Accumulation of main chemical components in Ophiopogonis radix in the process of development / 中国药学杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To explore the accumulation rules of the effective constituents in Ophiopogonis Radix to provide theoretical support for its production and quality control. METHODS: Ophiopogonis Radix samples in different growth phases were harvested, and the total polysaccharides, total flavones, and total saponins in the sampleswere measured by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. Methylophiopogonanone A, ophiopogonin C, ophiopogonin D, and ophiopogonin D'were determined by HPLC. RESULTS: The contents of total polysaccharides, total flavones, and total saponins in Ophiopogonis Radix were positively correlated with root growth time. The contents of three categories of constituents increased with the prolongation of root growth time, but the accumulative rate was inconsistent in different growth phases, which had a slight decrease after reaching the maximum at the end of March. The accumulation trend of six single components were basically the same to the three categories of constituents. For samples with same harvest time, the content of the main constituents was higher in the samples treated by paclobutrazol than those without paclobutrazol treatment. CONCLUSION: The variation trend of the main chemical components in Ophiopogonis Radix is basically the same to that of the root growth. Methylo-phiopogonanone A and phiopogonin D are the most representative, and they could be taken as evaluation index to guide production and quality control of Ophiopogonis Radix.