Effects of light intensity on cleaning away heat property of Viola yedoensis / 中国中药杂志

The current study was conducted to explore the effects of light intensity in cultivating environment on the cleaning away heat property of Viola yedoensis. In the present study, we established the acute inflammation model of ICR mice by injecting carrageenan. We compared the effects of V. yedoensis grown under different light intensities(100%, 80%, 50%, 35% and 5% of full sunlight) on mice body temperature, thermal radiation and the swelling degree of foot tissue before and after modeling observing by thermal infrared imaging technique and weighing method. The changes of energy metabolism related enzymes in liver were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). In addition, the effects of V. yedoensis grown under different light intensities on human lung cancer cell A549 proliferation were explored with MTT method. The results showed that the body temperature of all groups of mice in V. yedoensis group were significantly lower than that of the blank group, except 5% full sunlight group, and the body temperature declined in positive proportion to light intensity. V. yedoensis group could alleviate foot swelling, reduce SDH activity in liver tissue(especially 100% full sunlight group and 80% full sunlight group were significantly lower than model group), and the degree of alleviating and reducing was positively correlated with light intensity. There was no significant difference in the activity of Na~+-K~+-ATPase and Ca~(2+)-Mg~(2+)-ATPase in liver tissue among treatments. The contents of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, PGE_2 in foot tissue of mice in V. yedoensis groups were significantly lower than those in model group. Among them, the lowest levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, PGE_2 were found in 80% full sunlight group, and there was no significant difference in TNF-α among different groups. The effects of V. yedoensis aqueous extract on A549 cell line proliferation inhibition rate increased with the light intensities of V. yedoensis cultivating environment. And the effects of V. yedoensis grown under 100% of full sunlight showed significantly higher A549 cell line proliferation inhibition rate compared with other groups(P<0.05). In summary, the light intensity of V. yedoensis cultivating environment is positively correlated with the cleaning away heat property of V. yedoensis, which conforms to the "light-cold and heat property" hypothesis,The V. yedoensis should be planted under full light according.

Effects of light intensity on material and energy metabolism of Viola yedoensis / 中国中药杂志

Light energy is an important factor affecting plant growth. The hypothesis of "light-cold and heat property" holds that the original plants of traditional Chinese medicines(TCM) with cold property can obtain more energy to maintain growth in high light intensity environment, whereas the original plants of TCM with heat property prefer weak light environment. The current experiment investigated the effects of different light intensities on primary metabolites levels, energy levels, cell apoptosis, and leaves ultrastructure of Viola yedoensis, the original plants of TCM Violae Herba with cold property. There were five treatment groups of V. yedoensis, which was planted under Li1(8 500 lx),Li2(7 250 lx),Li3(6 000 lx),Li4(4 750 lx),Li5(3 500 lx)LEDs light intensity conditions, respectively. After harvest, primary metabolites levels, contents of ATP, ADP, AMP, activities of ATP synthesis and hydrolysis related enzyme, as well as cell apoptosis activation degree were measured, and transmission electron microscopy technique was used to observe leaves ultrastructure. The results showed that the total sugar, total protein, contents of ATP, ADP and AMP, activities of NADH dehydrogenase, cytochrome C reductase, ATP synthase and ATP hydrolase were positively correlated with light intensities(P<0.05). The crude fat content, activities of SDH and CCO enzyme showed a trend of increasing first and then decreasing, the highest value were found in Li2 group and Li3 group respectively(P<0.05). The vitality of caspase-3 and caspase-9 was negatively correlated with light intensities(P<0.05). The structure of chloroplast and mitochondria were normal and intact in Li1-Li3 groups, and the damage degree of Li4 and Li5 groups increased with the decrease of light intensities. The analysis of results indicated that the structure of chloroplast and mitochondria of V. yedoensis is normal under the light intensity of 6 000-8 500 lx, which can obtain more energy to maintain its growth and metabolism. When the light intensity is lower than 4 750 lx, the chloroplast morphology and mitochondrial membrane are damaged, affecting the metabolism of material and energy. There was no significant difference in energy charge of V. yedoensis in the light intensity range of 3 500～8 500 lx. The effect of light intensity on energy metabolism of V. yedoensis accords with the hypothesis of "light-cold and heat property".

Correlation analysis between cold and heat property of traditional Chinese medicines and light conditions of their original plants in habitat / 中国中药杂志

The current study was conducted to explore the relationship between property of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) and the light conditions of their original plant in habitats and advance a "light-cold and heat property" hypothesis under the guidance of theory of TCM. In the present study, we selected 127 common Chinese herbs. Association rules mining method was used to find out the association relationship between the cold-heat properties of different TCM and the habitats of their original plant, while using statistical methods to analyze the correlation between light condition and cold-heat property of TCM based on the description of the habitats in the Flora of China and investigation. The results showed that the habitats associated to TCM with cold property are in the order of grassland>curb>hillside>wasteland>gully>farmland>riverside. The habitats that associated to TCM with heat property are: undergrowth>shrub>gully>jungle. For 68 TCMs with cold property, 81.2% of their original plants are light-demanding, 8.7% are shade-demanding, and 8.7% of them showed no obvious light preference. For 59 TCMs with heat property, 62.7% of their original plants are shade-demanding, 20.3% are shade-demanding, and 17.0% of them showed no obvious light preference. Meanwhile, Chi-square test showed that there was a significant difference between the cold-heat property and light preference (<0.01). In summary, there is a significant correlation between the light preference of TCM original plants and their cold-heat properties. In order to ensure the pharmacological effect of TCM, the relationship between the light conditions and the properties of TCM should be considered in the cultivation of medicinal plants for TCM.