Research progress on pesticide residues of Angelicae Sinensis Radix / 中国中药杂志

The demand for Angelicae Sinensis Radix, the dry root of Angelica sinensis, has been increasing year by year. However, the continuous cropping obstacles, frequent occurrence of pests and diseases, overuse of chemical pesticides, excessive pesticide residues and other problems in Angelicae Sinensis Radix production have attracted much attention. In this paper, we summarized the common diseases and pests attacking Angelica sinensis as well as the detection methods and characteristics of pesticide residues in Angelicae Sinensis Radix from 2002 to 2021. Additionally, we compared the limit standards of pesticide residues in Angelicae Sinensis Radix in and out of China and put forward suggestions for the high-quality and green development of Angelicae Sinensis Radix industry conside-ring the existing problems. The pesticide residues in Angelicae Sinensis Radix have been changing from organochlorines to organophosphorus pesticides. In recent years, some organophosphorus pesticides such as phorate, phoxim, isofenphos-methyl, phorate-sulfoxide, fenamiphos, isocarbophos, omethoate, and triazophos in Angelicae Sinensis Radix have seriously exceeded the standards. The detection methods of pesticide residues has evolved from chromatography to high performance chromatography-mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS), and some new detection techniques such as immunoassay have also been applied. Pesticide residues have become a primary factor that restricting the development of Angelicae Sinensis Radix industry. Therefore, moderate application of pesticides, establishment of ecological planting system, and strict limit standards of pesticide residues are necessary to solve the pesticide residue problem.

Recognition of producing areas of Angelicae Sinensis Radix based on structure-texture image decomposition / 中国中药杂志

The pharmacological effects of Angelicae Sinensis Radix from different producing areas are uneven. Accurate identification of its producing areas by computer vision and machine learning(CVML) is conducive to evaluating the quality of Angelicae Sinensis Radix. This paper collected the high-definition images of Angelicae Sinensis Radix from different producing areas using a digital camera to construct an image database, followed by the extraction of texture features based on the grayscale relationship of adjacent pixels in the image. Then a support vector machine(SVM)-based prediction model for predicting the producing areas of Angelicae Sinensis Radix was built. The experimental results showed that the prediction accuracy reached up to 98.49% under the conditions of the model training set occupying 80%, the test set occupying 20%, and the sampling radius(r) of adjacent pixels being 2. When the training set was set to 10%, the prediction accuracy was still over 93%. Among the three producing areas of Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Huzhu county, Qinghai province exhibited the highest error rate, while Heqing county, Yunnan province the lowest error rate. Angelicae Sinensis Radix from Minxian county, Gansu province and Huzhu county, Qinghai province were both wrongly attributed to Heqing county, Yunnan province, while most of those from Huzhu county, Qinghai province were misjudged as the samples produced in Minxian county, Gansu province. The method designed in this paper enabled the rapid and non-destructive prediction of the producing areas of Angelicae Sinensis Radix, boasting high accuracy and strong stability. There were definite morphological differences between Angelicae Sinensis Radix samples from Minxian county, Gansu province and those from Huzhu county, Qinghai province. The wrongly predicted samples from Minxian county, Gansu province and Huzhu city, Qinghai province shared similar morphological characteristics with those from Heqing county, Yunnan province. Most wrongly predicted samples from Heqing county, Yunnan province were similar to the ones from Minxian county, Gansu province in morphological characteristics.

Content determination and transferring rules of seven components in Angelicae Sinensis Radix and its processed products / 中国中药杂志

A HPLC method was established for simultaneous determination of two organic acids(chlorogenic acid and ferulic acid) and five phthalides(senkyunolide I, senkyunolide H, senkyunolide A, ligustilide, and butylidenephthalide) in Angelicae Sinensis Radix and its processed products to clarify the underlying material transferring rules. The analysis was performed on a Welch Ultimate C_8 column(4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm) with acetonitrile(A)-0.085% phosphoric acid water(B) as the mobile phase in a gradient elution mode at the flow rate of 1.1 mL·min~(-1), the column temperature of 25 ℃, the detection wavelength of 280 nm, and the injection volume of 10 μL. Under these conditions, the content of the above-mentioned seven components was analyzed in 15 batches of Angelicae Sinensis Radix and its processed products, and the transfer rate of each compound was calculated. As a result, in the processed products, the average content of chlorogenic acid was slightly decreased and that of ferulic acid was equivalent to the medicinal materials. The content of senkyunolide I, senkyunolide H, senkyunolide A, and butylidenephthalide showed an increasing trend in the processed products as compared with the medicinal materials. The mass fraction of ligustilide in the medicinal materials was above 0.7%(0.94% on average), meeting the requirement of 0.6% in the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards, but was 0.47% on average in the processed products, which was decreased by 50% approximately. Further investigation showed that the content of ligustilide in freshly made processed products of Angelicae Sinensis Radix did not change significantly compared with that in the medicinal materials, indicating that the loss of ligustilide in the processed products mainly occurred in the storage. Therefore, Angelicae Sinensis Radix is suitable for storing in the form of medicinal materials and the freshly made processed products should be used except for special cases. Additionally, it is recommended to control the content of volatile oils or ligustilide in medicinal materials and processed products of Angelicae Sinensis Radix to ensure its effectiveness in clinical medication.

Quantitative analysis of total content differentiation and driving factors of phenolic acids in Angelicae Sinensis Radix of Gansu Dao-di herbs from perspective of geographical space / 中国中药杂志

Dao-di herbs, produced in a specific region and screened through long-term clinical application, is characterized by high stable quality, good efficacy, and high popularity. With favorable climate conditions, Gansu gives birth to the Dao-di herbs Angelicae Sinensis Radix which is widely used in clinical practice, and multiple regions in Gansu, with similar ecological environment produce Angelicae Sinensis Radix. In this study, the spatial correlation and difference of phenolic acid content in Angelicae Sinensis Radix from Dao-di producing areas, emerging producing areas, and emerging planting areas in Gansu were analyzed based on ArcGIS to explore the "quality(chemical type)" characteristics of genuine Angelicae Sinensis Radix. Moreover, spatial distribution law and main driving factors of the total phenolic acid content in Angelicae Sinensis Radix in Gansu were analyzed based on geodetecctor. This study is expected to lay a basis for Dao-di research and production regionalization of Angelicae Sinensis Radix.

Biological characteristics of wild Angelica sinensis seed / 中国中药杂志

Wild Angelica sinensis is almost endangered, studying the biological characteristics of wild A. sinensis seeds is helpful for varietal improvement and its conservation. This paper systematically studied the morphological structure, thousand seed weight, viability, storage and other basic biological characteristics of wild A. sinensis fruits and seeds, and focused on the germination of excised embryos,the development of embryo, the effects of the temperature,light and hormones on seed germination.The study found that:①The embryos are not fully developed when harvested, the initial germination rate was low, the embryos can develop. After 15 days of low temperature storage, the embryos can develop completely and the germination rate is significantly increased. These results show that wild A. sinensis seeds have no dormancy, and the low germination rate is due to the low maturity of wild A. sinensis seeds. ②The sui-table germination temperature of wild A. sinensis is 15-25 ℃,and the optimal temperature is 20 ℃. Light does not affect the germination of A. sinensis seeds.③The applicable concentration of GA_3 can promote seeds germination, IAA and 6-BA has no significant effect on germination.④The optimum storage condition is dry storage at 4 ℃. Wild A. sinensis seeds can be stored for 1.5 years and cultivated seeds can be stored for 1 year.During the introduction and conservation, the best treatment conditions were dry storage at 4 ℃ for 30 d and soaking seeds with 200 mg·L~(-1) GA_3, the germination rate can reach 86.7%.

Application research of entropy weight-based grey systematic theory in quality evaluation of Angelicae Sinensis Radix slices / 中国中药杂志

In order to discuss the "entropy weight method" for weighting various indicators in the comprehensive evaluation of Angelicae Sinensis Radix slices(ASR), the quality of ASR was comprehensively evaluated by entropy weight-based gray systematic theory and cluster analysis. In this study, the contents of ferulic acid, volatile oil, polysaccharide, alcohol extract, water extract, moisture, total ash and acid-insoluble ash in 44 batches of ASR from different sources were determined. The entropy weight method was used for objective weighting. With relative correlation(r_i) as a measure, a multi-index comprehensive evaluation model was constructed for the quality of ASR. The results showed that the relative correlation value of 44 batches of ASR ranged from 0.301 9 to 0.662 9. There were certain differences in the quality of ASR from different sources. The ASR S1-S8, traceable and standardized in processing techno-logy, showed a high relative correlation degree and high quality ranking, indicating that the implementation of systemic management of the production chain of Chinese herbal pieces was beneficial to the quality control of ASR. The quality evaluation results of 44 batches of ASR were consistent with those of traditional geo-authentic habitats for ASR and the mainstream varieties of ASR on market, and basically consistent with the results of cluster analysis. This study suggests that the gray systematic theory based on the entropy weighting method can be used for the quality evaluation of ASR. The objective weighting of the entropy weight method improves the reliability of the gray correlation method and the scientificity of ASR quality evaluation.

Effect of Angelica sinensis polysaccharide on the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of rats with high glucose levels / 华西口腔医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#This study aims to evaluate the effect of Angelica sinensis polysaccharide (ASP) on the osteogenic differentiation of the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) of rats with high glucose levels.@*METHODS@#Rat BMSCs were isolated and identified by osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. Then, the BMSCs were divided into three groups as follows: normal control group (5.5 mmol·L⁻¹ glucose), high glucose group (25.5 mmol·L⁻¹ glucose), and ASP+high glucose group (25.5 mmol·L⁻¹ glucose +40 mg·L⁻¹ ASP). The proliferation activities of the BMSCs were detected by CCK8. Alizarin red staining, and alkaline phosphatase activity were used in the examination of osteogenic activity. Quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression levels of the osteogenic genes (Runx2, Osx, OCN, Col-Ⅰ) and the key factors of Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway (CyclinD1, β-catenin). In vivo, a type 2 diabetes rat model was established. The rats were divided into three groups, namely, the normal control group (normal rats), diabetes group (diabetic rats), diabetes+ASP group (diabetic rats, ASP feeding). Then, the tibia bone defect was established. The repair of bone defects in each group was observed through histological examination.@*RESULTS@#The proliferation of BMSCs was higher in the high glucose group and ASP+high glucose group than in the normal control group (P0.05). The number of calcium nodules of BMSCs; alkaline phosphatase activity; and the mRNA expression of Runx2, OCN, Osx, Col-Ⅰ, CyclinD1, β-catenin in the high glucose group were lower than those in the normal control and ASP+high glucose groups (P0.05). The bone mass was significantly lower in the bone defect of the diabetes group than in the bone defect of the normal control or diabetes+ASP group (P0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#ASP can promote the osteogenic differentiation of rat BMSCs under high glucose culture and induce bone regeneration in rats with type 2 diabetes. These features may be related to the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Purification and characterization of two PR-10 protein isoforms from the crude drug of Angelica sinensis / 生物工程学报

Two proteins of similar molecular weight (named as ASPR-C-1 and ASPR-C-2) from the crude drug of Angelica sinensis were purified and characterized by 80% ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex G-50 gel filtration chromatography, and DEAE-Sepharose anion exchange chromatography. The molecular weight of ASPR-C-1 and ASPR-C-2 on SDS-PAGE was 17.33 kDa and 17.18 kDa, respectively. They were mainly monomeric in solution, but partially formed dimers and they were glycoproteins with glycosyl content of 2.6% and 8.2%, respectively. Both ASPR-C-1 and ASPR-C-2 were identified to be members of pathogenesis-related 10 family of proteins by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and have ribonuclease activities with the specific activity of 73.60 U/mg and 146.76 U/mg, respectively. The optimum pH of the two isoforms was similar, at about 5.6, while their optimum temperatures were different. The optimum temperature of ASPR-C-1 was 50 ℃, and that of ASPR-C-2 was 60 ℃. Both isoforms presented highest thermal stability at 60 ℃. However, ASPR-C-2 was more thermotolerant than ASPR-C-1. The latter was rapidly inactivated and retained only about 20% residual activity while the former still maintained about 80% of its original activity at a higher treatment temperature (80 to 100 ℃). In addition, Fe²⁺ had an activating effect on the ribonuclease activities of two isoforms while Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, EDTA (Elhylene diamine tetraacetic acid), dithiothreitol and sodium dodecylsulphate showed different degrees of inhibition of the enzyme activities. Our findings provide a foundation for further research on the biological function of PR-10 protein from Angelica sinensis.

Study on history of processing and drying of Angelicae sinensis / 中国中药杂志

Angelicae sinensis Radix( ASR) is a commonly used medicinal material in Chinese medicine,widely used in clinical practice of Chinese medicine,Gansu province is the genuine production area of ASR. This paper studies the evolution law of drying method of ASR,the results showed that drying process was the key affection of the medicinal properties and quality of ASR,and it was an important reflection of the authentic properties of ASR. The drying history of ASR has gradually changed from the earliest shade drying to various drying methods. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia stipulates that the drying method of ASR is"fumigation drying",and the traditional drying method can not meet the processing needs of the origin. In recent years,the new drying methods and drying effects on the quality of ASR are more.

Regulation of extracellular ATP onchlorophyll content and fluorescence characteristics of Angelica sinensis seedlings under drought and low temperature stress / 中国中药杂志

As an important signal molecule, extracellular ATP(eATP) can regulate many physiological and biochemical responses to plant stress. In this study, the regulation of extracellular ATP(eATP) on chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of Angelica sinensis seedlings were studied under drought and low temperature stress. The results showed that all the chlorophyll content, the actual photochemical efficiency [Y(Ⅱ)], the electron transfer rate(ETR), the photochemical quenching coefficient(qP and qL) of A. sinensis leaves were significantly decreased under drought and low temperature stress, respectively. At the same time, non-photochemical quenching(NPQ and qN) were also all significantly increased, respectively. The application of eATP alleviated the decrease of chlorophyll content, Y(Ⅱ), ETR, qP and qL of A. sinensis leaves under drought and low temperature stress, and eliminated the increase of qN and NPQ. The results indicated that eATP could effectively increase the open ratio of PSⅡ reaction centers, and improve the electron transfer rate and light energy conversion efficiency of PSⅡ of A. sinensis leaves under drought and low temperature stress. It is beneficial to enhance the chlorophyll synthesis and the adaptability of PSⅡ about A. sinensis seedlings to drought and low temperature stress.

Pharmaceutical Studies on “Dang-Gui” in Korean Journals

A crude drug “Dang-Gui”, belonging to the genus Angelica, has been used as a traditional herbal medicine in Asia. Various studies have investigated the chemical components and pharmacological activities of Dang-Gui worldwide. However, domestic research results published in Korean are undervalued in international academia due to language barriers. Therefore, it is necessary to summarize the domestic research findings systematically for greater accessibility. This review focuses on the results published in four Korean pharmaceutical journals between 1970 and 2018, which detail the botanical, phytochemical, and pharmacological properties of three Angelica species (A. gigas, A. sinensis, and A. acutiloba) used as “Dang-Gui” in Korea, China, and Japan.

UPLC fingerprint and multi-components content determination of different processed products of Angelica sinensis / 中国中药杂志

Ten batches of Angelica sinensis from three producing areas( Tuoxiang,Minxian and Weiyuan of Gansu province) were selected as the research objects,and processed into raw A. sinensis,A. sinensis with alcohol,and A. sinensis with soil respectively through the standard processing methods. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography( UPLC) was used to establish fingerprint for three processed products of A. sinensis,and determine the contents of 9 phenolic acids and phthalide compounds. The similarity was analyzed with Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Traditional Chinese Medicine,which showed that the chromatographic peaks of the same processed samples of A. sinensis were basically similar,with all similarities greater than 0. 950. The difference between different processed products and their control spectra was not obvious,with all similarities also higher than 0. 950.On the basis of using principal component analysis( PCA) and OPLS-DA to seek the difference components between groups,the improved distance coefficient method can be used to effectively distinguish the three processed products of A. sinensis by fingerprint similarity. At the same time,the determination method of nine phenolic acids and phthalide in A. sinensis was established by UPLC,and the comparison between different processed products was carried out. The results showed that the content of various components was changed as compared with the raw A. sinensis. The contents of coniferyl ferulate and ligustilide in the A. sinensis with alcohol were increased significantly,and the content of coniferyl ferulate was obviously increased in A. sinensis with soil. The method established in this paper can effectively distinguish different processed products of A. sinensis and determine the content of the main components in them.

Population characteristics and threatened of wild Angelica sinensis in Gansu province / 中国中药杂志

The study aims to investigate spatial distribution pattern and age structure of wild Angelica sinensis in Gansu province.Ten plots each with an area of 100 m2 were set and the spatial coordinates of all wild A. sinensis individuals were measured within each plot. Based on plant individual mapping data,we explored the spatial distribution pattern and its differences between different life history stages of wild A. sinensis in Gansu province by using nearest neighbor distance statistics. Correlation analysis were carried out to explore the relationship between spatial aggregation degree and topographic factors. We also distinguished individuals to three life history stages( i.e. seedlings,adults and boltings) and then test the differences among/between them using nonparametric test.(1)We found that the dominant spatial distribution pattern of wild A. sinensis population in Gansu was aggregated distribution. There was no significant correlation between spatial aggregation degree of wild A. sinensis and altitude,slope and aspect. There was no significant difference between the average distance from seedlings to their nearest bolting individuals; the average distance from adult individuals to their nearest seedlings was significantly larger than the average distance from adult individuals to their nearest adult individuals; and the average distance from bolting individuals to their nearest adult individuals was significantly smaller than the average distance from bolting individuals to their nearest bolting individuals.(2)The age structure was showed as a declining population,characterized by less seedlings and bolting individuals,while more adult individuals within population. The population characteristics of wild A. sinensis,characterized by aggregated distribution pattern and senescent type of age structure,are disadvantage to its population development. The factors,such as habitat specialization,human activities and intraspecific competition,which shapes the current population characteristics,may increase the threatened status of wild A. sinensis. We suggest to strengthen the protection of wild A. sinensis.

Spectrum-effect relationships on enriching blood activities of fresh and dry roots of Angelica sinensis / 中国中药杂志

Ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(LC-MS) was used to establish the chromatography fingerprint for fresh(FRAS) and dry(RAS) roots of Angelica sinensis from 10 different places. The rat model of blood deficiency was established by acetyl-phenyl-hydrazine(APH) and cyclophosphamide(CTX). Then grey relational analysis(GRA) and partial least squares regression(PLS) were used to investigate the spectrum-effect relationship between the relative contents and the data of enriching blood pharmacodynamics efficacy. The results showed that the FRAS and RAS had certain enriching blood activities(P<0.05). The contribution degree of the FRAS and RAS to enriching blood activities of each common peaks were determined by regression coefficient. Among them, 4 common peaks contributed significantly to the effect of enriching blood activities, P1(unknown), P2(unknown), P7(ferulic acid), and P11(senkyunolide A) respectively. This paper investigated the spectrum-effect relationship between enriching blood activities and LC-MS chromatography fingerprint of RAS and FRAS, and determined the effective compositions of RAS and FRAS with enriching blood activities. It lays a theoretical foundation for the comprehensive development and utilization of A. sinensis.

Effect of Angelica sinensis radix on colonic morphology and mucus secretion of experimental XuexuBianmi model mice / 中国应用生理学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To study the effects of Angelicaesinensis radix (Danggui) decoction on the therapeutic action and the colonic morphology and mucus secretion in XuexuBianmi model mice.@*METHODS@#Sixty Kunming mice, maleandfemaleinhalf, were randomly divided into six groups according to gender and weight (=10):normal control group, XuexuBianmi model group, positive control group, and high-dose, middle-dose and low-dose Danggui groups. Except the normal control group, the mice in the rest groups were orally administrated with diphenoxylate (DPN) and subcutaneously injected with acetylphenyhydrazine (APH) and intraperitoneally injected with cyclophosphamide (CPA) to copy XuexuBianmi model. Fromthe 14th day, the mice in Danggui groups were orally administered with different doses of Danggui decoction (16.67、8.33、4.17 g/kg), the mice in positive control group were orally administered with Changtongshu granule (5 g/kg), the mice in XuexuBianmi model group were administered with normal saline (NS) at the same volume (10 ml/kg), once a day for consecutive 28 days. The general status were observed, the first black defecation time (FBDT), the water content in stool and in colon in mice of all groups were tested. And the colon tissue was stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and AB-PAS to observe the changes of colonic morphology and the mucus secretion.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the normal control group, there appeared the XuexuBianmi syndromes in model group as follows, the defecation time (FBDT) was significantly prolonged, the water contentinstool and in colon were decreased (<0.01), the colonic mucosa and gland were atrophied, mucous membrane layer was thinned (<0.01), mucus secretion was decreased. Compared with the XuexuBianmimodel group, the Xuexu and Bianmi syndromes were improved, the FBDT was significantly shortened (<0.05, <0.01), the water content of colon was increased in the three groups of Danggui decoction (<0.05, <0.01). The water content of the stool was obviouslyincreased in groups of 16.67and 8.33kg.dDanggui decoction (<0.05). The atrophy of colon mucosa and gland was improved, the mucus secretion was increased, and the colon lubrication function was improved in the three groups in different doses of Danggui decoction.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Dangguican improve the mucosal atrophy, and increase the secretion of colonic mucus, then the stool is softened and promoted to discharge.

Effects of Radix Hedysari, Radix Astragalus and compatibility of Angelica Sinensis on blood deficiency model mice induced by cyclophosphamide / 中国应用生理学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To study the intervention effects of Radix Hedysari, Radix Astragalus and compatibility of Angelica Sinensis on blood deficiency model mice induced by cyclophosphamide (CTX).@*METHODS@#The mice were randomly divided into 7 groups, 10 mice each group. The blood deficiency model was established by CTX. The blank group and model group were treated with saline by gavage, while mice in positive group were administered with Lvjiaobuxue granule. Four dosage group were administered with Radix Hedysari, Radix Hedysari-Radix Angelica Sinensis(5:1), Radix Astragalus and Radix Astragalus-Radix Angelica Sinensis(5:1) water decoction. All the drugs were administered to mice for consecutive 7 d. The contents of red blood cell (RBC), lymphocyte(LYM), hematocrit (HCT), white blood cell (WBC), platelet (PLT) were detected by hematology analyzer, while thymus index(TI), spleen index(SI), reticulocyte (RC), marrow karyocyte (MK) were calculated, and the femur by pathological section were observed by microscope.@*RESULTS@#Compared with blank group, the contents of RBC, WBC, HCT, PLT, LYM were decreased in model group (<0.05). Compared with model group, the contents of RBC, WBC, HCT, PLT, LYM, RC and marrow karyocyte were increased in Hedysari-Angelica Sinensis(5:1) and Astragalus Angelica Sinensis(5:1) (<0.05), at the same time, the pathological damage of femur could be improved.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The effect of enrichment blood on blood deficiency model mice in Hedysari-Angelica Sinensis (5:1) and Astragalus-Angelica Sinensis(5:1) were superior to Hedysari and Astragalus.

Urine metabonomic study for blood-replenishing mechanism of Angelica sinensis in a blood-deficient mouse model / 中国天然药物

This study aimed at determining the effects of Angelica sinensis (AS) on urinary metabolites in blood deficiency mice and exploring its replenishing blood mechanism. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was applied to detect metabolites in the urine samples in different collection periods. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were used to investigate the differences in metabolic profiles among control group (CG), blood deficiency model group (MG), AS groups, and Colla Corii Asini group (CCAG). The potential biomarkers were identified based on the variable importance in the projection (VIP), T-test, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and mass spectra library. The metabolites were analyzed using metabolomics pathway analysis (MetPA) to build the metabolic pathways. Our results indicated that, on the seventh day, the levels of glucose, lactic acid, pyruvic acid, alanine, acetoacetic acid, and citric acid changed significantly in blood deficiency mice. However, these metabolic deviations came to closer to normal levels after AS intervention. The reversing blood-deficiency mechanism of AS might involve regulating synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies, Pyruvate metabolism, TCA cycle, and Glycolysis/Gluconeogenesis. In conclusion, metabonomics is a robust and promising means for the identification of biomarkers and elucidation of the mechanisms of a disease, thereby highlighting its importance in drug discovery.

Efficiency of improved RAPD and ISSR markers in assessing genetic diversity and relationships in Angelica sinensis (Oliv. ) Diels varieties of China

Background Angelica sinensis is a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal plant. We aimed to assess the genetic diversity and relationships in A. sinensis cultivars collected from different locations of China and also some other Angelica species. Results We employed an improved random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique for the amplification of DNA materials from ten Angelica cultivars, and the results were verified by inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis. Twenty six RAPD primers were used for RAPD, and the amplified bands were found highly polymorphic (96%). Each primer amplified 8-14 bands with an average of 10.25. The cluster dendrogram showed that the similarity coefficients ranged from 0.41 to 0.92. The similarity coefficients were higher among different cultivars of A. sinensis, and lower among different species. Twenty ISSR primers were used for the amplification, and each primer generated 6-10 bands with an average of 7.2 bands per primer. The cluster dendrogram showed that the similarity coefficients ranged from 0.35 to 0.89. Conclusions This study genetically characterized the Angelica species, which might have a significant contribution to the genetic and ecological conservation of this important medicinal plant. Also, this study indicates that the improved RAPD and ISSR analyses are important and potent molecular tools for the study of genetic diversity and authentication of organisms.

Effects of ferulic acid on antioxidant activity in Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, and their combination / 中国天然药物

The present study aimed at exploring different roles of the same compound in different environment, using preparative HPLC, and the significance to investigating bio-active constituents in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on the basis of holism. In this study, the depletion of target component ferulic acid (FA) by using preparative HPLC followed by antioxidant activity testing was applied to investigate the roles of FA in Angelicae Sinensis Radix (DG), Chuanxiong Rhizoma (CX) and their combination (GX). The antioxidant activity was performed by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity testing. FA was successfully and exclusively depleted from DG, CX, and GX, respectively. By comparing the effects of the samples, it was found that FA was one of the main antioxidant constituents in DG, CX and GX, and the roles of FA were DG > CX > GX. Furthermore, the effects of FA varied at different doses in these herbs. This study provided a reliable and effective approach to clarifying the contribution of same compound in different TCMs to their bio-activities. The role of a constituent in different TCMs might be different, and a component with the same content might have different effects in different chemical environments. Furthermore, this study also suggested the potential utilization of preparative HPLC in the characterization of the roles of multi-ingredients in TCM.

Phytochemical progress made in investigations of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels / 中国天然药物

The phytochemical progress on Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels over the past decades is summarized. Since 1970s, 165 chemical constituents, including phthalides, phenylpropanoids, terpenoids and essential oils, aromatic compounds, alkaloids, alkynes, sterols, fatty acids, and polysaccharides have been isolated or detected from the various parts of the title plant.