Abstract
Maidong, the root tuber of Ophiopogon japonicus (Thunb.) Ker Gawl., is a commonly used herbal medicine in China. There are three quality grades of Maidong according to traditional opinion and modern research studies: superior quality (Zhe-Maidong), medium quality (Chuan-Maidong), and poorest quality (Chuan-Maidong with paclobutrazol, which is a kind of plant growth regulator). However, no efficient way to distinguish the three quality grades of Maidong exists; thus, the herbal markets and botanical pharmacies are flooded with Chuan-Maidong with paclobutrazol. To ensure the safety and quality of Maidong, a comparative microscopic study was performed on three quality grades of Maidong. The result was to establish a microscopic quantification method based on the area ratio between xylem and pith to distinguish the three quality grades of Maidong. Subsequently, Maidong from regional markets was evaluated by this method. In this study, we developed a novel quantification method to identify the three quality grades of Maidong, which could in turn make efforts on the quality improvement of Maidong. Our study is the first to demonstrate that microscopic technology could be used to distinguish different quality grades of a specific herbal medicine.
Highlights
Maidong (Ophiopogonis Radix), which is the dried root tuber of Ophiopogon japonicus (Thunb.) Ker Gawl, is one of the most important herbal medicines and has been used for over 2000 years in China
Twelve batches of Maidong obtained from Chinese herbal markets and botanical pharmacies were analyzed
Results showed that the area ratio between xylem and pith of all samples ranged 0.41–1.06 (Table 5)
Summary
Maidong (Ophiopogonis Radix), which is the dried root tuber of Ophiopogon japonicus (Thunb.) Ker Gawl (family: Liliaceae) (the State Pharmacopoeia Committee of China, 2020), is one of the most important herbal medicines and has been used for over 2000 years in China. Maidong has been approved as a functional food ingredient (Lin et al, 2011) and as the main ingredient in patented drugs, such as ShenMai granule and XuanMai Gan Jie capsule/granule (the State Pharmacopoeia Committee of China, 2020). In 2010, the Quality Identification of Ophiopogonis Radix microscopic characteristics have been described and helped distinguish authentic Maidong from the adulterant species (Mo, 2010). Distinguishing genuine or counterfeit Maidong is no longer an important issue
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have