Evaluation of Medicinal Categorization of Atractylodes japonica Koidz. by Using Internal Transcribed Spacer Sequencing Analysis and HPLC Fingerprinting Combined with Statistical Tools.

Jung-Hoon Kim,Guemsan Lee,Eui-Jeong Doh

doi:10.1155/2016/2926819

Abstract

Atractylodes rhizomes have been used as the herbal medicine “Changchul” or “Baekchul,” according to their clinical purpose, in Korea, China, and Japan. Among the Atractylodes species, the medicinal use of Atractylodes japonica has been controversial, as it is categorized as both Changchul and Baekchul in those countries, and, moreover, parts of the rhizome have been differently used, depending on age of the plant, in Korea. Chromatographic fingerprinting by using HPLC combined with chemometric analyses and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing analysis were conducted to classify and identify 34 crude drugs derived from Atractylodes rhizomes. The identification of the samples, authenticated by their morphological features as A. japonica Koidz. (Changchul and Baekchul), A. chinensis Koidz., and A. macrocephala Koidz., was confirmed as A. japonica, A. chinensis, and A. macrocephala by ITS sequencing. The results from chemometric analyses showed that the chemical components of the crude drugs from A. japonica were significantly different from those from A. macrocephala but were similar to those from A. chinensis. The analyses also suggested that the categorization by age of A. japonica as Changchul or Baekchul is not recommended. The results indicate that A. japonica should be categorized as “Changchul” and should not be further categorized by age.

Highlights

The genus Atractylodes (Asteraceae) are perennial herbs distributed in Korea, China, and Japan
The determined internal transcribed spacer (ITS) nucleotide sequence of samples were confirmed by using DNA sequence registered in NCBI GenBank as well as previous paper [14] with comparison of the accession numbers: A. japonica (AB219405), A. macrocephala (AB219406), A. lancea (AB219407), A. chinensis (AB219408), and A. koreana (AB219409)
The rhizome of A. japonica has been at the center of controversy as it is differently classified in many countries; Korea and Japan have used that as “Baekchul,” whereas China has used that as “Changchul.” the rhizome of A. japonica is further divided into “Baekchul” and “Changchul” by the age; tuberous part grown for less than a year is used as Baekchul, while fibrous part grown for more than two years is used as Changchul

Summary

Introduction

The genus Atractylodes (Asteraceae) are perennial herbs distributed in Korea, China, and Japan. Their dried rhizomes have been classified into two kinds of herbal medicines according to their clinical purpose, “Baekchul” (Baizhu in Chinese, Byakujutsu in Japanese) and “Changchul” (Cangzhu in Chinese, Soujutsu in Japanese) [1]. There has been disagreement between countries in classifying the rhizome of A. japonica Koidz.: Korean and Japanese pharmacopeias, as well as some studies from Korea and Japan, have classified the rhizome of A. japonica as Baekchul, whereas Chinese studies have classified it as “Gwan-Changchul” (Guan-Cangzhu in Chinese), a type of Changchul, which is not even listed in the Chinese pharmacopeia [5, 6].

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Conclusion