Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials Research Articles

Bioactivity of essential oil of Artemisia argyi Lévl. et Van. and its main compounds against Lasioderma serricorne.

Artemisia argyi Lévl. et Van., a perennial herb with a strong volatile odor, is widely distrbuted in the world. Essential oil obtained from Artemisia argyi was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 32 components representing 91.74% of the total oil were identified and the main compounds in the oil were found to be eucalyptol (22.03%), β-pinene (14.53%), β-caryophyllene (9.24%) and (-)-camphor (5.45%). With a further isolation, four active constituents were obtained from the essential oil and identified as eucalyptol, β-pinene, β-caryophyllene and camphor. The essential oil and the four isolated compounds exhibited potential bioactivity against Lasioderma serricorne adults. In the progress of assay, it showed that the essential oil, camphor, eucalyptol, β-caryophyllene and β-pinene exhibited strong contact toxicity against L. serricorne adults with LD50 values of 6.42, 11.30, 15.58, 35.52, and 65.55 μg/adult, respectively. During the fumigant toxicity test, the essential oil, eucalyptol and camphor showed stronger fumigant toxicity against L. serricorne adults than β-pinene (LC50 = 29.03 mg/L air) with LC50 values of 8.04, 5.18 and 2.91 mg/L air. Moreover, the essential oil, eucalyptol, β-pinene and camphor also exhibited the strong repellency against L. serricorne adults, while, β-caryophyllene exhibited attracting activity relative to the positive control, DEET. The study revealed that the bioactivity properties of the essential oil can be attributed to the synergistic effects of its diverse major and minor components. The results indicate that the essential oil of A. argyi and the isolated compounds have potential to be developed into natural insecticides, fumigants or repellents in controlling insects in stored grains and traditional Chinese medicinal materials.

Pyrolysis characteristics of Radix Rhizoma Rhei, Cortex Moudan Radicis, and Radix Sanguisorbae and correlations with the carbonizing process of Chinese herbs

AimThe aim of the work is to study the pyrolysis characteristics of Radix Rhizoma Rhei, Cortex Moudan Radicis, and Radix Sanguisorbae in an inert atmosphere of argon (Ar), and to investigate the mechanism of the carbonizing process of the three traditional Chinese herbs. MethodsThe pyrolysis characteristics of the crude materials and their extracts were studied by thermogravimetry-mass spectrometry (TG-MS) in a carrier gas of argon, coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods. Correlation of the pyrolysis behaviors with the carbonizing process by stir-frying of traditional Chinese medicines was made. ResultsWithin the temperature range of 200–300 °C, which is the testing range for the study of the carbonizing process of Chinese herbs, the temperatures indicated by the maximum weight loss rate peak of the above three extracts were taken as the upper-limit temperatures of the carbonizing process of the herbs, and which were 200, 240 and 247 °C for Radix Rhizoma Rhei, Cortex Moudan Radicis, and Radix Sanguisorbae, respectively. The ion monitoring signal peaks detected by the TG-MS method corresponded with reports that the level of chemical components of traditional Chinese medicinal materials would decrease after the carbonizing process. It was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods that better results of “medicinal property preservation” could be obtained by heating at 200 °C for Radix Rhizoma Rhei, at about 250 °C for Cortex Moudan Radicis, and Radix Sanguisorbae, as the relative intensity values of the common peaks were among the middle of their three carbonized samples by programmed heating. ConclusionThe upper-limit temperatures of the carbonizing process for Radix Rhizoma Rhei, Cortex Moudan Radicis and Radix Sanguisorbae were 200, 240 and 247 °C respectively. It is feasible to research the mechanism and technology of the carbonizing process of traditional Chinese medicinal materials using thermogravimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and scanning electron microscopy methods.

Functional identification and application of horsefly as a representative form of traditional Chinese medicine

As important traditional Chinese medicine materials, medicinal animals have been highly appreciated due to their strong bioactivities. Among these, medicinal insects have been thought to be significant, especially in preventing and treating modern diseases and tumors. Some of the most famous medicinal insects, such as horseflies, blister beetles and American cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) have been well known due to their reported effects in anti-thrombosis and fighting cancer. In general, identifying the medicinal functions and active components of medicinal insects has been a gradual processes. Originally, these medicinal insects were collected from open fields and usually their whole bodies were adopted. But, currently, most medicinal insects are under large-scale artificial propagations and only their purified active components are in use. In this article, we reviewed the historical process of the application of the horsefly in traditional Chinese medicine and tried to provide useful references for the modernization of traditional Chinese medicines via discussing the interrelationship between traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine.

Study thought of multi-dimensional structure quality control of Xiaoaiping injection based on material basis component structure

The quality control over traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparations has long been an important issue on the international development road of TCMs. Because of the complexity of TCM ingredients, preparation production and its quality control become a big difficulty. How to produce TCM preparations with preparation quality stability and controllability is the key problem in urgent need of solution in current TCM preparation field. The author thought that according to the characteristics of TCM preparation process, the multidimensional dynamic quality control model in the production process might become one of methods for solving quality controllability of TCM preparations. Therefore, we proposed the study through of the multi-dimensional structure quality control based on TCM material basis component structure. The study aims to control over the stability of TCM preparation quality during the whole process of dynamic changes (the component analysis monitoring on intermediates during the process of production, herbal source, intermediate production to preparation products). Xiaoaiping injection was taken as the example to expound the multidimensional quality control process of Xiaoaiping injection, in the hope of providing new ideas for the quality control over modern TCM preparations.

Internal transcribed spacer sequence-based identification and phylogenic relationship of I-Tiao-Gung originating from Flemingia and Glycine (Leguminosae) in Taiwan

Botanical root of Flemingia and Glycine of Leguminosae is used as a traditional Chinese medicine material “I-Tiao-Gung” in Taiwan. It is widely used in both traditional Chinese medicine and folk remedies for the treatment of rheumatism, arthropathy, leukorrhea, menalgia, menopausal syndrome, and chronic nephritis, and the improvement of bone mineral density. The quasi root of Glycine tomentella and Glycine tabacina is substituted and used by some off-shore island users, and it is also known as I-Tiao-Gung. Thus, the establishment of an effective method to distinguish the herb from alternative species is a critical issue. In this study, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region-based analysis was used to ascertain the phylogenetic relationship among the indigenous four Flemingia species and two Glycine species. The length of the ITS regions among the six species ranged from 595 bp to 622 bp and the GC ratio in ITS (ITS 1 + 5.8S + ITS 2) regions ranged from 57.17% to 58.86%. The molecular phylogenetic trees were constructed and indicated that Flemingia species and Glycine species were separated into two clusters. These results indicate that ITS regions can be used as a molecular marker to differentiate the four Flemingia species and two Glycine species.

Functional Diversity of Genes for the Biosynthesis of Paeoniflorin and Its Derivatives in Paeonia

The Paeonia root, with or without bark, are considered vital traditional Chinese medicine materials; the examples are those of Bai Shao, Chi Shao, and Dan Pi. In this study, we examine 24 genes and their expressions involved in the biosynthesis of paeoniflorin and its derivatives, which are active compounds of the Paeonia root, in Paeonia lactiflora and P. suffruticosa, as well as other related plants, Punica granatum, Rhus radicans, and Coriaria nepalensis. Our phylogenetic analyses suggest that these genes have functional diversity, and analysis of the transcriptional level shows paeoniflorin and gallic acid biosynthesis-related genes exhibit different transcription profiles in flowers, carpels, bark-free roots, and bark of P. lactiflora. The correlation analysis of gene expression and active compound contents support the idea that hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase and phosphomevalonate kinase in the mevalonate pathway and 3-dehydroquinate dehydratase/shikimate dehydrogenase in shikimate biosynthesis are potentially closely related to the accumulation of paeoniflorin and benzoylpaeoniflorin. Coupling gene diversity with chemical analysis, we show that paeoniflorin and its derived aromatic amino acids are predominant in bark.

Policy recommendations based on SWOT analysis for agricultural industrialization of traditional Chinese medicinal materials——a case study of Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis from Jianhe county in Guizhou province

This thesis reviews the historical background of agricultural industrialization, and analyzes the major theories of agricultural industrialization. It also utilizes SWOT analysis method to discuss the industrialization of traditional Chinese medicinal materials in Jianhe county, and finally it puts forward the recommendations for its further development.

A Novel Extraction Method for Active Compounds from Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials Environment Friendly

A novel extraction method based on environmental protection was founded through molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), overcoming the defects of traditional extraction methods, such as reagents consuming, complex operation and environmental pollution. MIPs were prepared by precipitation polymerization with picroside II or ginsenoside rg1 as the template molecule. The morphology of MIPs was characterized by scanning electron microscope and its static adsorption capacity was measured by the Scatchard equation. In addition, MIPs were filled in the solid phase extraction (SPE) column to separate and enrich the template molecule and its analogues, compared with C18-SPE column. The results indicated that MIPs have high affinity toward the template molecules, which might offer a novel method for the extraction of active compounds in the traditional herbal medicine.

IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF POLYPHENOLS IN RHIZOMA SMILACIS CHINAE BY HPLC/DAD/ESI-MS/MS

Rhizoma Smilacis Chinae (RSC) is a commonly used herbal material in Traditional Chinese Medicine. A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the identification and quantification of polyphenols in RSC. Ten components in RSC were identified by diode array detector (DAD) and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) techniques. These were chlorogenic acid, 5-O-caffeoylshikimic acid, taxifolin, engeletin, isoengeletin, trans-resveratrol, astilbin, and its three stereoisomers. The extraction process was also optimized as 20 min sonication in 40% ethanol. A quantitative method for simultaneous determination of chlorogenic acid, astilbin, taxifolin, engeletin, and resveratrol in RSC was developed. The method was successfully applied for analysis of six batches of RSC samples. The results indicated that the method was reproducible and precise, and could be readily utilized for the quality control of RSC.

Application of Genetic Resources for the Molecular Identification of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials

With the rapid development of molecular biotechnology, DNA sequences of a large number of medicinal plants and animals have been published in recent years. The development of DNA barcodes of medicinal species has been one of the major focuses in this field. These public genetic resources have provided a valuable foundation for the development of novel molecular techniques for the identification of traditional Chinese medicines. In 2010, we established the first Medicinal Materials DNA Barcode Database (MMDBD) in the world which contains over 1,600 medicinal and related species recorded in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China and the Pharmacopoeia of the United States. We have also established standard DNA barcodes for the identification of medicinal species used in the Chinese 'cooling' beverage (Liangcha) and differentiation of easily confused herbs retailed in the market. With the use of forensically informative nucleotide sequencing (FINS), the identity of unknown herbal samples can be properly identified. In addition, specific primers based on the polymorphic sites can be used in the development of novel isothermal amplification techniques for rapid molecular identification. These primers may be patented and developed into commercial identification kits.

Variation in the components and antioxidant activity of Citrus medica L. var. sarcodactylis essential oils at different stages of maturity

Finger citron (Citrus medica L. var. sarcodactylis) (FC) fruits, widely cultivated in the southern provinces of China, are commonly used as a traditional Chinese medicinal material. The study was conducted to determine variations of essential oils (EOs) yield, composition and antioxidant activities during three maturation stages in FC fruits. EOs yields showed marked increase during maturation process. EOs composition obtained by hydrodistillation was characterized by GC–MS. In total, 27, 22 and 22 components were identified and quantified in immature, intermediate and mature stages, representing 99.56%, 99.38% and 99.54% of the total detected constituents, respectively. The content of limonene, the main component, varied between 32.07% and 36.37%, and the variation was statistically significant during maturation stages. The contents of some components, particularly α-thujone, 3-carene, α-pinene, β-pinene and γ-terpinene, varied significantly during maturation stages. Increasing maturity at harvest decreased antioxidant activities of finger citron EOs. Additionally, accumulation of monoterpene hydrocarbons and ketones was observed during maturation process.

Discrimination of traditional Chinese medicinal materials with different tastes based on electronic tongue

To investigate the use of the electronic tongue in the evaluation of traditional Chinese medicinal materials with sour, bitter, sweet or salty tastes, and assess the possible application of the sensor in the evaluation of different tastes of traditional Chinese medicinal materials. Aqueous extracts of 22 traditional Chinese medicinal materials were measured by the electronic tongue. The data collected with the tongue was evaluated for discrimination of the samples with multivariate statistical methods: principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant factor analysis (DFA). The electronic tongue was capable of discriminating between samples with different taste modalities and could also distinguish different samples eliciting the same basic taste. Twenty-two traditional Chinese medicinal materials could be classified into five clusters based on PCA. These differences seem to derive from the different tastes. DFA was applied to construct a model to discriminate traditional Chinese medicinal materials with different tastes. And the samples yielded about 88.2% accuracy for cross-validation. We confirmed that the electronic tongue may provide an analytical procedure for classification of the samples with respect to tastes of the traditional Chinese medicinal materials.

Antioxidant Activity of 50 Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials Varies with Total Phenolics

This study was designed to determine the total phenolic content of 50 herbs and to examine their antioxidant potential. In the sample preparation, 60% ethanol was chosen as the extraction solvent for the subsequent experiments. Folin-Cicolteau phenol reagent and a colorimetric method were used to determine the total phenolic content of the selected herbs. The result showed that total phenolic content of those herbs ranged from 2 to 185 mg/g. In antioxidant assay, the ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) values ranged from 2 to 134 mg GAE/g; the IC50 values of DPPH ·, ·OH and scavenging were in the range of 0.06 - 5.50 mg/mL, 0.017 - 0.636 mg/mL and 0.050 - 0.681 mg/mL respectively. Flos caryophylli was the exceptant in the scavenging assay because there was no linear relation between the concentration and the scavenging percentage. Compared to gallic acid, ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) in antioxidant assay as positive control, the most potential antioxidant herbs were Cacumen platycladi, Radix et Rhizoma rhei, Rhizoma rhodiolae crenulatae, and Rhizoma sanguisorbae with considerable content of phenolics. Especially, a positive and significant correlation was found between the total phenolic content and FRAP value or DPPH· scavenging percentage.

Research progress in medicinal plant cell suspension culture

China consumes and exports traditional Chinese medicinal resources the most in the world. However, we cannot anchor our hope on field production of traditional Chinese medicinal materials and their active ingredients, due to limited land resources. Therefore, the development of biotechnology is of great importance for China to solve the problem of traditional Chinese medicinal resources. Plant cell culture is an important approach for the sustainable development of precious medicinal resources. This essary summarizes the optimization of conditions for medicinal plant cell culture, the regulation of secondary metabolic pathways and cell bioreactor culture, and realizes that the authentic commercial production of more medicinal plants requires efforts from all aspects.

Extraction optimization, preliminary characterization, and in vitro antioxidant activities of crude polysaccharides from finger citron

Finger citron (Citrus medica L. var. sarcodactylis) (FC) fruits, widely cultivated in the southern provinces of China, have been long used as traditional Chinese medicinal material. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the extraction conditions of crude polysaccharides (FCPs) from FC fruits with a central composite design. Three independent variables such as extraction temperature (°C), extraction time (h), and ratio of water to raw material were investigated. The experimental data obtained were fitted to a second-order polynomial equation using multiple regression analysis. The 3-D response surface plot and the contour plot derived from the mathematical models were applied to determine the optimal conditions. The optimum conditions were as follows: extraction temperature 100°C, extraction time 1.5h, and ratio of water to raw material 40. Under these conditions, the experimental value was 3.19±0.10%, which is well in close agreement with value predicted by the model. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry spectra revealed the general characteristic absorption peaks of FCPs. Then, we demonstrated that FCPs had strong scavenging activities in vitro on DPPH, hydroxyl and superoxide anion radicals. Overall, FCPs may have potential applications in the medical and food industries.

Analysis of Chemical Constituents of Volatile Oil of Se-Enriched Selenium <i>Codonopsis tangshen Oliv.</i> GC-MS

Objective : Codonopsis tangshen Oliv.is a kind of traditional Chinese medicinal materials high medicinal purposes value and wide application.It had important meanding to analyze its volatile oil consitituent on expanding its utilization and increasing the added value.Methods:The volatile compounds of Codonopsis tangshen Oliv. were isolated with steam distillation,and identified by capillary GC／MS and the relative contents of the constitons were detemined by area normalization method. Rusults: 60 volatile components were identified and determined，accounting for98.51％ of the total area of the peaks.Conclusion: The main volatile compounds are :Decanoic acid 2-monoglyceride,Furfural,Isopentyl alcohol,Palmitic acid,eugenol methyl ether,Di-sec-butyl ether,Hydroperoxide, 1-methylhexyl,Hexanoic acid ,2,4,5-trimethyl-1,3-Dioxolane ,Propasol solvent P,Hexyl alcohol ,cis-Isosafrole ,2-Hexenal ,Cajeputol.

Identification of Junci Medulla using DNA barcoding technique

To identify Junci Medulla using the ITS2 barcode. The ITS2 regions of Juncus effuses and its closely related species were PCR amplified and sequenced. Sequence assembly and consensus sequence generation were performed using the CodonCode Aligner. The Kimura 2-Parameter (K2P) distances were calculated using software MEGA 5.0. Identification analyses were performed using BLAST1, Nearest Distance, PWG Distance and neighbor-joining (NJ) methods. The intra-specific genetic distances of J. effuses were ranged from 0 to 0.005, which were far lower than inter-specific genetic distances between J. effuses and its closely related species (0.215-0.614). All the four methods showed that ITS2 could discriminate J. effuses from its closely related species correctly. The ITS2 region is an efficient barcode for authentication of Junci Medulla, and our study further confirmed the ability of ITS2 to identify traditional Chinese medicinal materials.

Application of bioinformatics in molecular authentication of traditional Chinese medicinal materials

Benefiting from various DNA technologies, DNA markers have now become a popular means for the identification of Chinese medicinal materials. Facing the huge amount of valuable data that has been produced, researchers need to understand the bioinformatics tools for analyzing the obtained DNA information. This paper summarizes the applications of bioinformatics in molecular authentication of Chinese medicinal materials, including checking phylogenetic information of the samples, searching and retrieving DNA sequence data, matching of similarity between the sequences and performing multiple sequence alignment.

Advances of studies on new technology and method for identifying traditional Chinese medicinal materials

In this review, the authors summarized the new technologies and methods for identifying traditional Chinese medicinal materials, including molecular identification, chemical identification, morphological identification, microscopic identification and identification based on biological effects. The authors introduced the principle, characteristics, application and prospect on each new technology or method and compared their advantages and disadvantages. In general, new methods make the result more objective and accurate. DNA barcoding technique and spectroscopy identification have their owner obvious strongpoint in universality and digitalization. In the near future, the two techniques are promising to be the main trend for identifying traditional Chinese medicinal materials. The identification techniques based on microscopy, liquid chromatography, PCR, biological effects and DNA chip will be indispensable supplements. However, the bionic identification technology is just placed in the developing stage at present.

Using ITS2 barcode to identify Ephedrae Herba

To identify Ephedrae Herba using the ITS2 barcode and to secure its quality and safety in medication. Total genomic DNA was isolated from Ephedrae Herba and its closely related species. Nuclear DNA ITS2 sequences were amplified, and purified PCR products were sequenced. Sequence assembly and consensus sequence generation were performed using the CodonCode Aligner. The Kimura 2-Parameter (K2P) distances were calculated using software MEGA 5.0. Identification analyses were performed using BLAST1, Nearest Distance and neighbor-joining (NJ) methods. The intra-specific genetic distances of Ephedrae Herba were ranged from 0 to 0.002. The inter-specific genetic distances between Ephedrae Herba and its closely related species were ranged from 0.004 to 0.034. All the three methods showed that ITS2 could discriminate Ephedrae Herba from its closely related species correctly. The ITS2 region is suitable to be used for authentication of Ephedrae Herba, and our study further confirmed the effectiveness of ITS2 to identify traditional Chinese medicinal materials.