Abstract
Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen, called Sanqi in China, is a perennial herb that has been used as a medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 400 years. Because notoginseng is included in many proprietary Chinese medicines, the quality of notoginseng directly affects its efficacy and safety. However, considering the complex and special growth environment requirements of notoginseng, it is insufficient to evaluate its quality based solely on the analysis of marker chemicals. Thus, in this study, we tried to evaluate the quality of notoginseng with integrated indicators: (1) the concentration of five marker chemicals, notoginsenoside R1, ginsenoside Rg1, ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rb1 and ginsenoside Rd; (2) the anticoagulant activity (ACA); and (3) twenty-one ecological factors (e.g., longitude, latitude, elevation and soil data). Using these 27 parameters, notoginseng from different regions could be distinguished effectively, indicating a remarkable divergence of quality. A correlation analysis showed that variations of the ecological factors were closely associated with the saponins content and biopotency. For instance, the total nitrogen (TN), alkali hydrolysis nitrogen (AHN) and rapidly available potassium (RAPT) were significantly correlated with ACA, and RAPT was significantly correlated with the content of ginsenoside Rd and notoginsenoside R1. The results demonstrated that the high-quality notoginseng was produced from the emerging regions such as Kunming, Qujing and Honghe, which had higher ACA and saponin content than the notoginseng produced in traditional regions such as Wenshan and Baise.
Highlights
IntroductionAs a result of the high medicinal value, the cultivated area in Wenshan and Baise[32], which are the traditional regions, has continuously increased
We sought to analyse the correlation between the producing area and the chemical constituents; analyse the biological activities and ecological factors; comprehensively compared the quality characteristics of notoginseng to explain the relationship between the chemical component content, biological activity and ecological factors, to determine the decisive factors that affect the quality of notoginseng; and provide integrated quality evaluation and a foundation for further search on the choice of a suitable location to grow notoginseng, to guarantee its quality and clinical curative effect
The linearity, regression, and linear ranges of five investigated compounds were determined by HPLC
Summary
As a result of the high medicinal value, the cultivated area in Wenshan and Baise[32], which are the traditional regions, has continuously increased. Considering the complex and special growth environment properties of notoginseng, and determining the chemical composition cannot reflect the quality objectively and comprehensively, it is essential to explore integrated evaluation methods. We sought to analyse the correlation between the producing area and the chemical constituents; analyse the biological activities and ecological factors; comprehensively compared the quality characteristics of notoginseng to explain the relationship between the chemical component content, biological activity and ecological factors, to determine the decisive factors that affect the quality of notoginseng; and provide integrated quality evaluation and a foundation for further search on the choice of a suitable location to grow notoginseng, to guarantee its quality and clinical curative effect
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