ABSTRACT
Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) are one of the important bioresources of medicine, which works by unlocking nature's ability to prevent diseases and recover from illnesses. Recently, it has ascended to the world stage and become a global icon. Nowadays, a considerable of researches have focused on the quality evaluation of CHMs. However, it is difficult to meet the reasonable needs of human beings for safe drug use to evaluate the quality of a huge number of inferior goods for the CHMs contaminated by pesticides and heavy metals. Hence to explore an eligible medicinal plant cultivation pattern, which can provide high quality CHMs sustainably, is most promising. This review analyzed the situation and characteristics of medicinal plant resources in different periods, including wild-harvested and cultivated resources during different stages, putting forward that ecological cultivation must be the way to develop medicinal plant cultivation and to obtain high quality CHMs.
ABSTRACT
Objective: Flower herbs are an important category of traditional Chinese medicinal materials, some of which are used as healthcare tea in folk. However, the increasing adulteration of medicinal herbs is threatening consumer safety. The adulteration of flower herbs and their healthcare tea products in the market were investigated. Methods: A total of 33 flower herb samples from several retail pharmacies in China were randomly collected and 27 flower healthcare tea samples were purchased online. They were identified using ITS2-based Traditional Chinese Medicine Database (TCMD). Additionally, Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and the adulterants were compared in the ITS2 secondary structures. Results: There were one adulterant (Inulae Flos) in flower herb materials and eight adulterants in healthcare tea samples. Inula linariifolia was an adulterate species of Inulae Flos, Robinia pseudoacacia was of Sophorae Flos, and Lonicera macranthoides was of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos. Sophorae Flos and Lonicerae Japonicae Flos were two healthcare tea products with high adulteration rates. Conclusion: The TCMD is powerful tool to identify flower herbs and the adulterants that frequently occurred in the flower herb market, especially online shops.
ABSTRACT
Rhizoma Bletillae is in high demand as a traditional Chinese medicine, and the natural resources have been severely damaged due to excessive exploitation. Because Bletilla striata seeds are small and have no endosperm, the seed germination rate is low in natural conditions. Traditional division propagation could not meet the demands of large-scale cultivation. Tissue culture can provide many seedlings in a short time and is more effective and convenient than other methods. Most studies on tissue culture of B. striata selected seeds as explants. This review summarized the processes of the aseptic seed germination pathway. It included such stages as seed germination, proliferation of clusters of buds, induction of rooting and transplanting of seedlings. Influential factors as well as optimum combination and concentration of the plant growth regulators of each stage were also summarized. The further research on tissue culture of B. striata was also prospected.