[Temporal and spatial variation of polysaccharides and alcohol-soluble extractives of Polygonatum cyrtonema].

To reveal the variation of polysaccharides and alcohol-soluble extractives of rhizomes Polygonatum cyrtonema from different producing areas,growing years,and harvesting seasons,25 wild samples from the main producing areas( provenances) of China and 6 artificial cultivated samples were collected and detected. The 6-year-old rhizomes of the artificial cultivation were gathered from Qingyuan,Zhejiang every 2 months during 2016 to 2017. Anthrone-sulfuric acid method and hot-dip method were used to determine the contents of polysaccharides and alcohol-soluble extractives respectively. The results showed that provenances,age sections and harvesting seasons affected the quality of Polygonati Rhizoma significantly. The content of polysaccharides from different provenances varied from 6. 96% to 20. 09%,and the content of extractives varied from 32. 08% to 78. 99%. The polysaccharides and extractives' content were the highest at 2-year-age sections,active constituents accumulation peaked in the third year,then decreased significantly with age increasing. The contents of polysaccharides and extractives accumulated were highest when aerial parts,up to 15. 39% and 78. 99% respectively. In summary,the activity and consistency fluctuated with producing areas. while such phenomenon indicated a huge potential of breeding. Additionally,the results showed that collecting Polygonati Rhizoma in February or August as herbal textual recorded were unreasonable,neither in spring or autumn according to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia( 2015 edition). Because these collecting periods didn't have the highest contents of polysaccharides and extractives. Therefore,based on phenological options,the rhizomes of P. cyrtonema should be harvested when the aboveground parts had just withered.

[Status of Polygonati Rhizome industry and suggestion for its sustainable development].

Field surveys and literatures show that Polygonati Rhizome (Huangjing) was firstly recorded in Shen Nong&s Herbal Classic, and widely used as a medicinal and edible plant. It has a long history of cultivation, and the researches on chemistry have made some progress. The future development is prospected on health market. But the Polygonati Rhizome industry has faced a lot of problems, including the resource depletion, unstable quality, low-tech in cultivation and germplasm confusion, unclear of functional composition, decentralized, small scaled and primary processing products. The suggestion for sustainable development are listed below. First, the relevant researches should focused on material basis and biological mechanism of core effects. To speed up the selection and breeding of improved varieties, ensure the supply of high-quality seedlings and eliminate the unauthentic species are the most important measures. Secondly, to strengthen the conservation and rational use of wild resources, break through the key technologies of high-quality artificial cultivation on light regulation, site control, density control and precision harvesting are also very important. Thirdly, to reveal the toxicity-reducing-and-efficacy-enhancing mechanism of processing, optimize the parameters and setup the standard operating procedure are indispensable. Fourthly, that full advantage of the root, leaf, flower and fruit resources should be strengthened for enlarged health products based on the development of exact functional factors. Above all, Polygonati Rhizome could be a growing market in the future driven by the technological innovation, cultural creativity, integration of three industries, brand strategy and internet+technique.

Variations in the morphological and chemical composition of the rhizomes of Polygonatum species based on a common garden experiment.

Polygonatum species have great potential in fighting chronic and hidden hunger. In this study, five Polygonatum species collected from different populations were cultivated in a common garden for 4 years. The species mainly differed in yield, saponin and polysaccharide contents, stem diameter, leaf width, inflorescence length, and floret inflorescence length. P. cyrtonema (PC) provides high-quality yield when planted in Zhejiang, with output as high as 7.5 tons per hectare and a promising breeding potential. Moreover, stem diameter can be used as an indicator of the harvest in the screening of varieties. In addition, the formation of plant genetic traits from different provenances is affected by the climatic factors of the origin. Furthermore, near-infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics for polysaccharide and saponin quantitation provides a rapid assessment of PC quality. Our findings provide a scientific basis for the development and sustainable utilization of PC as a high-yielding and high-quality forest crop.