Oxidative Damage to BV2 Cells by Trichloroacetic Acid: Protective Role of Boron via the p53 Pathway.

This study aimed to investigate the neurotoxicity induced by trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and the possible protective mechanisms of boron (B). Mouse BV2 cells were treated with TCA (0, 0.39, 0.78, 1.56, 3.12, 6.25, or 12.5 mmol/L) and B (0, 7.8, 15.6, 31.25, 62.5, 125, 500, or 1,000 mmol/L) for 3 h and 24 h, respectively. Then, reactive oxygen species, and supernatant proinflammatory cytokine and protein levels were analyzed after 24 h of combined exposure. Beyond the dose-dependent decrease in the cellular viability, it clearly increased after B supplementation ( P < 0.05). Moreover, B decreased oxidative damage, and significantly down-regulated IL-6 levels and up-regulated TNF-ß production ( P < 0.05). B also decreased apoptosis via the p53 pathway. The present findings indicated that TCA may induce oxidative damage, whereas B mitigates these adverse effects by decreasing cell apoptosis.

Genetic Diversity Assessment of a Chinese Medicinal Endemic Species, Aspidopterys obcordata var. obcordata, by Combined Molecular Marker Methods (ISSR & SRAP).

Aspidopterys obcordata var. obcordata, a medicinal plant endemic to China, is a narrowly distributed species and wild resources are extremely limited. To evaluate the genetic variability and degree of genetic divergence of A. obcordata var. obcordata, and to make rational scientific decisions on its harvest and germplasm conservation, we collected 122 samples from across nearly all of its distribution area and studied genetic diversity using inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs), sequence-related amplified polymorphisms (SRAPs), and a method combining the two techniques. The results revealed the high genetic diversity of A. obcordata var. obcordata, mainly due to its intra-population diversity, and the top two populations with the highest levels of intra-population diversity were ML and DH, individuals of which can serve as excellent germplasm candidates during the processing of germplasm screening and conservation. In general, the combining method was prior to the ISSR analyses and SRAP analyses results, except for a slight difference in the genetic structure of individual populations. Therefore, we suggest that a combination analysis of the two marker methods is ideal for evaluating the genetic diversity and genetic relationships of A. obcordata var. obcordata.

Identification of medicinal plants within the Apocynaceae family using ITS2 and psbA-trnH barcodes.

To ensure the safety of medications, it is vital to accurately authenticate species of the Apocynaceae family, which is rich in poisonous medicinal plants. We identified Apocynaceae species by using nuclear internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) and psbA-trnH based on experimental data. The identification ability of ITS2 and psbA-trnH was assessed using specific genetic divergence, BLAST1, and neighbor-joining trees. For DNA barcoding, ITS2 and psbA-trnH regions of 122 plant samples of 31 species from 19 genera in the Apocynaceae family were amplified. The PCR amplification for ITS2 and psbA-trnH sequences was 100%. The sequencing success rates for ITS2 and psbA-trnH sequences were 81% and 61%, respectively. Additional data involved 53 sequences of the ITS2 region and 38 sequences of the psbA-trnH region were downloaded from GenBank. Moreover, the analysis showed that the inter-specific divergence of Apocynaceae species was greater than its intra-specific variations. The results indicated that, using the BLAST1 method, ITS2 showed a high identification efficiency of 97% and 100% of the samples at the species and genus levels, respectively, via BLAST1, and psbA-trnH successfully identified 95% and 100% of the samples at the species and genus levels, respectively. The barcode combination of ITS2/psbA-trnH successfully identified 98% and 100% of samples at the species and genus levels, respectively. Subsequently, the neighbor joining tree method also showed that barcode ITS2 and psbA-trnH could distinguish among the species within the Apocynaceae family. ITS2 is a core barcode and psbA-trnH is a supplementary barcode for identifying species in the Apocynaceae family. These results will help to improve DNA barcoding reference databases for herbal drugs and other herbal raw materials.

[Application and safety evaluation of plant growth regulators in traditional Chinese medicine].

Plant growth regulator is a kind of synthetic pesticide with similar physiological activity to plant hormones. It has been widely used in grain, vegetables, fruits, flowers and other crops, and become an important technical guarantee for high yield, stable yield, high quality and efficient production of crops. In recent years, plant growth regulator is widely used in Chinese herbal medicine production for regulating the growth and development and increasing production of traditional. However the crop is different from general Chinese medicinal materials, the use of plant growth regulator should not only consider the effect of Chinese herbal medicine production, and also pay special attention to the influence of Chinese traditional medicine efficacy and safety. This paper reviewed the application of plant growth regulator in the traditional Chinese medicine, the impact on the quality and safety of Chinese medicinal materials, as well as plant growth regulator of residue limits standards and testing technology, so as to the scientific use of plant growth regulator, to promote Chinese standardization planting, provide the scientific basis to protect the safety of herbal medicine. At present, the indiscriminate use and abuse of plant growth regulators such as Zhuanggenling and bulking element are common in the production of Chinese crude drugs, which has led to a significant decline in the quality of some Chinese crude drugs, and resulted in the dual residual harm to the Chinese crude drugs and the cultivation environment, causing serious safety risks to human health. In the future, it is necessary to strengthen the registration management, use norms and limit standards of plant growth regulators in traditional Chinese medicinal materials, and strengthen the supervision and regulations on the use of fertilizer instead of medicine to avoid pesticide registration and other disorders, so as to provide a basis for the quality and safety monitoring of traditional Chinese medicinal materials. Simultaneously, it is encouraged to reduction or non-application of plant growth regulators in the production of Chinese medicinal materials, especially for traditional Chinese medicine which contains a variety of active ingredients. Therefore, it is actively advocated to cultivate Chinese medicinal materials through organic or ecological method.

Effects of genetic variation and environmental factors on bergenin in Rodgersia sambucifolia Hemsl.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Bergenin is a well-known active compound that exhibits antioxidant, antiarrhythmic, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the resource reserve of Rodgersia sambucifolia, one of the main raw materials for extracting bergenin, have sharply declined, and the bergenin content in different germplasms differs vastly, resulting in a serious shortage of the market supply of bergenin. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the influence of genetic diversity and environmental factors on bergenin content in Rodgersia sambucifolia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty Rodgersia sambucifolia samples with a growth period of 2-3 years were collected from different areas across China and the bergenin content was determined via HPLC. Meanwhile the total genomic DNA was extracted and ISSR was performed. The bergenin content as measured using HPLC and the environmental data gathered from the meteorological stations and field work were combined and analyzed using correlation tests in XLSTAT 2018 to detect the key factors affecting bergenin content. The genetic UPGMA tree constructed based on genetic distances of the 50 samples and the chemical dendrogram constructed according to the distance between the bergenin content were compared to determine the correlation between genetic and chemical differentiation. RESULTS: Among the 50 individuals, bergenin content varied from 2.83 to 12.54%, with the highest content being 4.43-fold that of the lowest content. The survey of the 50 individuals produced a total of 193 amplified bands, 187 of which were polymorphic (96.89%). In the study, bergenin content was positively correlated with annual mean temperature (AMT) (r = 0.583, P < 0.0001) and 1-12 month monthly mean temperature (MMT) (P < 0.0001). A comparison of the genetic dendrogram with the AHC dendrogram found no corresponding relationship between them. Mantel correlation analyses also showed that there was no significant correlation between them (r = 0.144). CONCLUSIONS: There were large differences in bergenin content among different germplasms that were not correlated with the high genetic variation in Rodgersia sambucifolia but were significantly correlated with environmental factors, such as temperature. This study lays the foundation for subsequent superior germplasm selection and artificial breeding of Rodgersia sambucifolia to improve the bergenin content and meet market demands.

Effect of Accelerated Storage on Fatty Acids, Thermal Properties and Bioactive Compounds of Kenaf Seed Oil.

The effects of thermal oxidation at 65 °C for 24 days on oxidation indices, fatty acid positional distribution, thermal properties, vitamin E composition and sterol composition of kenaf seed oil are investigated. The results showed that total oxidation value (TOTOX) of the oil increased from initial 8.83 to 130.74 at the end of 24 days storage. Linoleic acid at sn-1, 3 positon of kenaf seed oil was less stable than the one at sn-2 positon. Oxidative degradation changed the melting profile of kenaf seed oil, the value of endothermic enthalpy reduced from 58.17 to 20.25 J/g after 24 days of storage. Moreover, the content of vitamin E and total sterol decreased by 84.26% and 38.47%, respectively. Tocotrienols were more stable than tocopherols during the accelerated storage. Correlation analysis indicated vitamin E content was significantly related to p-anisidine value, while sterol content was significantly related to peroxide value. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Kenaf seed oil is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and bioactive compounds. Heating process and long-term storage cause oil oxidation and bioactive compounds degradation. The oxidation process of kenaf seed oil is simulated with accelerated storage. The study evaluates fatty acid composition and distribution, vitamin E and sterol content, melting thermal characteristics of kenaf seed oil at different oxidation levels. The research shows the stability of fatty acid is related with its type and position in backbone of triacylglycerol molecule. There are good correlation among oxidation level, vitamin E and sterol content, and melting enthalpy value of kenaf seed oil.

The effects of genetic variation and environmental factors on rhynchophylline and isorhynchophylline in Uncaria macrophylla Wall. from different populations in China.

Uncaria macrophylla Wall. is an important Chinese medicinal herb. Rhynchophylline (RIN) and isorhynchophylline (IRN) are its major active compounds. We investigated the influence of genetic differentiation and environmental factors on the RIN and IRN to find the main influencing factors of their contents and lay the foundation for the following cultivation and breeding. We used inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers to investigate the genetic diversity, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to measure the contents of RIN and IRN in 200 samples of U. macrophylla obtained from nine natural populations, and then to analyze the correlation between genetic differentiation, environmental factors of sampling sites and the contents of RIN and IRN. We found that High intra-population (80.05%) and low inter-population (19.95%) genetic diversity existed in the samples of U. macrophylla. To some extent, genetic differentiation and the contents of RIN and IRN had correlation in individual populations (such as JH, MH, XM, and ML). The RIN and IRN contents were significant negatively correlated with the precipitation in May (RIRN = -0.771, p = 0.015) and June (RRIN = -0.814, p = 0.008; RIRN = -0.921, p = 0.000), indicating that precipitation was the main affecting factor of their contents. Interestingly, the analysis results showed that the RIN content had a significant positive correlation (r = 0.585, p = 0.000) with the IRN content (they are isomers); the proportion of RIN had a significant negative correlation with the sum of the two (r = -0.390, p<0.0001), while the proportion of IRN had a significant positive correlation (r = 0.390, p<0.0001). It meant that, with the total quantity of the two compounds increased, the proportion of RIN decreased and the proportion of IRN increased, illustrating that their conversion exist some regularity. Moreover, the content ratio of RIN and IRN was significant positively correlated with the January precipitation (r = 0.716, p = 0.030), implying that January may be the key period for the mutual transformation of RIN and IRN.

C21 steroid derivatives from the Dai herbal medicine Dai-Bai-Jie, the dried roots of Marsdenia tenacissima, and their screening for anti-HIV activity.

Twenty-three new C21 steroidal glycosides, marstenacissides C1-C10 (1-10), D1-D7 (11-17) and E1-E6 (18-23), and four new C21 steroids, 11α,12ß-O-ditigloyl-tenacigenin C (24), 11α-O-benzoyl-12ß-O-tigloyl-tenacigenin C (25), 11α-O-tigloyl-12ß-O-benzoyl-tenacigenin C (26) and 11α-O-tigloyl-12ß-O-benzoyl-marsdenin (27), were isolated from the Dai herbal medicine Dai-Bai-Jie, derived from the roots of Marsdenia tenacissima. The chemical structures of all compounds were established by spectroscopic techniques, including high-resolution mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy, as well as by comparison with reported spectral data. The anti-HIV activities of these compounds were screened, and the compounds obtained displayed inhibitory effects against HIV-1 with inhibition rates of 36.4-81.3% at 30 µM.

[Exploring the clinical characters of Shugan Jieyu capsule through text mining].

In this paper,the potential climate factors affecting the Pairs polyphylla var. yunnanensis distribution in China at rational scales were selected from related literatures, using the sampling point geographic information from of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis, combine the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) with spatial analyst function of ArcGIS software, to study the climate suitability of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis cultivating region in China and the leading climate factors. The results showed that, average rainfall in August, average rainfall in October, coefficient of variation of seasonal precipitation, the average temperature of the dry season, isothermal characteristic, average temperature in July were the leading climate factors affecting the potential distribution of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis cultivating region in China, with their cumulative contribution rate reached 97.2% of all candidate climate factors. Existence probability of the region to be predicted of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis through the constructed model, the climate unsuitable region, low, medium and high region of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis in China were clarified and the threshold of climatic factors were gave and clarified the climate characteristics of the cultivating region in each climatic suitability division. The results of research can provide reference for production layout and introduction of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis.

[Research advance of functional plant pharmaceutical cycloartenol about pharmacological and physiological activity].

Cycloartenol, a phytosterol compound, also one of the key precusor substances for biosynthesis of numerous sterol compounds, has a variety of pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, antioxidant, antibiosis and anti-alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, cycloartenol also plays an important role in the process of plant growth and development. This article reviewed the research progress on cycloartenol pharmacological activity in domestic and foreign articles, and summarized the effect of cycloartenol and "cycloartenol pathway" on the plant growth and development, laying foundation for the its further study, development and utilization.

Polyoxypregnane Glycosides from the Roots of Marsdenia tenacissima and Their Anti-HIV Activities.

A continuous phytochemical study on the roots of Marsdenia tenacissima led to the isolation and identification of 13 new polyoxypregnane glycosides named marstenacissides B10-B17 (1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, and 14) and marstenacissides A8-A12 (3, 9, 10, 13, and 15) in addition to two known polyoxypregnane glycosides marsdenosides M and L (5 and 6). Their structures were established by spectroscopic techniques and by comparison with the reported data in the literature. Moreover, the anti-HIV activities of these isolates and the previous isolated marstenacissides A1-A7 and B1-B9 were assessed, some of which exhibited slight or negligible effects against HIV-1.

[Effects of shading in summer and autumn on physiological and biochemical characteristics of 'Huangjinya' in Shandong Province, China]. / å¤ç§‹å­£é®å ‰å¯¹å±±ä¸œé»„é‡‘èŠ½èŒ¶æ ‘ç”Ÿç†ç”ŸåŒ–ç‰¹æ€§çš„å½±å“.

In order to ensure the suitable shade model for 'Huangjinya' tea plant in Shandong Province, black or blue shading net at 55%, 70% or 85% shading rates was selected to recover tea garden in summer and autumn, then micro-climate of tea garden, leaf color, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, growth status and biochemical composition of tea shoots were investigated.The results showed that compared with the control, light intensity and air temperature in tea garden, leaf temperature of tea plants in different shading treatments significantly decreased, while air humidity in tea garden increased. The contents of chlorophyll in the tea leaves were obviously increased with increasing the shading rate, which resulted in the leaf color becoming green. The yellowing characteristics and biochemical quality of 'Huangjinya' tea plants could be well kept in 55% shading treatments. In 70% shading treatments, 'Huangjinya' tea plants had better growth situation and higher yield with no photo-inhibition. Compared with the blue shading treatments, black shading treatments could obviously promote the growth of 'Huangjinya' tea plants, keep yellowing characteristics, and improve the quality. Therefore, the 70% black shading treatment (daily PAR values of 1.2-3.5 ten thousand lx) was appropriate for promoting the growth of 'Huangjinya' tea plants at the seedling stage. For mature tea plants, the 55% black shading treatment (daily PAR values of 1.8-5.5 ten thousand lx) could be used to keep the yellowing characteristics and to improve biochemical quality effectively, so as to give full play to its variety characteristics, to achieve goal of high quality and high yield.

[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.

[Investigation, collation and research of traditional Dai medicine of China].

In order to find out the composition, characteristics and traditional utilization characteristics of Dai medicine and promote the rational protection, inheritance and utilization of the resources and traditional knowledge of Dai medicine in China, the resources of traditional Dai medicine have been investigated systematically and the traditional knowledge of Dai medicine have been analyzed in the article. We found out that there were altogether 1 077 kinds of traditional Dai medicine in China and among which 272 were the first time recorded in the condition of Dai folk medical uses. There were 1 053 plant medicines which belong to 169 family and 694 genus. These plant medicines mainly distributed in the southern, west southern and east southern area of Yunnan province, the southern area of Guangxi, Guangdong, Guizhou, Sichuan, Fujian province and tropical, subtropical district as Taiwan, and more than 94.49% plant medicines could be found in Yunnan province. From the point of plant life form, they were major herbaceous or shrubby plants; When it is used as medicinal part, root and rhizome of plants account for the highest proportion, the next were whole plant and leaves. From nature, flavor and channel tropism points of view, the largest proportion of Dai medicines were cool, bitter-tasted and possesses water element. In terms of treatment of disease types, most of the drugs can treat gastrointestinal diseases, next were drugs that could be used to treat upper respiratory infection, traumatological and rheumatic diseases, urinary infection, gynecological diseases, hepatopathy, puerperium fever and diseases caused by poisonous insects and beast of prey bite. The study revealed that the resources of traditional Dai medicine and traditional knowledge of application were abundant in China, but the resources of traditional Dai medicine and traditional knowledge of application were faced with the risk of gradually reduce and loss. The article suggested that we should take measures to strengthen the study of protection and utilization of important traditional Dai medicine and endangered resources along with the protection and transmission of traditional knowledge of Dai nationalistic medicine.

[Effect of Acupuncture Combined Physical Training and Relearning on Stroke Rehabilitation: a Multi-center Randomized Controlled Clinical Study].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupuncture combined physical training and relearning on stroke patients. METHODS: A multi-center, randomized controlled trial design was adopted. A total of 364 stroke patients were recruited and randomly assigned to the experimental group (184 cases) and the control group (180 cases). Patients in the experimental group received acupuncture combined with physical training and relearning, while those in the control group only received physical training and relearning. All received four weeks of treatment. Effects on Fugl-Meyer motor function, neurological impairment, activities of daily living difference were compared before treatment, after treatment, 2 and 5 months after follow-ups between the two groups. RESULTS: Totally 353 patients completed this trial, 179 in the experimental group and 174 in the control group. (1) compared with before treatment, brief Fugl-Meyer motor functions scores and FIM scored obviously increased, and scores for neurological impairment obviously decreased in the two group. Besides, the increment of brief Fugl-Meyer motor functions scores and FIM scores was obviously higher in the experimental group than in the control group at month 2 and 5 of follow-ups; scores for neurological impairment was obviously lower in the experimental group than in the control group. The increment of FIM scores was obviously higher in the experimental group than in the control group at month 5 of follow-ups (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). (2) There was statistical difference in inter-group comparison of total Fugl-Meyer motor functions scores and FIM scores, or scores for neurological impairment (P < 0.01). The improvement of Fugl-Meyer motor functions grading and neurological impairment grading was obviously superior in the experimental group at month 2 and 5 of follow-ups. The distribution of FIM grading was also better in the experimental group at month 5 of follow-ups (P < 0.05, P < 0. 01). CONCLUSIONS: Both acupuncture combined exercise training and relearning and physical training and relearning could effectively promote the rehabilitation of stroke patients, reduce their neurological impairment degrees, improve motor functions and independent capacities. Better long-term efficacy could be obtained by acupuncture combined exercise training and relearning.

Effects and molecular mechanisms of the antidiabetic fraction of Acorus calamus L. on GLP-1 expression and secretion in vivo and in vitro.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The radix of Acorus calamus L. (AC) is widely used in diabetes therapies in traditional folk medicine from America and Indonesia, and we have previously reported that the ethyl acetate fraction of AC (ACE) acts as an antidiabetic through insulin sensitizing, insulin releasing and alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activities. The present study is designed to investigate the effects and molecular mechanisms of ACE on glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) expression and secretion related to its hypoglycemic effects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The hypoglycemic effect of ACE (100mg/kg, i.g.) was confirmed by testing blood glucose levels or via oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in streptozotocin (STZ) induced hyperglycemic mice, db/db diabetic mice and diet-induced obese (DIO) mice. Plasma insulin, GLP-1 levels and intestinal GLP-1 related gene expression were determined in STZ-induced and db/db diabetic mice. The in vitro effects of ACE (12.5µg/ml) on the expression and secretion of GLP-1 were detected in NCI-H716 intestinal L-cells, and the correlation between ACE and molecules in the Wnt signaling pathway was further explored. RESULTS: ACE (100mg/kg) significantly lowered fasting blood glucose in STZ-induced and db/db diabetic mice and improved the OGTT in DIO mice. Insulin releasing and islet protective effects, along with the increased secretion of GLP-1, were observed. The expression of proglucagon gene (gcg) and post-translational processing gene prohormone convertase 3 (pc3) and the GLP-1 content in the culture medium of L-cells notably increased after the ACE treatment (12.5µg/ml). At the same time, ß-catenin nuclear translocation occurred, and its downstream protein cyclin D1 was activated, showing the involvement of Wnt signaling. CONCLUSIONS: ACE might activate Wnt signaling to increase the gene expression of gcg and pc3 and exert incretin effects, including insulinotropic and islet protection, to lower blood glucose levels via elevated GLP-1 secretion either directly or indirectly.

New polyoxypregnane glycosides from the roots of Marsdenia tenacissima.

For the first time, a systematic phytochemical study was performed on the roots of Marsdenia tenacissima. Finally, sixteen new polyoxypregnane glycosides, marstenacissides A1-A7 (1-7) and marstenacissides B1-B9 (8-16), were isolated from M. tenacissima roots. The structures of these new compounds were established by various spectroscopic techniques, including 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.

Effects of ammonium to nitrate ratio on growth, nitrogen metabolism, photosynthetic efficiency and bioactive phytochemical production of Prunella vulgaris.

CONTEXT: Prunella vulgaris L (Labiatae) is commonly used as a traditional medicinal herb in some Asian and Europe countries. To date, few studies have been conducted to determine the influence of [Formula: see text] - N/[Formula: see text] - N ratio on growth, physiological development, and bioactive phytochemical accumulation in hydroponically grown P. vulgaris. OBJECTIVE: The current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of five [Formula: see text] - N/[Formula: see text] - N ratios on growth, nitrogen metabolism, photosynthetic efficiency, and bioactive phytochemical production in P. vulgaris. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Hydroponically cultivated P. vulgaris were fertilized with five [Formula: see text] - N/[Formula: see text] - N ratios in a greenhouse for 85 d. Dried weight of root, stem, leaf and spica, leaf area, photosynthetic efficiency, activities of nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), and the concentrations of N, soluble protein, and free amino acids in the leaves, as well as the contents of rosmarinic acid (RA), ursolic acid (UA), and oleanolic acid (OA) in the spicas were measured. RESULTS: Both [Formula: see text] - N and [Formula: see text] - N as the sole source of nitrogen had inhibitory effects on P. vulgaris growth. P. vulgaris fertilized with the 25/75 ([Formula: see text] - N/NO3 - N) ratio had the highest leaf area, photosynthetic rate, and chlorophyll content. The 25/75 ([Formula: see text]/[Formula: see text]) ratio increased the spica biomass by 1828%, nitrate-reductase (NR) activity by 98%, and soluble protein concentration by 29.45% compared with the 100/0 ([Formula: see text]/[Formula: see text]) treatment. Additionally, 25 [Formula: see text] - N/75 NO3 - N resulted in the highest contents of RA and total flavonoids as well as relatively high contents of UA and OA; therefore, this ratio had the highest yield of RA, UA, OA, and total flavonoids in spicas. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The use of 25 [Formula: see text] - N/75 [Formula: see text] - N is recommended to improve biomass production and medicinal quality of P. vulgaris.

[Comparison between content of saponins of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis in different areas of Yunnan province].

Six kinds of saponins (I, II, VII, PA, H) content of 22 samples of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis collected from different regions of Yunnan province were determined by HPLC, data was analyzed by SPSS 17. The results showed that the effect of altitude on saponin content was not significant, and the effect of growth area of saponins in P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis was significant, saponin content in sample from west Yunnan was significantly higher than that of samples from other regions.

[Microscopic identification of dai medicine alpiniae kwangsiensis rhizoma and its confused species].

OBJECTIVE: To observe microscopic characteristics of rhizome of Alpinia kwangsiensis, Alpinia platychilus, Alpinia blepharocalyx, and to provide basis for their identification. METHODS: Microscopic identification of root transverse section by paraffin tissue section and free-hand section and powder were carried out to distinguish them. RESULTS: The microscopic identification can be made by cell structure of epidermis and endodermis, the existence of nonglandular hair, the lignification degree of vascular bundle fiber, the number and existence style of vascular bundle fiber, the number and size of tube, and so on. The powder identification can be made mainly according to the existence of nonglandular hair and spiral vessel, the shape of starch grain, and so on. CONCLUSION: The microscopic characteristics of rhizome can provide basis for the identification of three Alpinia species.