[In dustrial development status and strategy of improving quality and efficiency of ginger, a resource for both medicine and food use].

China cultivates characteristic resource plant Zingiber officinale for both medicine and food use, with a long history of cultivation, production, and application. With the continuous excavation of the health and skin care values of ginger products due to scientific and technological progress, the scale expansion and quality improvement of the ginger industry have been effectively promoted, forming an industrial cluster with rich germplasm resources and diverse product categories represented by the north and south regions of China, and China has been developed as the biggest producer and exporter of raw materials and processed products of ginger.The present situation of ginger germplasm resources, ginger production, market price, and quality control of ginger products was reviewed in this paper. According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO), United Nations International Trade Database, Chinese Network for Ginger Trade, and China Industry Information Network, the market fluctuation and trend of ginger products in China and abroad were discussed, and the current development and utilization of Chinese and international ginger industries were analyzed. In addition, through the research group's field investigation of the main producing area of ginger in China, analysis and prediction were made, and measures to improve the quality and efficiency of ginger industry use were put forward,so as to offer experience for relevant departments to study and formulate the development plan and production layout of ginger industry,help practitioners in ginger industry to cope with challenges, and provide a reference for promoting the quality and efficiency of ginger industry and high-quality development.

[Research progress on pesticide residues of Angelicae Sinensis Radix].

The demand for Angelicae Sinensis Radix, the dry root of Angelica sinensis, has been increasing year by year. However, the continuous cropping obstacles, frequent occurrence of pests and diseases, overuse of chemical pesticides, excessive pesticide residues and other problems in Angelicae Sinensis Radix production have attracted much attention. In this paper, we summarized the common diseases and pests attacking Angelica sinensis as well as the detection methods and characteristics of pesticide residues in Angelicae Sinensis Radix from 2002 to 2021. Additionally, we compared the limit standards of pesticide residues in Angelicae Sinensis Radix in and out of China and put forward suggestions for the high-quality and green development of Angelicae Sinensis Radix industry conside-ring the existing problems. The pesticide residues in Angelicae Sinensis Radix have been changing from organochlorines to organophosphorus pesticides. In recent years, some organophosphorus pesticides such as phorate, phoxim, isofenphos-methyl, phorate-sulfoxide, fenamiphos, isocarbophos, omethoate, and triazophos in Angelicae Sinensis Radix have seriously exceeded the standards. The detection methods of pesticide residues has evolved from chromatography to high performance chromatography-mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS), and some new detection techniques such as immunoassay have also been applied. Pesticide residues have become a primary factor that restricting the development of Angelicae Sinensis Radix industry. Therefore, moderate application of pesticides, establishment of ecological planting system, and strict limit standards of pesticide residues are necessary to solve the pesticide residue problem.

Insights into the mechanism of the effects of rhizosphere microorganisms on the quality of authentic Angelica sinensis under different soil microenvironments.

BACKGROUND: Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (A. sinensis) is a Chinese herb grown in different geographical locations. It contains numerous active components with therapeutic value. Rhizosphere microbiomes affect various aspects of plant performance, such as nutrient acquisition, growth and development and plant diseases resistance. So far, few studies have investigated how the microbiome effects level of active components of A. sinensis. This study investigated whether changes in rhizosphere microbial communities and metabolites of A. sinensis vary with the soil microenvironment. Soils from the two main A. sinensis-producing areas, Gansu and Yunnan Province, were used to conduct pot experiments. The soil samples were divided into two parts, one part was sterilized and the other was unsterilized planting with the seedling variety of Gansu danggui 90-01. All seedlings were allowed to grow for 180 days. At the end of the experiment, radix A. sinensis were collected and used to characterize growth targets and chemical compositions. Rhizosphere soils were subjected to microbial analyses. RESULTS: Changes in metabolic profiles and rhizosphere microbial communities of A. sinensis grown under different soil microenvironments were similar. The GN (Gansu non-sterilized), YN (Yunnan non-sterilized), GS (Gansu sterilized), and YS (Yunnan sterilized) groups were significantly separated. Notably, antagonistic bacteria such as Sphingomonas, Pseudomonas, Lysobacter, Pseudoxanthomonas, etc. were significantly (p < 0.05) enriched in Gansu soil compared with Yunnan soil. Moreover, senkyunolide I and ligustilide dimers which were enriched in GS group were strongly positively correlated with Pseudomonas parafulva; organic acids (including chlorogenic acid, dicaffeoylquinic acid and 5-feruloylquinic acid) and their ester coniferyl ferulate which were enriched in YS Group were positively associated with Gemmatimonadetes bacterium WY71 and Mucilaginibater sp., respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The soil microenvironment influences growth and level/type of active components in A. sinensis. Further studies should explore the functional features of quality-related bacteria, identify the key response genes and clarify the interactions between genes and soil environments. This will reveal the mechanisms that determine the quality formation of genuine A. sinensis.

Study on changes in pigment composition during the blooming period of safflower based on plant metabolomics and semi-quantitative analysis.

Red and yellow pigments are the major ingredients of safflower, often used to color food and cosmetics. Carthamin was the main component of red pigment and hydroxysafflor yellow A and anhydrosafflower yellow B were representative components of yellow pigment. Plant metabolomics and semi-quantitative analysis were used to analyze the changes of pigment composition during the blooming period, especially these characteristic components. Carthamin, hydroxysafflor yellow A, anhydrosafflower yellow B, and other components were screened out as differential metabolites based on plant metabolomics. Then semi-quantitative analysis was used to quantify these three representative components of pigments. Experimental results showed that the content of pigments has dynamic changes along with flowering, in the early blooming period, yellow pigment accumulated much and red pigment was low in content. In the middle period, the accumulation rate of the yellow pigment slowed down and content was stabilized. In the next step, the content of yellow pigments gradually decreased, and the content of red pigments gradually increased. Later, the level of yellow pigment decreased significantly, and the accumulation rate of red pigment increased significantly. Last, the appearance color of safflower was red, with yellow parts barely visible, and accumulation of red pigment was the highest and of the yellow pigment was the lowest in content.

Analysis and evaluation of nucleosides, nucleobases, and amino acids in safflower from different regions based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole linear ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry.

Safflower has both medicinal and edible values but research on its nutrient composition is still lacking. This study was established for the quantitative determination of 28 nucleosides, nucleobases, and amino acids based on the ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole linear ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry. Analysis of 30 batches of safflower from different producing areas indicated that the contents of l-proline, l-asparagine, l(+)-arginine, l-serine, l-histidine, uracil, guanosine, and uridine was high in safflower. Principle component analysis and cluster analysis found that samples from different regions could be distinguished well, and samples from the same area could be clustered into one class, different geographical environments may cause the differences of nucleosides, nucleobases, and amino acids in safflower. The analysis of principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and counter propagation artificial neural network show similar results. Then the content of nucleosides, nucleobases, and essential amino acids were compared, and found that the content in safflower from Gansu was higher than those from other regions, and there was a little difference between the samples from Xinjiang, Sichuan, and Yunnan. This research revealed the composition of nucleosides, nucleobases, and amino acids in safflower, and provided a theoretical basis for utilization of safflower.

Gut microbiota modulation with traditional Chinese medicine: A system biology-driven approach.

With the development of system biology, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is drawing more and more attention nowadays. However, there are still many enigmas behind this ancient medical system because of the arcane theory and complex mechanism of actions. In recent decades, advancements in genome sequencing technologies, bioinformatics and culturomics have led to the groundbreaking characterization of the gut microbiota, a 'forgotten organ', and its role in host health and disease. Notably, gut microbiota has been emerging as a new avenue to understanding TCM. In this review, we will focus on the structure, composition, functionality and metabolites of gut microbiota affected by TCM so as to conversely understand its theory and mechanisms. We will also discuss the potential areas of gut microbiota for exploring Chinese material medica waste, Chinese marine material medica, add-on therapy and personalized precise medication of TCM. The review will conclude with future perspectives and challenges of gut microbiota in TCM intervention.

Comparative analysis of nucleosides, nucleobases, and amino acids in different parts of Angelicae Sinensis Radix by ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry.

A rapid and sensitive ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry method was established and employed to determine 21 nucleosides, nucleobases, and amino acids in 60 samples from different parts of Angelicae Sinensis Radix. The established methods were validated by good linearity (r2  > 0.9937), limits of detection (0.12-77.75 ng/mL), limits of quantitation (0.31-272.13 ng/mL), intra- and interday precisions (RSD ≤ 4.84%, RSD ≤ 6.26%), stability (RSD ≤ 5.92%), repeatability (RSD ≤ 7.14%), recovery (91.4-103.4%), and matrix effects (0.92-1.03). Chemical comparative analysis revealed that the content of total analytes in four parts of Angelicae Sinensis Radix were different, and exhibited the order: Head (14.89 mg/g) > Body (10.15 mg/g) > All (8.22 mg/g) > Tail (6.23 mg/g). Principal component analysis showed that the samples could be classified into four groups in accord with four different parts of Angelicae Sinensis Radix. The results could provide a scientific basis and reference for the quality control of Angelicae Sinensis Radix, and may be conducive to further research on the pharmacological activities of Angelicae Sinensis Radix.

The Comprehensive Evaluation of Safflowers in Different Producing Areas by Combined Analysis of Color, Chemical Compounds, and Biological Activity.

In the present study, a new strategy including the combination of external appearance, chemical detection, and biological analysis was proposed for the comprehensive evaluation of safflowers in different producing areas. Firstly, 40 batches of safflower samples were classified into class I and II based on color measurements and K-means clustering analysis. Secondly, a rapid and sensitive analytical method was developed for simultaneous quantification of 16 chromaticity-related characteristic components (including characteristic components hydroxysafflor yellow A, anhydrosafflor yellow B, safflomin C, and another 13 flavonoid glycosides) in safflowers by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole linear ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTRAP®/MS2). The results of the quantification indicate that hydroxysafflor yellow A, anhydrosafflor yellow B, kaempferol, quercetin, and safflomin C had significant differences between the two types of safflower, and class I of safflower had a higher content of hydroxysafflor yellow A, anhydrosafflor yellow B, and safflomin C as the main anti-thrombotic components in safflower. Thirdly, chemometrics methods were employed to illustrate the relationship in multivariate data of color measurements and chromaticity-related characteristic components. As a result, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside and 6-hydroxykaempferol-3-O-ß-d-glucoside were strongly associated with the color indicators. Finally, anti-thrombotic analysis was used to evaluate activity and verify the suitability of the classification basis of safflower based on the color measurements. It was shown that brighter, redder, yellower, more orange-yellow, and more vivid safflowers divided into class I had a higher content of characteristic components and better anti-thrombotic activity. In summary, the presented strategy has potential for quality evaluation of other flower medicinal materials.

[Dose-toxicity-effect relationship between licorice combined with rhubarb in purgation].

The dose-toxicity-effect relationship between licorice combined with rhubarb in purgation was studied. A total of 108 ICR mice were divided into control group,model group,positive group,low,medium and high-dose rhubarb groups,and low,medium and high-dose rhubarb-liquorice decoction group. After 6 days of continuous administration of loperamide hydrochloride,the constipation model of mice was replicated,and each group was given lactulose,different doses of rhubarb and rhubarb-liquorice decoction for 14 days. After administration,the defecation characteristics,blood biochemistry,liver,kidney and colon pathological changes in each group were compared. Based on the objective weight given by factor analysis,the dose-toxicity-effect relationship was comprehensively analyzed by multi-index scoring method. Two common factors were extracted by factor analysis,representing effect and toxicity respectively. The results showed that rhubarb could exert a diarrhea effect at the dosage of 1/2,2 and 8 times of the high limit set forth in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia,increase the defecation volume and the intestinal tract propulsion rate,reduce the time of anal and the oral transmission,and increase the water content of feces. The combination with licorice could alleviate its diarrhea effect,especially at the dosage of 1/2 times of the high limit set forth in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. However,rhubarb showed obvious hepatic and colon toxicities at the dosage of 2 and 8 times of the high limit set forth in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia,and the combination with licorice could significantly reduce its toxicity. It shows that licorice has a " mediating" effect on rhubarb by alleviating the purgation property and reducing the toxicity.

A Novel Antithrombotic Protease from Marine Worm Sipunculus Nudus.

Sipunculus nudus, an old marine species, has great potential for use as functional seafood due to its various bioactivities. Its potential antithrombotic activity pushed us to isolate the bio-active components bio-guided by tracking fibrinolytic activity. As a result, a novel protease named as SK (the kinase obtained from S. nudus) was obtained, which possessed a molecular weight of 28,003.67 Da and 15 N-terminal amino acid sequences of PFPVPDPFVWDTSFQ. SK exerted inhibitory effects on thrombus formation through improving the coagulation system with dose-effect relationship within a certain range. Furthermore, in most cases SK got obviously better effect than that of urokinase. With the help of untargeted mass spectrometry-based metabolomics profiling, arachidonic acid, sphingolipid, and nicotinate and nicotinamide mechanism pathways were found to be important pathways. They revealed that the effect mechanism of SK on common carotid arterial thrombosis induced by FeCl3 was achieved by inhibiting vessel contraction, platelet aggregation, adhesion, and release, correcting endothelial cell dysfunction and retarding process of thrombus formation. This study demonstrated SK was a promising thrombolytic agent on the basis of its comprehensive activities on thrombosis, and it should get further exploitation and utilization.

Comparative analysis of main bio-active components in the herb pair Danshen-Honghua and its single herbs by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry.

A sensitive, reliable, and powerful ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for simultaneous quantification of the 15 main bio-active components including phenolic acids and flavonoids within 13 min for the first time. The proposed method was first reported and validated by good linearity (r2  > 0.9975), limit of detection (1.12-7.01 ng/mL), limit of quantification (3.73-23.37 ng/mL), intra- and inter-day precisions (RSD ≤ 1.92%, RSD ≤ 2.45%), stability (RSD ≤ 5.63%), repeatability (RSD ≤ 4.34%), recovery (96.84-102.12%), and matrix effects (0.92-1.02). The established analytical methodology was successfully applied to comparative analysis of main bio-active components in the herb pair Danshen-Honghua and its single herbs. Compared to the single herb, the content of most flavonoid glycosides was remarkably increased in their herb pair, and main phenolic acids were decreased, conversely. The content changes of the main components in the herb pair supported the synergistic effects on promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. The results provide a scientific basis and reference for the quality control of Danshen-Honghua herb pair and the drug interactions based on variation of bio-active components in herb pairs.

Pharmacokinetic Comparison of Seven Major Bio-Active Components in Normal and Blood Stasis Rats after Oral Administration of Herb Pair Danggui-Honghua by UPLC-TQ/MS.

The compatibility between Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) and Honghua (Carthami Flos) is a known herb pair, which could activate blood circulation and dissipate blood stasis effects. In this paper, we quantified seven main bio-active components (hydroxysafflor yellow A, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, ferulic acid, 3-n-butylphthalide, and ligustilide) in plasma samples in vivo by UPLC-TQ/MS method and investigatedwhether the pharmacokinetic (PK) behaviors of the seven components could be altered in blood stasis rats after oral administration of the Gui-Hong extracts. It was found that the Cmax and AUC0-t of these components in blood stasis rats had increasing tendency compared with normal rats. Most components in model and normal rats had significant difference in some pharmacokinetic parameters, which indicated that the metabolism enzymes and transporters involved in the metabolism and disposition of these bio-active componentsmay bealtered in blood stasis rats. This study was the first report about the pharmacokinetic investigation between normal and blood stasis rats after oral administrationof Gui-Hong extracts, and these results are important and valuable for better clinical applications of Gui-Hong herb pair and relatedTCM formulae.

[Comparative study on promoting blood effects of Danshen-Honghua herb pair with different preparations based on chemometrics and multi-attribute comprehensive index methods].

To evaluate the promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis effects of Danshen-Honghua(DH) herb pair with different preparations (alcohol, 50% alcohol and water) on blood rheology and coagulation functions in acute blood stasis rats, and optimize the best preparation method of DH based on principal component analysis(PCA), hierarchical cluster heatmap analysis and multi-attribute comprehensive index methods. Ice water bath and subcutaneous injection of adrenaline were both used to establish the acute blood stasis rat model. Then the blood stasis rats were administrated intragastrically with DH (alcohol, 50% alcohol and water) extracts. The whole blood viscosity(WBV), plasma viscosity(PV), erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR) and haematocrit(HCT) were tested to observe the effects of DH herb pair with different preparations and doses on hemorheology of blood stasis rats; the activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT), thrombin time(TT), prothrombin time(PT), and plasma fibrinogen(FIB) were tested to observe the effects of DH herb pair with different preparations on blood coagulation function and platelet aggregation of blood stasis rats. Then PCA, hierarchical cluster heatmap analysis and multi-attribute comprehensive index methods were all used to comprehensively evaluate the total promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis effects of DH herb pair with different preparations. The hemorheological indexes and coagulation parameters of model group had significant differences with normal blank group. As compared with the model group, the DH herb pair with different preparations at low, middle and high doses could improve the blood hemorheology indexes and coagulation parameters in acute blood stasis rats with dose-effect relation. Based on the PCA, hierarchical cluster heatmap analysis and multi-attribute comprehensive index methods, the high dose group of 50% alcohol extract had the best effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Under the same dose but different preparations, 50% alcohol DH could obviously improve the hemorheology and blood coagulation function in acute blood stasis rats. These results suggested that DH herb pair with different preparations could obviously ameliorate the abnormality of hemorheology and blood coagulation function in acute blood stasis rats, and the optimized preparation of DH herb pair on promoting blood effects was 50% alcohol extract, providing scientific basis for more effective application of the DH herb pair in modern clinic medicine.

[Evaluation and analysis of inorganic elements in Ginkgo biloba leaves by microwave digestion-ICP-AES].

Abstract Inorganic elements were determined by ICP-AES using microwave digestion, and principal components analysis(PCA) was used for analysis. The result showed that ginkgo biloba leaves contained more than 22 inorganic elements, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Cr, Co, Ni, Sr, B, Si and Ni were essential trace elements, and Ca, P, K% Na and Mg were essential macro elements. PCA with seven factors (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7) selected could be used to evaluate the quality of ginkgo biloba leaves. The function was following F=0.230 17F1+0.122 39F2+0.079 67F3+0.078 97F4+0.065 25F5+0.062 03F6+0.056 71F7. The samples from Taixing, Shijiazhuang and Taian was the top three which indicated the quality in those cultivation sources was better based on inorganic elements. All the results will provide good basis for comprehensive utilization of ginkgo biloba leaves, especially the leaves from fruit cultivars.

[Determination of terpene lactones in Ginkgo biloba leaves in different ages by UPLC-TQ-MS].

OBJECTIVE: To establish an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass (UPLC-TQ-MS) for determination of four terpene lactones. METHOD: Chromatographic separation was carried out on a ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 mm x 100 mm, 1.7 microm) with isocratic elution of 70% methanol at a flow rate of 0.4 mL x min(-1), the column temperature was set at 30 degrees C; Waters Xevo TQ worked in multiple reaction monitoring mode. RESULT: All calibration curves were linear (r > 0.990 3) over the tested ranges. The average recoveries ranged from 98.83% to 103.9% with RSD value below 3.0%. The contents of total terpene lactones in Ginkgo biloba leaves were significantly different in different ages. The contents in the leaves of young ginkgo tree were higher than that in old tree. CONCLUSION: The method was simple and fast with high precision, sensitivity and repeatability, which can be used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of terpene lactones in G. biloba leaves.

Explore the interaction between root metabolism and rhizosphere microbiota during the growth of Angelica sinensis.

Angelica sinensis is a medicinal plant widely used to treat multiple diseases in Asia and Europe, which contains numerous active components with therapeutic value. The interaction between root and rhizosphere microorganisms is crucial for the growth and quality formation of medicinal plants. But the micro-plant-metabolite regulation patterns for A. sinensis remain largely undetermined. Here, we collected roots and rhizosphere soils from A. sinensis in seedling stage (M) and picking stage (G), respectively cultivated for one year and two years, generated metabolite for roots, microbiota data for rhizospheres, and conducted a comprehensive analysis. Changes in metabolic and microbial communities of A.sinensis over growth were distinct. The composition of rhizosphere microbes in G was dominated by proteobacteria, which had a strong correlation with the synthesis of organic acids, while in M was dominated by Actinobacteria, which had a strong correlation with the synthesis of phthalide and other organoheterocyclic compounds, flavonoids, amines, and fatty acid. Additionally, co-occurrence network analysis identified that Arthrobacter was found to be strongly correlated with the accumulation of senkyunolide A and n-butylidenephthalide. JGI 0001001.H03 was found to be strongly correlated with the accumulation of chlorogenic acid. Based on rhizosphere microorganisms, this study investigated the correlation between root metabolism and rhizosphere microbiota of A. sinensis at different growth stages in traditional geoherb region, which could provide references for exploring the quality formation mechanism of A. sinensis in the future.

Integrated dose-response metabolomics with therapeutic effects and adverse reactions may demystify the dosage of traditional Chinese medicine.

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used to treat various diseases for thousands of years. However, the uncertainty of dosage as well as the lack of systemic evaluation of pharmacology and toxicology is one major reason why TCM remains mysterious and is not accepted worldwide. Hence, we aimed to propose an integrated dose-response metabolomics strategy based on both therapeutic effects and adverse reactions to guide the TCM dosage in treatment. METHODS: The proposed methodology of integrated dose-response metabolomics includes four steps: dose design, multiple comparison of metabolic features, response calculation and dose-response curve fitting. By comparing the changes of all metabolites under different doses and calculating these changes through superposition, it is possible to characterize the global disturbance and thus describe the overall effect and toxicity of TCM induced by different doses. Rhubarb, commonly used for constipation treatment, was selected as a representative TCM. RESULTS: This developed strategy was successfully applied to rhubarb. The dose-response curves clearly showed the efficacy and adverse reactions of rhubarb at different doses. The rhubarb dose of 0.69 g/kg (corresponding to 7.66 g in clinic) was selected as the optimal dose because it was 90% of the effective dose and three adverse reactions were acceptable in this case. CONCLUSION: An integrated dose-response metabolomics strategy reflecting both therapeutic effects and adverse reactions was established for the first time, which we believe is helpful to uncover the mysterious veil of TCM dosage. In addition, this strategy benefits the modernization and internationalization of TCM, and broadens the application of metabolomics.

Fuzzy identification of bioactive components for different efficacies of rhubarb by the back propagation neural network association analysis of UPLC-Q-TOF/MSE and integrated effects.

BACKGROUND: Rhei Radix et Rhizoma (rhubarb), as one of the typical representatives of multi-effect traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), has been utilized in the treatment of various diseases due to its multicomponent nature. However, there are few systematic investigations for the corresponding effect of individual components in rhubarb. Hence, we aimed to develop a novel strategy to fuzzily identify bioactive components for different efficacies of rhubarb by the back propagation (BP) neural network association analysis of ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry for every data (UPLC-Q-TOF/MSE) and integrated effects. METHODS: Through applying the fuzzy chemical identification, most components of rhubarb were classified into different chemical groups. Meanwhile the integration effect values of different efficacies can be determined by animal experiment evaluation and multi-attribute comprehensive indexes. Then the BP neural network was employed for association analysis of components and different efficacies by correlating the component contents determined from UPLC-Q-TOF/MSE profiling and the integration effect values. Finally, the effect contribution of one type of components may be totaled to demonstrate the universal and individual characters for different efficacies of rhubarb. RESULTS: It suggested that combined anthraquinones, flavanols and their polymers may be the universal character to the multi-functional properties of rhubarb. Other components contributed to the individuality of rhubarb efficacies, including stilbene glycosides, anthranones and their dimers, free anthraquinones, chromones, gallic acid and gallotannins, butyrylbenzenes and their glycosides. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated that the bioactive components for different efficacies of rhubarb were not exactly the same and can be systematically differentiated by the network-oriented strategy. These efforts will advance our knowledge and understanding of the bioactive components in rhubarb and provide scientific evidence to support the expansion of its use in clinical applications and the further development of some products based on this medicinal herb.

Rapid and practical qualitative and quantitative evaluation of non-fumigated ginger and sulfur-fumigated ginger via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and chemometric methods.

A strategy was developed to distinguish and quantitate nonfumigated ginger (NS-ginger) and sulfur-fumigated ginger (S-ginger), based on Fourier transform near infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIR) and chemometrics. FT-NIR provided a reliable method to qualitatively assess ginger samples and batches of S-ginger (41) and NS-ginger (39) were discriminated using principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis of FT-NIR data. To generate quantitative methods based on partial least squares (PLS) and counter propagation artificial neural network (CP-ANN) from the FT-NIR, major gingerols were quantified using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the data used as a reference. Finally, PLS and CP-ANN were deployed to predict concentrations of target compounds in S- and NS-ginger. The results indicated that FT-NIR can provide an alternative to HPLC for prediction of active components in ginger samples and was able to work directly on solid samples.

Research on Biomarkers of Different Growth Periods and Different Drying Processes of Citrus wilsonii Tanaka Based on Plant Metabolomics.

Fruit of Citrus wilsonii Tanaka called as "Xiang yuan" in Chinese, which means fragrant and round. It was widely used in the pharmaceutical and food industries. This fruit has well-known health benefits such as antioxidant, radical scavenging, and anti-inflammatory. Naringin, deacetylnomilin, citric acid, limonin, and nomilin were the characteristic components of Citrus wilsonii Tanaka. Although the fruit of Citrus wilsonii Tanaka possessed many applications, there was a lack of research on the growth period and drying process. In this study, plant metabolomics was used to analyze the biomarkers of the growth period, and appearance indicators and metabolites abundance were combined for the analysis of change regularities of the growth period. The representative differential metabolites of naringin, citric acid, and limonin were screened out, and the abundance of these components was relatively highest in the middle of the growth period. Therefore, the fruit of Citrus wilsonii Tanaka should be harvested before it turned yellow completely, which could effectively ensure the content of potential active ingredients. In the comparison of different drying methods, citric acid and naringin were considered to be representative differential components, but limonoids were relatively stable and not easily affected by drying methods. Naringin was an index component that could not only be reflected the maturity but also related to different drying methods. Considering its physical and chemical properties and its position, naringin had the potential to be a biomarker of Citrus wilsonii Tanaka.