Investigation of Plant Species with Identified Seed Oil Fatty Acids in Chinese Literature and Analysis of Five Unsurveyed Chinese Endemic Species.

Diverse fatty acid structures from different plant species are important renewable resources for industrial raw materials and as liquid fuels with high energy density. Because of its immense geographical and topographical variations, China is a country with enormous diversity of plant species, including large numbers of plants endemic to China. The richness of this resource of species provides a wide range of fatty acids in seeds or other tissues, many of which have been identified by Chinese scientists. However, in the past, most publications describing analysis of these plants were written in Chinese, making access for researchers from other countries difficult. In this study, we investigated reports on seed and fruit oil fatty acids as described in Chinese literature. Six books and more than one thousand papers were collected and the identified fatty acids and relevant plant species were summarized. In total, about 240 fatty acids from almost 1,500 plant species were identified from available Chinese literature. Only about one third of these species were retrieved in the PhyloFAdb and SOFA online databases of plant fatty acids. By referring to a summary of plant species endemic to China, 277 Chinese endemic species from 68 families have been surveyed for seed fatty acids. These account for <2% of total Angiosperm species endemic to China indicating the scope of species yet to be surveyed. To discover additional new fatty acid structures that might benefit society, it is important in the future to study oilseed fatty acids of the many other Chinese endemic plants. As an example, seeds of five unsurveyed species were collected and their fatty acids were analyzed. Ricinoleic acid was detected for the first time in the Salicaceae family.

[Endemic plants for medicine use in China].

Based on plant species databases, species lists and literature records, general situation of the Chinese medicinal endemic plant (vascular plant) has been systematically summarized, and its quantity and distribution characteristics of Chinese medicinal endemic plants are presented in this paper. The results showed that 3 150 endemic species are Chinese medicinal plants belonging to 785 genera in 153 families, which includes 38 species of 22 genera in 12 families of pteridophyta, 42 species of 14 genera in7 families of gymnosperms, and 3 070 species of 749 genara in 134 families of angiosperms. The top four families involving medicinal endemic species are Asteraceae (218 species), Ranunculaceae (182 species), Labiatae (151 species), and Liliaceae (133 species). The top four provincial administration distributed medicinal endemic species are Sichuan (1 568 species), Yunnan (1 533 species), Guizhou (955 species) and Hubei (930 species).On the regional scale, the most abundant one is the southwest region (2 465 species), followed by the central region (1 226 species) and the northwest region (949 species). Localization characteristics for domestication and artificial cultivation of medicinal endemic species are more prominent due to their narrower and limited distribution areas, indicating it is possible for these species acting as local potential resource for reasonable economic development.

Endemic plants for medicine use in China / 中国中药杂志

Based on plant species databases, species lists and literature records, general situation of the Chinese medicinal endemic plant (vascular plant) has been systematically summarized, and its quantity and distribution characteristics of Chinese medicinal endemic plants are presented in this paper. The results showed that 3 150 endemic species are Chinese medicinal plants belonging to 785 genera in 153 families, which includes 38 species of 22 genera in 12 families of pteridophyta, 42 species of 14 genera in7 families of gymnosperms, and 3 070 species of 749 genara in 134 families of angiosperms. The top four families involving medicinal endemic species are Asteraceae (218 species), Ranunculaceae (182 species), Labiatae (151 species), and Liliaceae (133 species). The top four provincial administration distributed medicinal endemic species are Sichuan (1 568 species), Yunnan (1 533 species), Guizhou (955 species) and Hubei (930 species).On the regional scale, the most abundant one is the southwest region (2 465 species), followed by the central region (1 226 species) and the northwest region (949 species). Localization characteristics for domestication and artificial cultivation of medicinal endemic species are more prominent due to their narrower and limited distribution areas, indicating it is possible for these species acting as local potential resource for reasonable economic development.