Main nutrients and functional ingredients in flowers of Polygonatum cyrtonema and P. filipes / 中国中药杂志

To reveal the main nutrients and functional ingredients in the flowers of Polygonatum cyrtonema and P. filipes, the content of the polysaccharides, saponins, amino acids, total phenols, mineral elements, and the DPPH free radical scavenging rates were determined. The flowers and rhizomes of P. cyrtonema were collected from Qingyang in Anhui and Qingyuan in Zhejiang, while the flowers and rhizomes of P. filipes were collected from Longyou in Zhejiang, respectively. The results showed that the polysaccharides content in flowers varied from 60.88 to 97.00 mg·g~(-1), about half of that in rhizomes. The saponins content in flowers varied from 32.55 to 40.93 mg·g~(-1), which was close to the content in rhizomes. The content of total phenols ranged from 40.79 to 50.95 mg·g~(-1), approximately 4.5 times of that in rhizomes. The total amino acids content in flowers was 111.85 to 131.03 mg·g~(-1), about 2.3 times of the content in rhizomes. The essential trace element content was abundant in flowers. The contents of heavy metal elements were all within the limits set by the standards. The DPPH free radical scavenging rate IC_(50) varied from 1.77 to 3.25 mg·mL~(-1), less than one-fifth of that in rhizomes, showing a significant superiority of antioxidant activity compared to rhizomes. The results initially revealed the fundamental of "the flowers exceed the rhizomes in effect", the common saying about the traditional Chinese medicinal herbs over the years, indicating a great developing potential of the flowers. Besides, as polysaccharides, saponins, amino acids, total phenols and other nutritive substances in flowers differ widely among species and provenances, it's important to develop variety breeding to improve the quality and yield of flowers.

Main nutrients and functional ingredients in shoots of Polygonatum cyrtonema / 中国中药杂志

In order to reveal the main nutrients and functional ingredients in the shoots of Polygonatum cyrtonema, the polysaccharides, proteins, amino acids, and total phenols were determined. The tested samples cultured in Ma'nijiaonong, Hengtang village, Tianmushan town, Lin'an, Zhejiang, which were collected from three provenances(Pan'an and Longquan in Zhejiang and Qingyang in Anhui). The results showed that the polysaccharide content of the shoots varied from 2.34% to 12.73%, roughly one-third of rhizomes. The protein content varied from 107.75 to 192.49 mg·g~(-1), nearly 5.50 times more than rhizomes. Moreover, the average of total amino acid content was 193.13-248.74 mg·g~(-1), approximately 4.16 times of rhizomes. And the essential amino acids account for 35.57%-39.44% of the total amino acids content, which was close to the standard of the ideal protein proposed by FAO/WHO(the essential amino acid/total amino acid is about 40%). In addition, the taste amino acids(TaAA) changed from 160.12 to 208.29 mg·g~(-1), revealing the material basis of "shoots were extremely delicious" in Chinese ancient herbal medicine. Additionally, the total phenols varied from 51.21-58.76 mg·g~(-1), about 2.96 times of rhizomes. The DPPH free radical scavenging rate of tested shoots was over 95%, which obviously superior to rhizomes. Therefore, the shoots of P. cyrtonema is a very high-quality vegetable and functional food with good development potential. Furthermore, the main nutrients and functional substances in P. cyrtonema shoots are closely related to the provenances and harvesting seasons. It is important to improve the quality and yield of the shoots by strengthening the variety of breeding and cultivation techniques.

Protective effects of Polygonatum sibiricum polysaccharide on acute heart failure in rats

Abstract Purpose: To investigate the protective effects of Polygonatum sibiricum polysaccharide (PSP) on acute heart failure (AHF) in rats. Methods: Sixty rats were randomly divided into control, model, and low-, middle- and high-dose PSP groups, 12 rats in each group. The low-, medium- and high-dose PSP groups were intragastrically administrated with 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg PSP for 5 days, respectively. On the sixth day, the AHF model was established by intraperitoneal injection of adriamycin. After 24h, the cardiac function, serum biochemical indexes, myocardial ATPase and succinate dehydrogenase levels and apoptosis related protein expressions were determined. Results: Compared with model group, in high-dose PSP group the heart rate, left ventricular systolic pressure, ±dp/dtmax, serum superoxide dismutase level, myocardial Na+-K+-ATPase, Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase and succinate dehydrogenase levels and myocardial Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 protein expression levels were significantly increased (P<0.05), the left ventricular end diastolic pressure, serum cTnI, CK-MB, TNF-α, IL-6, malondialdehyde and nitric oxide levels and myocardial Bax and cleaved Caspase-3 protein expression levels were significantly decreased (P<0.05). Conclusions: Polysaccharide can prevent the acute heart failure induced by adriamycin. The mechanism may be related to its anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammation and inhibition of cardiac myocyte apoptosis.