Effects of mineral nutrition on metabolism of flavonoids in medicinal plants / 中国中药杂志

Flavonoids are an important effective component of traditional Chinese medicine, which are widely distributed in the plant kingdom. The biosynthesis of flavonoid in plants is affected and regulated by various environmental factors. For a necessary environmental factor to plant growth and development, mineral nutrients are paid more and more attention on the regulation to the metabolism of flavonoids in medicinal plants. In this paper, an overview of flavonoids biosynthetic pathway, and the macroelements, microelements and rare earth elements on the metabolism of flavonoids in medicinal plants are presented. And the regulation mechanism of them are also analyzed and discussed.

Effects of phosphate fertilizer on active ingredients and antioxidant activities of Chrysanthemum morifolium / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>In order to provide a scientific fertilizer application for the standardized cultivation, the effects of phosphate (P) fertilizer on the active ingredients and antioxidant activities of Chrysanthemum morifolium were studied.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Pot experiment was adopted to study the effects of P supply on the yield and the content of flavonoids, chlorogenic acid, soluble sugar, soluble amino acids and crude protein of C. morifolium flower. And effects of P supply on the hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, superoxide anion radical scavenging activity, and 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity of flower were researched too.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The yield of C. morifolium dry flower increased 129. 94% when P fertilizer was applied. Appropriate application of P fertilizer could also significantly improve the content and accumulation of total flavonoids, chlorogenic acid and soluble sugar in C. morifolium. Thus, the inhibition rates of hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion radical and DPPH free radical of C. morifolium was increased. When the level of P supply exceeded 0.20 g P2O5 per plant, P had also negative influence on the yield and the content of active ingredients and the scavenging activity of hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion radical and DPPH free radical of C. morifolium. Furthermore, there were significant positive correlations between the content of total flavonoids and chlorogenic acid and the inhibition rate of hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion radical and DPPH free radical, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Appropriate application of P fertilizer could be beneficial to the increase the active components and antioxidant activity of C. morifolium. And recommended level of P fertilizer is 0.26-0.28 g x kg(-1).</p>

Characteristics of accumulation and distribution of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium in Chrysanthemum morifolium / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the characteristics of dry matter accumulation and N, P, K, Ca and Mg accumulation and distribution of Chrysanthemum morifolium.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The sampling were carried out on the different growing time of C. morifolium, and the amount of dry matter and the content of N, P, K, Ca and Mg in all parts of the plant were measured.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The dry matter accumulation was lineally increased with the absorption and accumulation of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg. In different growing periods, the accumulation and distribution of mineral nutrition were different in C. morifolium. The mineral nutrition was mostly in the leaf of the plant in the vegetative period. When the growth changed from vegetative growth to reproductive growth, the mineral nutrition was transferred and distributed into bud, flower and root shoot. And the period of flower bud differentiation of C. morifolium was the period of maximal accumulation of dry matter and showed the maximum efficiency of N, P and K nutrition. For production of 100 kg dry flower 4.13 kg N, 0.37 kg P, 5.03 kg K, 3.03 kg Ca and 0.81 kg Mg were needed. And the ratio of them was 1:0.09:1.22:0.73:0.20.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The period of flower bud differentiation is the most crucial period in the growth of C. morifolium. And it must pay attention to the supply of mineral nutrition and moisture of plant to promote flower formation and dry matter accumulation in this period. It is strongly recommended that the phosphorus and potassium fertilizers should be early applied, the nitrogenous fertilizer should be applied dividedly, and the calcium magnesium fertilizers are also applied properly.</p>