Aconitum Pendulum Research Articles

Quantitative analysis of five toxic alkaloids in Aconitum pendulum using ultra-performance convergence chromatography (UPC2) coupled with mass spectrometry

An UPC2-MS method for simultaneous quantification of the five toxic alkaloids was developed for the quality evaluation of A. pendulum.

Isolation and preparation of an imidazole alkaloid from radix radix of Aconitum pendulum Busch by semi-preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography

Aconitum pendulum Busch is rich C19 diterpenoid alkaloids, but there is no report of imidazole alkaloid in Aconitum pendulum Busch. In this study, an imidazole alkaloid named 1H-imidazole-2-carboxylic acid, butyl ester (ICABE) was successfully separated from Aconitum pendulum Busch with semi-preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). The partition coefficient was measured by HPLC to select the solvent systems for ICABE separation by HSCCC. The separation was performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-chloroform-ethanol-water (10:1 : 13:2, v/v/v/v). The upper phase was used as the stationary phase and the lower phase as the mobile phase. It was operated at a flow rate of 1.8 mL/min. The apparatus was rotated at 850 r/min, and the detection wavelength was set at 230 nm. Under the selected conditions, a high efficiency separation of HSCCC was achieved, and 7.5 mg of ICABE was obtained from 100 mg of the crude sample of Aconitum pendulum in one-step separation within 350 min. The HPLC analysis showed that the purity of the compound was over 98%. The chemical structure was confirmed by UV, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR. The established method is simple, highly efficient and suitable for large scale separation of ICABE from radix of Aconitum pendulum Busch.

苯甲酰乌头碱的高效制备

为降低铁棒锤中主要成分乌头碱的毒性，本文使用化学水解的方法完成了乌头碱向苯甲酰乌头碱的转化，并对温度、溶剂、反应时间对其转化产率的影响进行了详细的研究，研究结果表明使用化学水解方法能够使乌头碱高效得转化为毒性较低的苯甲酰乌头碱，适宜条件下转化效率可达75%以上。In order to reduce the toxicity of aconitine, one of main components of Aconitum pendulum, che- mical hydrolysis was used to convert aconitine into benzoyl aconitine. The effects of reaction temperature, solvent and reaction time on the yield were studied. The results showed that the hy-drolysis reaction of aconitine was an effective method to get benzoyl aconitine with low toxicity; the yield could get to 75% under the optimum reaction condition.

The relationship of vegetation and soil differentiation during the formation of black-soil-type degraded meadows in the headwater of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

In alpine meadow ecosystems, considerable spatial heterogeneity in forb-dominant vegetation exists as a result of severe grassland degeneration; however, there is limited quantitative information on the vegetative differences between degenerated and pristine grasslands. Therefore, a field study, which seeks to identify the edaphic factors driving the variation in plant composition and distribution, was conducted in a severely degraded alpine meadow located in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, NW China. Five meadows, an original meadow and four degraded meadows, were used to determine the differentiation and relationships between the vegetation and soil of degraded alpine meadows. The dominated species of these degraded meadows are Ligularia virgaurea–Artemisia gmelinii (LA), Oxytropis ochrocephala–Leontopodium nanum (OL), Aconitum pendulum–Potentilla anserina (AP) and Stellera chamaejasme–Artemisia nanschanica (SA), respectively. The results indicate that vegetation cover, grass biomass, species number and diversity indices clearly decrease from the original to the degraded meadow. Soil water, clay and nutrient content are also reduced with grassland degradation in surface and subsoil layers. The joint study of floristic and edaphic variables confirms that the soil features, especially the bulk density, sand content, pH, salinity, N and K, mainly determine the establishment of vegetation in the severely degraded fields of this study. These results may be useful for alpine grassland ecosystem restoration and management.

Seed rain and its relationship with above-ground vegetation of degraded Kobresia meadows

Seed rain is a crucial element in vegetation regeneration, but has been rarely studied in high altitude regions, particularly degraded Kobresia meadow. Weed infestation is a distinctive feature of pasture degradation in Kobresia meadows on the Tibetan plateau, the ecological mechanism of which is closely related with vegetation's seed rain. In this paper we assess the effect of vegetation degradation on seed rain and consider its implication for restoration of degraded Kobresia meadows in the headwater area of Yellow river, through analysis of seed species composition, number of seeds landing per m(2) of soil surface, and their relationship with above ground vegetation. Vegetation degradation had an impact on the species composition and numbers of seeds in seed rain and their relationship with above-ground vegetation. Within the un-degraded meadow, which provided a closed vegetation cover, 35% of the seed rain was of sedge and gramineae species. However, within the degraded meadows, as the extent of degradation increased, so the total number of seeds m(-2) increased, with those derived from sedge and gramineae species forming a declining proportion of the total. Degradation of Kobresia meadow on the Tibetan plateau is exacerbated by the seed input of weed species (such as Oxytropis ochrocephala, Carum carvi, Aconitum pendulum, Pedicularis kansuensis in this study). Therefore, a major priority for the restoration of such degraded meadows should be the elimination of these weeds from the above ground vegetation by human intervention.

Allelopathic effect of Aconitum pendulum (Ranunculaceae) on seed germination and seedlings of five native grass species in the Tibetan Plateau

Aconitum pendulum is a dominant weed in bare‐land meadows on the Tibetan plateau and infected areas are very difficult to restore because of the allelopathic effects of this weed. We wanted to select native grasses to restore bare‐land meadows dominated by this toxic weed and tested the allelopathic effect of A. pendulum on seed germination and growth of roots and shoots of five native forage grasses (Elymus nutans, E. sibiricus, Poa crymophila, Festuca sinensis, Bromus inermis). Leaf exudates and high concentrations of root and stem exudates of A. pendulum inhibited seed germination as well as growth of roots and shoots. The allelopathic effect of A. pendulum leaf exudates was stronger than that of roots and stems. Poa crymophila was most resistant to inhibition by A. pendulum, whereas F. sinensis was the most susceptible grass. We conclude that P. crymophila is more suitable than the other four native grasses for sowing in pastures when restoring bare‐land meadows dominated by A. pendulum in the Tibetan plateau.

Three new C 19-diterpenoid alkaloids from Aconitum pendulum

Three new C 19-diterpenoid alkaloids, N-deethyl-3-acetylaconitine ( 1), N-deethyldeoxyaconitine ( 2) and secoaconitine ( 3) were isolated from the roots of Aconitum pendulum. Their structures were elucidated based on comprehensive spectroscopic analyses including IR, HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR.

A DNA Microarray for the Authentication of Toxic Traditional Chinese Medicinal Plants

A silicon-based DNA microarray was designed and fabricated for the identification of toxic traditional Chinese medicinal plants. Species-specific oligonucleotide probes were derived from the 5S ribosomal RNA gene of Aconitum carmichaeli, A. kusnezoffi, Alocasia macrorrhiza, Croton tiglium, Datura inoxia, D. metel, D. tatula, Dysosma pleiantha, Dy. versipellis, Euphorbia kansui, Hyoscyamus niger, Pinellia cordata, P. pedatisecta, P. ternata, Rhododendron molle, Strychnos nux-vomica, Typhonium divaricatum and T. giganteum and the leucine transfer RNA gene of Aconitum pendulum and Stellera chamaejasme. The probes were immobilized via dithiol linkage on a silicon chip. Genomic target sequences were amplified and fluorescently labeled by asymmetric polymerase chain reaction. Multiple toxic plant species were identified by parallel genotyping. Chip-based authentication of medicinal plants may be useful as inexpensive and rapid tool for quality control and safety monitoring of herbal pharmaceuticals and neutraceuticals.