Abstract
BackgroundBelamcanda chinensis (L.) DC. (BC) belongs to the family of Iridaceae and is widely cultivated and used in many Chinese patent medicine and Chinese medicinal formulae. However, due to the high similarities in appearance such as color and shape to Iris tectorum Maxim (ITM), another plant from the same family, BC is often confused or even misused with ITM.MethodsTherefore, in order to distinguish the chemical constituents, qualities and biological activities of BC and ITM, multiple technologies including plant metabolomics, digital reference standard (DRS) analyzer and biological activities assay were employed to provide a sufficient basis for their practical applications.ResultsIn plant metabolomics, the PCA and OPLS-DA score plot indicated the obvious differences in chemical profiling between BC and ITM and 6 compounds were successfully identified to contribute to the differences. In DRS study, the fingerprints of 10 and 8 compounds in BC and ITM were developed based on DRS analyzer, respectively, involving relative retention time (RRT) method and linear calibration using two reference substances (LCTRS) technique. The DRS analyzer also accurately identified 10 and 8 compounds from BC and ITM, respectively, by using only two reference standards. In biological activities assay, BC had a better anticancer effect than ITM due to the high abundance of irigenin, while ITM showed stronger hepatoprotective activity than BC because of the high abundance of tectoridin.ConclusionsTherefore, due to the significant differences of B. chinensis and I. dichotoma in chemical composition and biological activities, the current studies strongly proved that these two medicinal plants could not be mixed in industrial production and clinical medication.
Highlights
Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC. (BC) belongs to the family of Iridaceae and is widely cultivated and used in many Chinese patent medicine and Chinese medicinal formulae
Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC. (BC), a perennial herbaceous plant whose rhizome is named as She-gan in a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) belongs to the family of Iridaceae and is widely cultivated in China, Korea, Japan, India and eastern Russia as an economic medicinal plant
Collection of plant materials The rhizomes of two original medicinal plants of Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC and Iris tectorum Maxim were collected from different habitats in China, and dried at room temperature
Summary
Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC. (BC) belongs to the family of Iridaceae and is widely cultivated and used in many Chinese patent medicine and Chinese medicinal formulae. Chuan-she-gan, the rhizome of Iris tectorum Maxim (ITM), another medicinal plant comes from the family of Iridacae mainly distributing in Sichuan of China, is used for the treatment of asthma, cough, tonsillitis and pharyngitis. Both of these two medicinal plants are rich in isoflavonoids, stilbenes, xanthones, and simple phenols [1,2,3]. In the medicinal market, as well as in the pharmaceutical industry, because of the high similarities in appearance such as color and shape between BC and ITM, they were often confused or even mixed with each other when used for the treatments of coughing and pharyngitis. It is very necessary to distinguish these two plants from their chemical constituents and biological activities by multiple technologies and approaches, so as to provide a sufficient basis and guidance for their industrial production and clinical medication
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