Advances in research methods for biosynthetic pathway analysis of active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

The active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)are the foundation for the efficiency of TCM and the key to the formation of Dao-di herbs. It is of great significance to study the biosynthesis and regulation mechanisms of these active ingredients for analyzing the formation mechanism of Daodi herbs and providing components for the production of active ingredients in TCM by synthetic biology. With the advancements in omics technology, molecular biology, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, etc., the analysis of biosynthetic pathways for active ingredients in TCM is rapidly progressing. New methods and technologies have promoted the analysis of the synthetic pathways of active ingredients in TCM and have also made this area a hot topic in molecular pharmacognosy. Many researchers have made significant progress in analyzing the biosynthetic pathways of active ingredients in TCM such as Panax ginseng, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, and Tripterygium wilfordii. This paper systematically reviewed current research me-thods for analyzing the biosynthetic functional genes of active ingredients in TCM, elaborated the mining of gene elements based on multiomics technology and the verification of gene functions in plants in vitro and in vivo with candidate genes as objects. Additionally, the paper summarized new technologies and methods that have emerged in recent years, such as high-throughput screening, molecular probes, genome-wide association studies, cell-free systems, and computer simulation screening to provide a comprehensive reference for the analysis of the biosynthetic pathways of active ingredients in TCM.

Adjuvant rice optimization of rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix and its anti-osteoporosis effect / 中国中药杂志

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of various adjuvant rice on the quality of rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix(RSRR) with Japonica rice, millet, yellow rice, black rice, and glutinous rice as raw materials, and analyze the anti-osteoporosis effect of RSRR by the optimal adjuvant rice. On the basis of the established UPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of the content of catalpol and rehmannioside D, comprehensive weighted scoring method was employed to evaluate the effect of various auxiliary rice on the quality of RSRR with the content of catalpol and rehmannioside D, character score, and taste score as indicators to optimize adjuvant rice. The osteoporosis model was induced by ovariectomy in rats. SD rats were randomly divided into a sham operation group, a model group, a positive control group, and low-dose and high-dose groups of Rehmanniae Radix, RSRR, steamed Rehmanniae Radix, and Epimedii Folium-RSRR. After treatment for 12 weeks, body weight, bone calcium content, and bone mineral density were mea-sured. The results showed that Japonica rice was selected as the optimal adjuvant due to the highest comprehensive score of RSRR steamed by Japonica rice. Rehmanniae Radix, RSRR, steamed Rehmanniae Radix, as well as Epimedii Folium-RSRR, could improve osteoporosis by increasing bone calcium content and bone mineral density. RSRR was superior to Rehmanniae Radix in improving osteo-porosis. However, there was no significant difference between RSRR and steamed Rehmanniae Radix. This study confirmed that Japo-nica rice was the optimal adjuvant rice of RSRR and verified the anti-osteoporosis effect of RSRR, which laid a foundation for further research on the pharmacological action and mechanism of RSRR.

Characteristics, origin, and processing of Poria in Qing Dynasty Palace:evidence of both historical relics and documents / 中国中药杂志

Poria(Fu Ling) is a bulk traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)with a long history and complex varieties. The royal medical records of the Qing Dynasty include multiple medicinal materials of Fu Ling, such as Bai Fu Ling(white Poria), Chi Fu Ling(rubra Poria), and Zhu Fu Ling(Poria processed with cinnabaris). The Palace Museum preserves 6 kinds of specimens including Fu Ling Ge(dried Poria), Bai Fu Ling, Chi Fu Ling, Zhu Fu Ling, Bai Fu Shen(white Poria cum Radix Pini), and Fu Shen Mu(Poria cum Radix Pini). After trait identification and textual research, we found that Fu Ling Ge was an intact sclerotium, which was processed into Fu Ling Pi(Poriae Cutis), Bai Fu Ling and other medicinal materials in the Palace. The Fu Ling in the Qing Dynasty Pa-lace was mainly from the tribute paid of the officials in Yunnan-Guizhou region. The tribute situation was stable in the whole Qing Dynasty, and changed in the late Qing Dynasty. The cultural relics of Fu Ling in the Qing Dynasty Palace confirm with the archival documents such as the royal medical records and herbal medicine books, providing precious historical materials for understanding Fu Ling in the Qing Dynasty and a basis for the restoration of the processing of the Fu Ling in the Qing Dynasty Palace.

Excellent appearance of Dao-di Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma and interaction mechanism between genetic and environmental factors: a review / 中国中药杂志

Dao-di medicinal materials produced in a specific environment always present excellent appearance and high quality. Because of the unique appearance, Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma is regarded as a paradigm in the research on excellent appearance. This paper systematically summarized the research progress in the genetic and environmental factors influencing the formation of the excellent appearance of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, aiming to provide reference for the quality improvement of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma and the scientific connotation of Dao-di Chinese medicinal materials. The Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma with high quality generally has a robust and long rhizome, a large angle between branch roots, and the simultaneous presence of a robust basal part of rhizome, adventitious roots, rhizome bark with circular wrinkles, and fibrous roots with pearl points. The cultivated and wild Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma have significant differences in the appearance and no significant difference in the population genetic diversity. The differences in the appearance are associated with cell wall modification, transcriptional regulation of genes involved in plant hormone transduction, DNA methylation, and miRNA regulation. The rhizosphere soil microorganisms including Fusarium and Alternaria, as well as the endophytes Trichoderma hamatum and Nectria haematococca, may be the key microorganisms affecting the growth and development of Panax ginseng. Cultivation mode, variety, and root exudates may be the main factors influencing the stability of rhizosphere microbial community. Ginsenosides may be involved in the formation of the excellent appearance. However, most of the available studies focus on the partial or single factors in the formation of Dao-di medicinal materials, ignoring the relationship within the complex ecosystems, which limits the research on the formation mechanism of Dao-di medicinal materials. In the future, the experimental models for the research involving genetic and environmental factors should be established and mutant materials should be developed to clarify the internal relationship between factors and provide scientific support for the research on Dao-di medicinal materials.

Research progress in strigolactones and application prospect in medicinal plants / 中国中药杂志

Strigolactones(SLs) are a class of sesquiterpenoids derived from the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway with the core carbon skeleton consisting of tricyclic lactone(ABC tricyclic ring) and α,β-unsaturated furan ring(D ring). SLs are widely distributed in higher plants and are symbiotic signals between plants and Arbuscular mycorrhiza(AM), which play key roles in the evolution of plant colonizing terrestrial habitats. As a new type of plant hormone, SLs possess such important biological functions as inhibiting shoot branching(tillers), regulating root architecture, promoting secondary growth, and improving plant stress resistance. Therefore, SLs have attracted wide attention. The biological functions of SLs are not only closely related to the formation of "excellent shape and quality" of Chinese medicinal materials but also have important practical significance for the production of high-quality medicinal materials. However, SLs have been currently widely studied in model plants and crops such as Oryza sativa and Arabidopsis thaliana, and few related studies have been reported on SLs in medicinal plants, which need to be strengthened. This review focused on the latest research progress in the isolation and identification, biological and artificial synthesis pathways, biosynthesis sites and transport modes, signal transduction pathways and mechanisms, and biological functions of SLs, and prospected the research on the regulation mechanism of SLs in the growth and development of medicinal plants and their related application on targeted regulation of Chinese herbal medicine production, which is expected to provide some references for the in-depth research on SLs in the field of Chinese medicinal resources.

Traditional application and modern research progress on new foreign medicinal resources / 中国中药杂志

Chinese medicinal resources are the material basis for the survival and development of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)and the sustainable development of Chinese medicinal resources is also an important project for the modernization of TCM in China. With the increasing demand for Chinese medicinal resources in China, over-exploitation has destroyed Chinese medicinal resources, resulting in a shortage of many natural medicinal resources in China and making the sustainable development of TCM in trouble. The introduced new foreign medicinal resources have become effective supplement and replacement for Chinese medicinal resources to some extent. However, the development and utilization of new foreign medicinal resources in China are different. To fully understand the development of new foreign medicinal resources in China, this paper, taking 43 new foreign medicinal resources such as Acacia nilotica as objects, sorted out the introduction forms and policies of new foreign medicinal resources, overviewed its current development status in China, summarized the application experience of new foreign medicinal resources in the place of origin, as well as the research progress and problems of new foreign medicinal resources in China and abroad, and analyzed the research situation, which can enrich Chinese medicinal resources and other uses, promote the sustainable development of Chinese medicinal resources, and provide ideas for further development and research of new foreign medicinal resources.

Class concept: annotation and application in classical prescriptions / 中国中药杂志

The study of classical prescriptions should probe into not only the history but also the formation methodology. As a representative of the logic thoughts in ancient China, the class concept has gone through long history, with the theoretical system completed by Biemo in the late Warring States period. The Mohist school, proposing the class concept, plays an important role in the history of Chinese logic and world logic, and its theory has also been inherited and developed by scholars of the same era and later generations. The study of the class concept will contribute to the integration of scientific methodologies between the east and the west. Exploring the impact of the class concept on traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), especially the application in classical prescriptions, may be a path worth exploring for further studying the thought of the Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases(Shang Han Za Bing Lun).

Distinguishing between Artemisia stolonifera and A. argyi by specific PCR of leaves and non-glandular trichomes / 中国中药杂志

Artemisia stolonifera is a relative of A. argyi. The two species are difficult to be distinguished due to the similarity in leaf shape and have even less distinctive features after processing. This study aims to establish a method to quickly distinguish between them. At the same time, we examined the reasonability and applicability of the specific polymerase chain reaction(PCR) method. The C/T single nucleotide polymorphism was detected at the position 202 of the sequence, based on which specific primers were designed to identify these two species. The PCR with the specific primer JNC-F and the universal primer ITS3R produced a specific band at 218 bp for A. argyi and no band for A. stolonifera, which can be used to detect at least 3% of A. argyi samples mixed in A. stolonifera samples. The PCR with the specific primer KY-F and the universal primer ITS3R produced a specific band at 218 bp for A. stolonifera and no band for A. argyi, which can be used to detect at least 5% of A. stolonifera samples mixed with A. argyi. The limit of detection of the established method was 5 ng DNA. The established PCR method can accurately distinguish between A. stolonifera and A. argyi, which provides an experimental basis for the quality control of A. stolonifera and determines whether the herbs are adulterated.

Molecular cloning and functional characterization of an isoflavone glucosyltransferase from Pueraria thomsonii / 中国天然药物

Pueraria thomsonii has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Isoflavonoids are the principle pharmacologically active components, which are primarily observed as glycosyl-conjugates and accumulate in P. thomsonii roots. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the glycosylation processes in (iso)flavonoid biosynthesis have not been thoroughly elucidated. In the current study, an O-glucosyltransferase (PtUGT8) was identified in the medicinal plant P. thomsonii from RNA-seq database. Biochemical assays of the recombinant PtUGT8 showed that it was able to glycosylate chalcone (isoliquiritigenin) at the 4-OH position and glycosylate isoflavones (daidzein, formononetin, and genistein) at the 7-OH or 4'-OH position, exhibiting no enzyme activity to flavonones (liquiritigenin and narigenin) in vitro. The identification of PtUGT8 may provide a useful enzyme catalyst for efficient biotransformation of isoflavones and other natural products for food or pharmacological applications.

Chinese medicinal materials industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan period: trends and development suggestions / 中国中药杂志

This study steps through the future perspectives and gives the development suggestions of Chinese medicinal materials(CMM) industry by presenting the characteristics and open problems during the 13 th Five-Year Plan period. The development of CMM industry presents the following trends:(1)the development of Dao-di herbs speeds up with the increasing demand for high-quality CMM;(2)the mismatch between supply and demand is aggravating, which presses for supply-side structural reform;(3)ecological planting will become the core mode of production and bolster rural revitalization;(4)the demand for CMM with both medical and edible values keeps growing, and the antibiotic-free feed policy brings significant opportunities;(5)the "Internet Plus CMM" wave emerges, which promotes the construction of traceability system. Finally, we put forward the following suggestions for the sustainable development of CMM industry:(1)optimizing the layout for the production of Dao-di herbs according to local conditions;(2)strengthening the commercialization of the seeds and the breeding, multiplication, and extension of CMM to accelerate the realization of specialized seed production, mechanized seed processing, localized variety layout, and county-based unified seed supply;(3)ensuring the safety of pesticide use and accelerating the registration of special pesticides;(4)promoting both theoretical and practical research on ecological production of CMM;(5)publicizing the demonstration and popularization of CMM traceability system. Overall, significant progress has been achieved in the CMM industry during the 13 th Five-Year Plan period, and this industry is in a critical stage of high-quality development, facing both challenges and opportunities.

Processing technology of rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix unearthed from tomb of Haihunhou in the Western Han Dynasty / 中国中药杂志

With the rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix unearthed from the tomb of Haihunhou in the Western Han Dynasty as the re-ference, the present study evaluated the quality of Rehmanniae Radix and investigated the processing technology of rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix to lay the foundation for the research on rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix products. With catalpol and rehmannioside D as the investigation indexes, the quality and grade of Rehmanniae Radix from different producing areas were evaluated with the methods in 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia. UPLC method was established for the determination of catalpol and rehmannioside D in the rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix. The effects of steaming time, the amount of supplementary rice, and steaming times in the rice-steamed processing on the quality of products were investigated by L_9(3~4) orthogonal test and multi-index comprehensive balance scoring method combined with the content of catalpol and rehmannioside D and appearance characteristics. At last, the stability of the processing technology was tested. The results showed that the optimal processing technology for rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix was as follows: Rehmanniae Radix and rice(200 g∶4 g) were steamed twice at atmospheric pressure, four hours each time. The mass fractions of catalpol and rehmannioside D were 0.184% and 0.335%, respectively, and the character score was 6.5. The processing conditions are reaso-nable, stable, and feasible. It can provide a basis for the restoration of the ancient rice-steamed processing technology and references for the development of rice-steamed Rehmanniae Radix products in the future.

Application of Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry in Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine：A Comprehensive Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， which owns abundant chemical components and complex action pathways， has been widely recognized in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Some analysis methods have been emerged in order to ensure the quality of TCM and to develop new TCM drugs. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry （MALDI-MS） is a soft ionization mass spectrometric technique with the advantages of high throughput， high sensitivity， low cost and so on. It provides technical support for the molecular level study on TCM. At present， this technique has been used in the field of composition analysis and metabonomics research of TCM， and plays an important role in the identification of Chinese herbal medicines， real-time molecular screening and the construction of metabolic network pathway of active ingredients. Among them， the selection of appropriate matrix and sample preparation technology is the key to ensure the detection effect of MALDI-MS. With the development and optimization of new matrix， the continuous improvement of sample preparation technology and the combination of MALDI-MS with various analytical methods will greatly improve the detection effect. Based on this， this paper discusses the application of MALDI-MS in TCM， including high-throughput detection of active ingredients in TCM， monitoring of the original medicines and their metabolites in vivo， and in situ visualization and characterization of tissue distribution information of active ingredients in TCM. It also discusses the application prospect and existing problems of MALDI-MS in TCM， so as to provide technical support for the identification of active ingredients in TCM， drug utilization and metabolism.

Evaluation of genetic diversity of ginseng fruit color germplasm resources: based on SSR analysis / 中国中药杂志

Illumina Xten was employed for shallow sequencing of Panax ginseng(ginseng) samples, MISA for screening of SSR loci, and Primer 3 for primer design. Polymorphic primers were screened from 180 primers. From the successfully amplified polymorphic primers, 15 primers which featured clear peak shape, good polymorphism, and ease of statistics were selected and used to evaluate the genetic diversity and germplasm resources of 36 ginseng accessions with different fruit colors from Jilin province. The results showed that red-fruit ginseng population had high genetic diversity with the average number of alleles(N_a) of 1.031 and haploid genetic diversity(h) of 0.172. The neighbor-joining cluster analysis demonstrated that the germplasms of red-fruit and yellow-fruit ginseng populations were obviously intermixed, and pick-fruit ginseng germplasms clustered into a single clade. The results of STRUCTURE analysis showed high proportion of single genotype in pick-fruit ginseng germplasm and abundant genotypes in red-fruit and yellow-fruit ginseng germplasms with obvious germplasm mixing. AMOVA revealed that genetic variation occurred mainly within populations(62.00%, P<0.001), and rarely among populations(39%, P<0.001), but homogenization was obvious among different populations. In summary, pink-fruit ginseng population may contain rare genotypes, which is the basis for breeding of high-quality high-yield, and multi-resistance varieties, genetic improvement of varieties, and sustainable development and utilization of ginseng germplasm resources.

Materia medica resources benefits Lancang-Mekong River:a new approach for sub-regional cooperation on traditional medicine / 中国中药杂志

Lancang-Mekong Cooperation is a new type of subregional cooperation mechanism initiated and built by China and other five countries of the Lancang-Mekong subregion, namely Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Countries in the Lancang-Mekong subregion are geographically and culturally connected, and they have nurtured their unique traditional medicine. By combing the history of traditional medicine exchanges between China and other Lancang-Mekong countries and their progress of modern research, this paper summarized the challenges and opportunities of traditional medicine cooperation in the Lancang-Mekong subregion. It has been found that many regional cooperation mechanisms coexist for a long time in the Lancang-Mekong subregion and the medicinal resources are abundant. However, the degree of their development and utilization varies, and modern scientific research is insufficient. Lancang-Mekong Cooperation has provided a strong support for integrating the advantageous resources in Lancang-Mekong subregion countries and making progress together. Focusing on the development and protection of medicinal resources, this paper puts forward a new path of cooperation in the intellectual property rights and characteristic seed resource protection, the compilation of universal herbal pharmacopoeia in various countries, the research and development of public health products, and the construction of traditional herbal industry bases, thus enabling the traditional medicine to better protect the public health and building a human health community.

Exploration and Thinking of Literature Research on Ancient Books of Traditional Chinese Medicine / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Literature research on ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） is an important carrier for inheriting the academic achievements and thoughts of TCM， and a key step for continuing the Chinese civilization and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Based on this， the paper puts forward the purpose of sorting out TCM ancient books：to explore the treasure of traditional culture， reveal its significance， carry forward its spirit， learn from its experiences， so as to make a contribution to the development of TCM. And this paper expounds several major problems in the literature research， that is， paying attention to the phenomenon of "stubborn bass"， avoiding the trend of "latecomers turning inferior"， attaching importance to the hidden trouble of "making comments on behalf of the ancients". Then， this paper discusses the methodology of carrying out accurate research and revealing the true nature and true value of scholarship with the idea of confucian orthodoxy， the rules of not forgetting the original intention and the scientific method. Taking the materia medica archaeology as an example， the author shared the practical exploration of how to crack the historical code with scientific and technological means， so as to provide useful reference for the literature research on TCM ancient books.

Biopathway construction of plant natural products / 药学学报

Plant natural products (PNPs) are important sources of innovative drugs. They are mainly obtained by isolation or extraction from plants. Low content and with structural analogues in plants result in high production cost, which restricts the research and application of PNPs. While biopathway construction by synthetic biology provides an alternative for production of PNPs. By biosynthetic pathway analysis of PNPs and reconstructing the biopathway in microorganisms, we can produce PNPs in cell factories efficiently. Recently, several predominantly international reports about biosynthesis of PNPs and its synthetic biology production, triggered the researches of PNPs. Abundant traditional Chinese medicine resources and profound cultural heritage of Chinese medicine make biosynthesis pathway analysis of PNPs to be a research hotspot. And some of the studies have achieved significant progress. Here, recent progress in the biosynthesis of plant natural products and its synthetic biology was reviewed. In particular, the application of new methods and technologies in recent years were summarized and discussed. This will provide reference for the biopathway construction of plant natural products.

Research progress on chemical compositions and pharmacological action of Drynariae Rhizoma / 中国中药杂志

Drynariae Rhizoma is warm in nature and bitter in taste, mainly acting on liver and kidney systems. It is a common Chinese herbal medicine for the treatment of fracture and bone injury. The chemical compositions of Drynariae Rhizoma mainly include flavonoids, triterpenoids, phenylpropanoids and lignans. At present, modern pharmacological and clinical studies have shown that Drynariae Rhizoma has the effects of anti osteoporosis, promoting fracture healing, kidney protection, anti-inflammatory, promoting tooth growth, preventing and treating aminoglycoside ototoxicity and lowering blood lipid. In addition, the toxicity evaluation experiment of Drynariae Rhizoma has also shown that it has no obvious toxic and side effects. Naringin is a kind of dihydroflavone in Drynariae Rhizoma. Many studies have shown that naringin and other total flavonoids play an important role in anti-osteoporosis, promoting fracture healing, anti-inflammation, promoting tooth growth and lowering blood lipid. In this study, the research progresses on chemical consti-tuents and pharmacological activities of Drynariae Rhizoma in recent years were reviewed, and some mechanisms of action were summarized, to provide references for the further research and development of Drynariae Rhizoma.

Morphological comparison of glandular and non-glandular trichomes between Artemisia stolonifera and A. argyi / 中国中药杂志

The basic features of glandular and non-glandular trichomes on leaves of Artemisia argyi( germplasms from Qichun,Ningbo,Tangyin,and Anguo,respectively) and related species A. stolonifera were observed by scanning electron microscopy( SEM)and compared. There were significant differences in trichome characteristics of leaves at all parts of A. argyi and A. stolonifera,which were closely related to the difference in chemical components. The length of non-glandular trichomes and size of glandular trichomes on middle leaves were the stablest. A. argyi and A. stolonifera can be distinguished by the density of glandular trichome. Additionally,the four germplasms of A. argyi can be discriminated via the density and curvature of non-glandular trichome. The density of non-glandular trichomes was the highest in A. stolonifera. For A. argyi,the germplasm from Qichun had the highest density of non-glandular trichomes on the abaxial surfaces of upper leaves and that from Ningbo had the largest non-glandular trichome curvature. With regard to the germplasm from Anguo,the T-shaped non-glandular trichomes of long stalks on the adaxial surfaces of the middle leaves were lodging-susceptible,and those with slender heads were wave-like. Statistics results of A. argyi and A. stolonifera are as follows: largest glandular trichomes on the adaxial and abaxial surfaces and highest glandular trichome density on the abaxial surfaces of the lower leaves in A. argyi germplasm from Ningbo,highest density of non-glandular trichomes on the abaxial surfaces of upper leaves in A. stolonifera,and highest density of glandular trichomes and non-glandular trichomes on the adaxial surfaces of the upper leaves in A. argyi germplasm from Qichun. According to the observation result under fluorescence microscope( FM),flavonoids were closely related to the size and density of non-glandular trichomes and size of glandular trichomes. The fluorescence intensity was the strongest and fluorescence area was the largest for flavonoids in A. argyi germplasms from Qichun and Tangyin,while the fluorescence for flavonoids was the weakest in A. stolonifera. It was the first time to observe and analyze the trichome ultrastructure of A. argyi leaves at different positions by SEM and FM. This study clarifies the differences between A. stolonifera and four famous A. argyi germplasms,which provides new evidence for the microscopic identification of A. argyi and its related species and serves as a reference for the study of the relationship of A. argyi structure with its components and functions.

Strategies for efficacy and function positioning of new resources of Chinese materia medica / 中国中药杂志

Chinese materia medica( CMM) serves as an important cornerstone for the development of traditional Chinese medicine( TCM) culture and industry due to its unique ecological,medical,economic,scientific and technological,and cultural values. The supply shortage and unstable quality of some CMM resources have hindered the development of TCM. Ensuring the sustainable use of CMM resources has become essential for the development of TCM in China. Enriching CMM resources is the key to ensuring the sustainable utilization of TCM resources in China,which can be achieved via expanding the medicinal parts,developing the substitutes,seeking for analogues,exploring the ethnic and folk medicines,or introducing foreign medicinal materials. CMM efficacy or function positioning plays a very important role in the transformation of new CMM resources. The strategies and methods for efficacy or function positioning of new CMM resources,including analogy,plant genetic relationship exploration,medicinal property deduction,ethnobotanical investigation,text mining,network pharmacology,and structure-activity relationship exploration,were systematically proposed in this study based on CMM theory,textual research,and modern methodologies. This paper is expected to provide a theoretical reference for the continuous enrichment and development of CMM resources and the high-quality development of TCM culture and industry.

Analysis and evaluation of volatile oil content in leaves of different Artemisia argyi germplasm resources / 中国中药杂志

Volatile oil is the main effective component and an important quality indicator of Artemisia argyi leaves. In this study, 100 germplasm resources of A. argyi were collected from all the related habitats in China. The total volatile oils in A. argyi leaves were extracted by steam distillation and the content was determined by GC-MS. The result demonstrated that the content of total volatile oils was in the range of 0.53%-2.55%, with the average of 1.43%. A total of 39 chemical constituents were identified from the volatile oils, including 13 shared by the 100 germplasm resources. Clustering analysis of the 39 constituents showed that the 100 A. argyi samples were categorized into groups Ⅰ(9), Ⅱ(2), Ⅲ(66) and Ⅳ(23), and group Ⅲ had the most volatile medicinal components, with the highest content. Five principal components(PCs) were extracted from 13 shared constituents, which explained 73.454% of the total variance. PC1, PC2, and PC3 mainly reflected the pharmacological activity of volatile oils and the rest two the aroma information. The volatile oils identified in this study lay a foundation for variety breeding of and rational utilization of volatile oils in A. argyi leaves.