Herbal Textual Research on Tsaoko Fructus in Famous Classical Formulas / 中国实验方剂学杂志

This article systematically analyzes the historical evolution of the origin， scientific name， medicinal parts， quality evaluation， harvesting and processing and other aspects of Tsaoko Fructus by consulting ancient materia medica， medical books， prescription books in the past dynasties and combining with the modern literature， so as to provide a basis for the development and utilization of famous classical formulas containing Tsaoko Fructus. According to the research， the name of Caoguo（草果） was first used in the Taiping Huimin Heji Jufang（《太平惠民和剂局方》） in the Northern Song dynasty， Tsaoko Fructus is the correct name of the herbal medicine in all dynasties， and there are also aliases such as Caokou， Doukou， Loukou， Laokou and Caodoukou. The mainstream source of Tsaoko Fructus used in the past dynasties is the dried mature fruit of Amomum tsaoko of Zingiberaceae， but Tsaoko Fructus was often used as a nickname for Amomi Fructus Rotundus or Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen during the Song dynasty. Bencao Pinhui Jingyao（《本草品汇精要》） in the Ming dynasty was the earliest materia medica that recorded Tsaoko Fructus as a separate medicinal herb in sections. Under the influence of early ancient books， there were some books that confused Tsaoko Fructus with other Zingiberaceae plants during the Qing dynasty， it was not until modern times that Tsaoko Fructus was distinguished from other plants. The origin of Tsaoko Fructus is Yunnan and Guangxi， and then gradually expanded to Guizhou and other places. Now Yunnan is the province with the largest planting area of Tsaoko Fructus， and has become the main producing area. Since modern times， it has been recorded in the literature that the quality of Tsaoko Fructus is mainly characterized by large， full， red-brown and strong in smell. According to ancient records， the harvest time of Tsaoko Fructus was in the eighth month of the lunar calendar， and they were mostly used for peeling or simmering. Currently， the harvest period of Tsaoko Fructus is October to November， and then sun-dried or dried after harvesting. The records of the properties and functional indications of Tsaoko Fructus are basically consistent with the ancient and modern documents， which is warm in nature， pungent in flavor， belonging to the spleen and stomach meridians， moderate in dryness and dampness， intercepting malaria and eliminating phlegm， used for internal resistance of cold and dampness， abdominal distension and pain， fullness and vomiting， malaria cold and fever， and plague fever. Based on the research results， it is suggested that A. tsaoko should be used as the medicinal base for the development of famous classical formulas containing Tsaoko Fructus， processing method can be according to the requirements of the prescription， and if the requirements of concoction are not indicated， it can be used in the form of raw products.

Herbal Textual Research on Lablab Semen Album in Famous Classical Formulas / 中国实验方剂学杂志

In this paper， the name， origin， quality evaluation， producing area and processing methods of Lablab Semen Album in the famous classical formulas were researched by reviewing the ancient materia medica， medical books， prescription books and modern literature. The results showed that the name of Lablab Semen Album in the past dynasties was mostly derived from its shape and color， called Biandou and Baibiandou. The mainstream origin used in the past dynasties was Lablab purpureus， the medicinal parts were mainly white mature seeds， with the addition of the leaves in the Song dynasty and the flowers in the Ming dynasty. Since modern times， the authentic producing areas of Lablab Semen Album are Suzhou， Zhejiang and other places， and now mainly produced in Chuxiong and Xinping， Yunnan and Panzhihua， Sichuan. The traditional quality evaluation of Lablab Semen Album is evaluated as large， solid， full and white. The harvesting time of this herb is recorded from the eighth to the ninth lunar month in related literature， the pods are picked when the seeds are ripe， and the seeds are dried in the sun. In ancient times， the processing of Lablab Semen Album mainly consisted of frying the seeds with skin and then pulverizing for use， or soaking and peeling seeds for raw use. Based on the conclusion of the textual research， it is recommended that the seeds or flowers of the white flowering plants of L. purpureus， a member of the leguminosae， should be used in the famous classical formulas， and the dried seeds or dried flowers of Lablab Semen Album can be used as medicine if the formula did not clearly indicate processing requirements.

Effects of Various Processings on Quality of Angelica dahurica / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To study the quality difference of various processing methods about Angelica dahurica. Methods Samples were selected from different places, clean silt by washing and brushing, cut slices and cut blocks in equal division, dried and comminution, to determine total ash, ethanol thermal extract, imperatorin content and HPLC fingerprint similarity. Results The content of total ash was the lowest in “washed”and “washed & cut slice” sample, dilute ethanol thermal extract was the highest in“cut blocks”and“washed&cut blocks”sample, imperatorin content was the highest in“non-washed”and“non-washed & cut slice” sample. Conclusion Washed and cut process is not suitable in place of origin about Angelica dahurica.

Seed germination characteristics of Gentiana rigescens / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the influences of temperature, lightness, storage method, storage time, and gibberellin on seed germination of Gentiana rigescens.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The germination rates of G. rigescens in different treatments were observed.</p><p><b>RESULT AND CONCLUSION</b>The most suitable temperature for the seed germination was 25 degrees C, at which the germination rate was 76.33%. The effect of lightness on the seeds was significantly; the germination rate of the seed was very low. Under the natural condition, the best storage method was dry storage (within 6 months), which could promote the after-ripening of the seed. 100-1 000 mg x L(-1) gibberellic acid could significantly reduce the seed germination time, and 500 mg x L(-1) gibberellic acid increased the germination rate of the seed to 95.00%.</p>

Correlation and path analysis on agronomic traits of Gentiana rigescens / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The interrelation of yield and agronomic traits of Gentiana rigescens was studied for the germplasm and breeding variety of this species.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Twelve agronomic traits, root diameter, root length, root number, root biomass, stem diameter, plant height, the first branch number, leaf length, leaf width, leaf length/leaf width ratio, calyx length, and calyx number of G. rigescens from 26 wild populations in Yunnan were determined for correlation analysis, multiple stepwise regression analysis and path analysis.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Correlation analysis showed that there were significantly positive correlation between the traits of aboveground part and the length, diameter, number, and biomass of the root. Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that length, width, and number of root, plant height, the first branch number, and the calyx number were the main factors that affected the root biomass. Path analysis showed that the diameter, length, and number of the root, the stem height, and the first branch number had a direct positive effect on the root biomass.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The traits, such as high and strong stem, high number of first branch number and shrubby shape could be selected for the breeding and high yielding of G. rigescens.</p>

Diversity and cluster analysis on agronomic traits of Artemisia annua germplasm resources in Yun-Gui plateau / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the diversity of germplasm resources of Artemisia annua and provide the basis for improving utilization of germplasm resources, the agronomic traits of germplasm resources of A. annua were studied in Yun-Gui plateau.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The agronomic traits of 67 A. annua germplasm resources were measured by the visual observation and measurement methods. And the germplasm resources were clustered using flexible-beta method to analysis their genetic background.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The result showed that 67 germplasm resources had a relatively wide variation on the 22 agronomic traits. Among 22 agronomic traits, the dry weight of branch had the greatest coefficient of variation, which was 53. 63, and the next were the dry weight of leaf, total plant weight, the length of pinnules and the length of leaflet, which were 42.74, 41.61, 39.54 and 39.22 respectively. The smallest coefficient of variation was the leaf corlor. Based the result of cluster analysis, these 67 germplasm resources were classed into 5 groups, and each group had its respective character. The first group showed early-maturing resources, dwarf stalk, slender rod, long bipinnata, high leaf-stem ratio and moderate leaf weight The third group showed late-maturing resources, tall and thick stalk, much-branch, bushy accessory pinna, high leaf weight and yield. The fifth group showed very late-maturing resources, strong lateral shoot, high leaf yield.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>There were significant genetic difference and diversity in the germplasm resources of A. annua. The result of cluster analysis showed that the resources of group 1, group 3 and group 5 were suitable as breeding material of A. annua.</p>

Correlation and path analysis on artemisinin content and yield with different agronomic traits of Artemisia annua / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To provide the basis for improving utilization of Artemisia annua germplasm resources and breeding variety, the interrelations between artemisinin content, artemisinin yield and agronomic traits of A. annua were studied.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The artemisinin content and each agronomic trait of 63 A. annua germplasm resources were measured by the visual observation and measurement methods. And the correlation analysis, regression analysis and path analysis were adopted.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The result showed that there were significant differences in the artemisinin content and yield of 63 germplasm resources from the main production region of A. annua. Correlation analysis showed that there were significantly positive correlation between leaf weight and artemisinin yield with stem and branch characters, but there were negative correlation between artemisinin content with leaf characters of A. annua plant. The artemisinin content of A. annua increased with the increasing of primary branch number, bottom secondary branch number, and bottom stem diameter, etc. On the other hand, it decreased with the increasing of top secondary branch number, secondary leaf axis length, and bottom branch diameter, etc. The artemisinin yield of A. annua increased with the increasing of artemisinin content, leaf weight, and bottom secondary branch number, etc., and decreased with the increasing of bottom branch diameter, middle secondary branch number, and stem weight, etc. Path analysis showed that the primary branch number and bottom secondary branch number had a direct positive effect on the artemisinin content of A. annua. But the top secondary branch number had a direct negative effect on the artemisinin content of A. annua. The leaf weight and artemisinin content had a direct positive effect on the artemisinin yield and the ratio of leaf/stem, branch weight and stem weight had a direct negative effect.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>On the breeding A. annua variety, it can take into account both high leaf yield and high artemisinin content. And it was strongly recommend that the plant with moderate plant height and crown, shortness pinnae and secondary leaf axis, less middle and top secondary branch, strong stem, higher primary branch number and bottom secondary branch number, and higher ratio leaf/stem could be selected for breeding new varieties with high leaf yield and high artemisinin content.</p>