Abstract
Currently, paclobutrazol is excessively used in the planting process of Ophiopogon japonicus (O. japonicus) due to its important role in regulating the growth of tuber roots, ultimately increasing the yield and shortening the growth cycle of Ophiopogonis Radix. For insight into this process and the potential risks of paclobutrazol and its mediated consequences on the secondary metabolites in Ophiopogonis Radix, corresponding high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric methods (HPLC-MS/MS) were developed in this study and then applied to Ophiopogonis Radix, soil, and water samples. The results demonstrated the detection of different levels of paclobutrazol residue were in Ophiopogonis Radix, soil, and water samples. In addition, the quantitative results of the secondary metabolites showed that paclobutrazol significantly decreased four steroidal saponins in Ophiopogonis Radix, especially ophiopogonin D, where the content was decreased from 824.87 to 172.50 mg/kg. Concurrently, ophiopogonanone C, a flavonoid in Ophiopogonis Radix, also significantly decreased from 2.66 to 1.33 mg/kg. In conclusion, the residual paclobutrazol and its negative regulation on the secondary metabolism of Ophiopogonis Radix brings potential hazards to the environment and human health. These results provide more comprehensive data that can be used for the reassessment of the use of paclobutrazol in O. japonicus and the formulation of related standards.
Highlights
Ophiopogon japonicus (O. japonicas) (L.f.) Ker-Gawl is an evergreen perennial herb in the Liliaceae family
The residual level was positively correlated with the applied concentration of paclobutrazol (Figure 3B)
Paclobutrazol was detected in Ophiopogonis Radix, and the residual level was positively correlated with the applied concentration
Summary
Ophiopogon japonicus (O. japonicas) (L.f.) Ker-Gawl is an evergreen perennial herb in the Liliaceae family. At present, it is planted primarily in Santai County of Sichuan Province, China. The dried O. japonicus tuberous root, is known to be an important traditional Chinese herbal medicine and functional food [1,2,3]. Ophiopogonis Radix is recorded in various versions of Chinese. Radix was approved for use as a functional food ingredient by the Ministry of Health of the People’s. Republic of China [5]. The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has approved patented drugs, namely, the ShenMai injection/granule and the XuanMai Gan Jie capsule/granule, which contain
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