhizome-end-part to be used; Paris saponin VII maybe a relative factor for germination and growth of P. polyphylla var. chinensis; Stems of P. polyphylla var. chinensis can be an important resource to extract steroid saponins, which have a profound significance to broaden resources of medicinal plants and improve resources utilization efficiency.