Application of tissue culture technology of medicinal plants in sustainable development of Chinese medicinal resources / 中国中药杂志

Chinese medicinal resources are the cornerstone of the sustainable development of traditional Chinese medicine industry. However, due to the fecundity of species, over-exploitation, and limitations of artificial cultivation, some medicinal plants are depleted and even endangered. Tissue culture, a breakthrough technology in the breeding of traditional Chinese medicinal materials, is not limited by time and space, and can allow the production on an annual basis, which plays an important role in the protection of Chinese medicinal resources. The present study reviewed the applications of tissue culture of medicinal plants in the field of Chinese medicinal resources, including rapid propagation of medicinal plant seedlings, breeding of novel high-yield and high-quality cultivars, construction of a genetic transformation system, and production of secondary metabolites. Meanwhile, the current challenges and suggestions for the future development of this field were also proposed.

DUS testing guidelines for new varieties of Chinese medicinal plants / 中国中药杂志

A rich diversity of wild medicinal plant resources is distributed in China, but the breeding of new plant varieties of Chinese medicinal plants started late and the breeding level is relatively weak. Chinese medicinal plant resources are the foundation for new varieties breeding, and the plant variety rights(PVP) are of great significance for the protection and development of germplasm resources. However, most Chinese medicinal plants do not have a distinctness, uniformity, and stability(DUS) testing guideline. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has put 191 plant species(genera) on protection lists, of which only 30 are medicinal species(genera). At the same time, only 29 of 293 species(genera) plants in the Protection List of New Plant Varieties of the People's Republic of China(Forest and Grass) belong to Chinese medicinal plants. The number of PVP applications and authorization of Chinese medicinal plants is rare, and the composition of variety is unreasonable. Up to now, 29 species(genera) of DUS test guidelines for Chinese medicinal plants have been developed. Some basic problems in the breeding of new varieties of Chinese medicinal plants have appeared, such as the small number of new varieties and insufficient utilization of Chinese medicinal plant resources. This paper reviewed the current situation of breeding of new varieties of Chinese medicinal plants and the research progress of DUS test guidelines in China and discussed the application of biotechnology in the field of Chinese medicinal plant breeding and the existing problems in DUS testing. This paper guides the further application of DUS to protect and utilize the germplasm resources of Chinese medicinal plants.

Research progress in microevolutionary process of excellent traits and quality of Dao-di herbs / 中国中药杂志

Dao-di herbs are the treasure of Chinese materia medica and one of the characteristic research objects of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). Probing into the microevolution of Dao-di herbs can help to reveal their biological essence and quality formation mechanisms. The progress in molecular biology and omics provides the possibility to elucidate the phylogenetic and quality forming characteristics of Dao-di herbs at the molecular level. In particular, genomics serves as a powerful tool to decipher the genetic origins of Dao-di herbs, and molecular markers have been widely used in the research on the genetic diversity and population structure of Dao-di herbs. Focusing on the excellent traits and quality of Dao-di herbs, this paper reviews the studies about the microevolution process of quality formation mechanisms of Dao-di herbs with the application of molecular markers and omics, aiming to underpin the protection and utilization of TCM resources.

Current situation of nitrogen application and its effects on yield and quality of Chinese materia medica / 中国中药杂志

Nitrogen fertilizer has been the long-lasting crucial component in cultivation of Chinese materia medica(CMM) and crops for its profound effects on enhancing the productivity. In consideration of its role in better production, intensive and excessive application of N fertilizer is often found in CMM cultivation. Therefore, firstly, this review summarized various concentrations of N application with regards to different CMM and districts from the literatures published in the last two decades. The recommended concentration of nitrogen application of forty seven CMM species were covered in this review. We found that the optimum rates of nitrogen fertili-zer for different medicinal plants species were varied in the range between 0-1 035.55 kg·hm~(-2). Most of the optimum rates of nitrogen fertilizer for CMM in published researches fell between 100-199 kg·hm~(-2). The optimum rate of nitrogen fertilizer is not only related to amount of nitrogen required for different medicinal plants but also to soil fertilities of different fields. In addition, we outlined the diffe-rent effects of proper and excessive nitrogen deposition on yield of CMM. Proper nitrogen deposition benefits the yield of CMM, howe-ver, excessive nitrogen use accounts for a decrease in CMM yield. We elucidated that nutritional content, water use efficiencies, and photosynthesis capacity were major influencing factors. Researches showed that proper nitrogen fertilizer could promote the water use efficiencies of plants and boost photosynthesis. Consequently, the yield of CMM can be enhanced after nitrogen deposition. However, negative effects of nitrogen fertilizer were also found on plant including producing toxic substances to the soil and causing severe pest damages. Lastly we analyzed the impact of N fertilizer application on secondary metabolites which accounts for a large part of active pharmaceutical ingredients of CMM. It usually caused an increase in nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites content and a decrease in non-nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites content respectively. The potential underlying mechanisms are the different synthetic pathways of these metabolites and the plant nutritional status. Synthesis of non-nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites like phenols can be inhibited after nitrogen application because of the competition of the same precursor substances between metabolites synthesis and plant growth. To sum up, impacts and mechanisms of nitrogen fertilizer on yield and quality enhancement of CMM were discussed in this review. Negative effects of excessive nitrogen application on CMM should be paid special attention in CMM cultivation and prescription fertilization based on the field soil quality is strongly recommended. Overall, this review aims to provides insights on improving the proper application of N fertilizer in the cultivation of CMM.

Investigation and analysis on difference of cultivation technique situation of Salvia miltiorrhiza / 中国中药杂志

Salvia miltiorrhiza is one of the commonly used bulk medicinal materials, which has significant effect on cardiovascular disease, and are heavy demanded in Asia, Europe, North America, Russia and Africa. Consequently, increasing the yield and quality of S. miltiorrhiza has become a major concern worldwide. With the current wild resources of S. miltiorrhiza gradually decreasing, cultivated products occupy most of the markets. However, the cultivation area is widely distributed and the cultivation techniques is different, which lead to the quality and yield of S. miltiorrhiza in consistent. This paper combined visiting survey with document analysis to carry out the cultivation situation of S. miltiorrhiza in main cultivation areas of Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, Shanxi and Hebei provinces. There exist big differences of the ecological environment, mode of cultivation, fertilization, pest control, harvesting processing among the producing areas. We should carry on the ecological suitability zoning analysis and suitable cultivation of each area study to form a pattern of high quality and high yield for the sustainable development of S. miltiorrhiza cultivation.

Effects of plant growth regulator uniconazole on plant morphology and biomass allocation of Salvia miltiorrhiza / 中国中药杂志

In this study, we use pot experiment to evaluate the effect of plant growth regulator on plant morphology and biomass allocation of Salvia miltiorrhiza. Different concentrations of uniconazole were supplied to S. miltioohiza by means of foliar spray. Height, breadth and stem diameter were measured dynamically, the biomass of leaf, stem, flower and fruit, root biomass and biomass ratio were also examined at the harvest time. Owing to the treatment, plant morphology showed significant changes, the height had been greatly reduced and the breadth decreased largely. Meanwhile, the biomass allocation changed too. The biomass ratio of leaf and stem had been notably reduced while the biomass ratio of root had been increased remarkably. It appears that foliar application of uniconazole during vigorous growth period in S. miltioohiza has dramatic effect on dwarfing plant and improving resistant to lodging. This measure could also be applied to condensed cultivation of S. miltioohiza to increase production.