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P. cirrhifolium, P. multiflorum and P. verticillatum are important medicinal herb of genus Polygonatum found in Himalaya and are used in many ayurvedic formulations including Chyavanprash. However, a comparative account on their biochemical attributes in Himalaya is still lacking. Therefore, the present attempt was made to explore the polyphenolics and antioxidant activity in targeted species. Result revealed a varied range of polyphenolics (i.e., phenolics 1.90–6.12; tannins 1.57–3.78; flavonols 1.30–8.59; flavonoids 1.83–7.32 mg/g dry weight, respectively) and antioxidant activity (ABTS 3.22–6.11; DPPH 0.99–1.70; FRAP 0.35–2.32 mM AAE/100 g dry weight). Results are indicative that P. verticillatum possesses higher polyphenolic activity and P. cirrhifolium is rich in DPPH and FRAP activity. However, P. verticillatum and P. cirrhifolium are threatened in wild and hence, P. multiflorum with maximum total flavonoids and total antioxidant ABTS activity can be prioritized and used as a substitute to reduce pressure on these species.

Background The investigation of molecular mechanisms involved in polysaccharides and saponin metabolism is critical for genetic engineering of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua to raise major active ingredient content. Up to now, the transcript sequences are available for different tissues of P. cyrtonema, a wide range scanning about temporal transcript at different ages’ rhizomes was still absent in P. cyrtonema. Results Transcriptome sequencing for rhizomes at different ages was performed. Sixty-two thousand six hundred thirty-five unigenes were generated by assembling transcripts from all samples. A total of 89 unigenes encoding key enzymes involved in polysaccharide biosynthesis and 56 unigenes encoding key enzymes involved in saponin biosynthesis. The content of total polysaccharide and total saponin was positively correlated with the expression patterns of mannose-6-phosphate isomerase (MPI), GDP-L-fucose synthase (TSTA3), UDP-apiose/xylose synthase (AXS), UDP-glucose 6-dehydrogenase (UGDH), Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA synthase (HMGS), Mevalonate kinase (MVK), 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 2,4-cyclodiphosphate synthase (ispF), (E)-4-hydroxy-3-methylbut-2-enyl-diphosphate synthase (ispG), 4-hydroxy-3-methylbut-2-enyl diphosphate reductase (ispH), Farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPPS). Finally, a number of key genes were selected and quantitative real-time PCR were performed to validate the transcriptome analysis results. Conclusions These results create the link between polysaccharides and saponin biosynthesis and gene expression, provide insight for underlying key active substances, and reveal novel candidate genes including TFs that are worth further exploration for their functions and values.

Recently, edible and medicinal plants have attracted intensive attention as functional foods because of their biological activities. However, there has been little research on the influence of ball milling micronization on the properties of the Polygonatum powder. In this study, ball milling was used to micronize Polygonatumcyrtonema Hua tuber coarse powder to observe the effects on amino acids profile and antioxidant activities. Different ball milling times produced significant differences in the total polyphenols, amino acids, and soluble sugar contents (P

We identified three dormant stages of Polygonatum kingianum and changes that occurred during dormancy transition in the following aspects including cell wall and hormones, as well as interaction among them. Polygonatum kingianum Coll.et Hemsl (P. kingianum) is an important traditional Chinese medicine, but the mechanism of its rhizome bud dormancy has not yet been studied systematically. In this study, three dormancy phases were induced under controlled conditions, and changes occurring during the transition were examined, focusing on phytohormones and the cell wall. As revealed by HPLC–MS (High Performance Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry) analysis, the endo- to non-dormancy transition was association with a reduced abscisic acid (ABA)/gibberellin (GA3) ratio, a decreased level of auxin (IAA) and an increased level of trans-zeatin (tZR). Transmission electron microscopy showed that plasmodesmata (PDs) and the cell wall of the bud underwent significant changes between endo- and eco-dormancy. A total of 95,462 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified based on transcriptomics, and clustering and principal component analysis confirmed the different physiological statuses of the three types of bud samples. Changes in the abundance of transcripts associated with IAA, cytokinins (CTKs), GA, ABA, brassinolide (BR), jasmonic acid (JA), ethylene, salicylic acid (SA), PDs and cell wall-loosening factors were analysed during the bud dormancy transition in P. kingianum. Furthermore, nitrilase 4 (NIT4) and tryptophan synthase alpha chain (TSA1), which are related to IAA synthesis, were identified as hub genes of the co-expression network, and strong interactions between hormones and cell wall-related factors were observed. This research will provide a good model for chilling-treated rhizome bud dormancy in P. kingianum and cultivation of this plant.

Polygonatum sibiricum is widely consumed as a traditional Chinese herb and edible plant in China. Despite its nutritional and medical values, research on Polygonatum Mill. has been scarce, particularly as far as its genetic diversity is concerned. In this study, fourteen expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) and seven sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity in fifty Polygonatum Mill. accessions. The EST-SSRs and SRAPs produced 173 (90.58%) and 113 (93.39%) polymorphic bands, respectively. Unweighted Pair-Group Method Analysis (UPGMA) based on the combined data matrices of EST-SSRs and SRAPs divided the fifty Polygonatum Mill. accessions into fourteen groups. In addition, accessions of P. cyrtonema Hua obtained from Anhui and Zhejiang provinces were clustered according to their geographic origin. Furthermore, some accessions were gathered together based on species, such as P. kingianum Coll. et Hemsl, P. punctatum Royle ex Kunth, P. odoratum (Mill.) Druce, and P. sibiricum Red., and bootstrap analysis for clustering fully supported the grouping of the accessions. The Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) results revealed higher variation within populations (95%) rather than among populations (5%), indicating that Polygonatum Mill. has a low genetic differentiation between populations, and Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) greatly supported the results of cluster analysis and AMOVA analysis. Finally, five markers which could produce abundant and stable bands were used to construct DNA fingerprinting database of Polygonatum Mill.. Our results demonstrated the utility of both EST-SSR and SRAP markers to successfully evaluate and identify Polygonatum Mill..

Polygonatum verticillatum (L.) All. is one among eight species of Astavarga group of plants known for its vitality strengthening properties and used in different herbal formulations. However, systematic investigation on morphology and antioxidant phytochemicals in relation to different environmental variables like altitude and habitat conditions is poorly available. The present study reveals significant (p < 0.05) differences in structural and functional attributes among sixteen different populations of P. verticillatum in West Himalaya. Among the different populations, plants growing in moist habitat and oak forest exhibited maximum plant height, leaf number, biomass and phytochemical content (total phenolics, tannin, and flavonol). Antioxidant activity using 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) positively (p < 0.05) correlated with altitude. Presence of strong antioxidant and DNA damage prevention activity of the species validate its use as vitality strengthening and anti-aging properties. Identified suitable altitude, habitat conditions, and forest types can be utilized for reintroduction of species in to suitable agro-climatic condition. This will also help in obtaining higher quality produce and management practices for conservation of this species.

Cisplatin is a commonly used chemotherapeutic agent in the treatment of different types of malignant tumors, but nephrotoxicity limits its usage. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to determine the possible protective effect of Huaiqihuang (HQH) extractum, a kind of Chinese herbal complex that consists of Trametes robiniophila Murr., Lycium barbarum and Polygonatum sibiricum, against nephrotoxicity induced by cisplatin in mice. We found that pretreatment with HQH significantly attenuated the cisplatin-induced increase in blood urea nitrogen (BUN), interstitial congestion, acute renal tubular injury and tubular cell apoptosis and necroptosis. It was further shown that HQH administration reduced cisplatin-induced release and nuclear-cytoplasmic translocation of HMGB1 and inactivated its downstream signaling molecules, TLR4 and NFκB, in renal tubular cells; as a result, HQH repressed cisplatin-induced TNF-α production. As dexamethasone (Dex) exerts renoprotective effects in severe Acute kidney injury (AKI), we compared it with HQH and found that HQH showed similar renoprotective effects to dexamethasone via similar mechanisms. Considering the potential side effects of corticosteroids, reducing the effectiveness of treatment and shortening survival in solid tumor patients, we suggest administration of HQH as a potential adjuvant for cisplatin therapy in solid tumor patients to preserve renal function.

An HPLC/ESI/MS method has been developed to identify and quantify the spirostanol glycosides in the rhizomes of five Polygonatum species. The relative distribution of two steroidal saponins in each extract was established using the selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode via an electrospray ionization (ESI) source. It was found that there were significant differences in the amount of spirostanol glycosides among the Polygonatum species. The results showed that this method could be used to identify the steroidal saponins in the extracts and differentiate Polygonatum species with high sensitivity and reproducibility in a short time. Fragmentation patterns of the two reference compounds were also discussed with the electrospray ionization multi-stage tandem mass spectroscopy (ESI-MSn).

A glucofructan has been isolated from the rhizomes ofPolygonatum sewerzowii Bunge and has been called pseverin. According to its chemical and spectral characteristics, pseverin is a polysaccharide containing both inulin, 2 → 1, and leven, 2 → 6, glycosidic bonds. The problem of the correlation between the molecular structure of a glucofructan and its supermolecular organization has been considered. X-radiographic and electron-microscope studies have been made of pseverin and its acetate. It has been established that on precipitating from solution pseverin forms globular particles which aggregate to give elongated necklace-like formations. Fine lamellar structures are characteristic for the acetate.

By partial hydrolysis, tetra- and pentafructooligosaccharides have been obtained fromPolygonatum sewerzowii Regel. Structures of the individual tetra-and pentasaccharides have been proposed on the basis of the results of13C NMR and mass spectrometry. In the13C NMR spectrum a signal with a chemical shift of 76.5 ppm has been detected which is characteristic for the C-4 atom of a nonterminal unit. Consequently, the pentasaccharide has mixed 2 → 1 and 2 → 6 bonds in the chain. A comparative mass-spectrometric study of isomeric trisaccharide peracetates has been performed.

USING the staining of cell-walls blue by an iodine in potassium iodide solution (0.3 gm. iodine and 1.6 gm. potassium iodide dissolved in 100 ml. water1), many plant species previously designated as containing amyloid in their seeds6 (for example, of the genera Iris, Polygonatum, Narcissus, Hydrophyllum) are excluded, while others show the amyloid reaction with this reagent. The species of the latter group are summarized in Table 1.

Die Chromosomenzahl und der Karyotypus vonPolygonatum verticillatum Allioni (2n = 30, 64) undP. cirrifolium Royle (2n = 38), die im Himalaya vorkommen, wurden mit fruher untersuchten europaischen Formen verglichen. Die beobachteten Unterschiede lassen sich durch die Annahme erklaren, dass die europaischen Formen aus den Himalaya-Formen durch den Vorgang der Chromosomenverminderung und Veranderungen des Karyotypus hervorgingen.

LINKO and I1 isolated, last autumn, from Polygonatum officinale (and also from Convallaria majalis), a new imino-acid which on acid hydrolysis gave mostly homoserine. The elementary composition of the new compound corresponded to the formula (C4H7O2N)n and had [α]20D − 118.4° (in water). The compound had all its carboxyl groups free and contained no primary but only secondary amino-groups. Because the compound contained no double bonds, it must have a cyclic structure. A 4-membered ring containing an imino-group and a free carboxyl group linked to the ring could have satisfied the formula, but using the method of Wendt2 a molecular weight of approximately 300 was found, which is three times as high as that calculated for the simple molecule (six determinations in concentrations of 0.63–2.22 per cent in a non-polar solvent, the lactam of 4-amino-cyclo-hexane-carboxylic acid; calculated for (C4H7O2N)3, 303.3). On the basis of the molecular weight found, the compound seemed not to contain a simple 4-membered ring, even if all other known facts suggested this structure, but a corresponding ring three times as large and with three imino-groups in a ring to which three free carboxyl groups were linked. There was no other possibility of explaining the high molecular weight.