Search

Polygonatum odoratum is a perennial rhizomatous medicinal plant and different plant parts have been used in the treatment of various ailments. Herein, we have investigated the structural compositions of rhizome, leaf, and stem cell walls. We found 30–44% of polysaccharides in these wall preparations were cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid (CDTA) extractable, the proportion of heteromannans (HMs) in the rhizome is nearly three-fold compared to that of the leave and stem. The pectic polysaccharides of the rhizome are also structurally more diverse, with arabinans and type I and type II arabinogalactans being richest as shown by linkage study of the sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) extract. In addition, the 2-linked Araf was rhizome-specific, suggesting the cell walls in the rhizome had adapted to a more complex structure compared to that of the leaf and stem. Water-soluble polysaccharide fractions were also investigated, high proportion of Man as in 4-linked Manp indicated high proportion of HMs. The 21.4 kDa pectic polysaccharides and HMs derived from rhizome cell walls induced specific immune response in mice macrophage cells producing IL-1α and hematopoietic growth factors GM-CSF and G-CSF in vitro. QC 20221012

Monochasma savatieri Franch. ex Maxim is a perennial, parasitic herb used in traditional Chinese medicine and its wild resources have declined sharply in recent years. For a long time, the ...

Background Monochasma savatieri is a medicinal root hemiparasitic herb that extracts water and nutrients from the host plant via a haustorium. M. savatieri exhibits an enhanced growth after the establishment of parasite-host associations, but little is known about the molecular mechanism responsible. In this study, endogenous hormones, RNA sequencing and small RNA sequencing analysis were performed on M. savatieri before and after establishment of parasite-host associations. Results When grown with the host, decreased contents of jasmonic acid (JA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and increased abscisic acid (ABA) content were observed in M. savatieri with the established parasitic relationship. When grown with the host, 46,424 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 162 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRs) were identified in the comparison between M. savatieri with the established parasitic relationship and without the established parasitic relationship. Analysis of Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) showed that these DEGs and targets of DEmiRs mostly participated in plant hormone signal transduction, starch and sucrose metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, cell growth and death, and transport and catabolism. Furthermore, correlation analysis of mRNA and miRNA revealed that 10 miRNA-target pairs from novel_mir65, novel_mir40, novel_mir80, miR397-5p_1, novel_mir36, novel_mir25 and novel_mir17 may have important roles in regulating the parasitic development of M. savatieri. Conclusions Our study not only expands the understanding of enhanced growth in M. savatieri after the establishment of parasite-host associations, but also first provides abundant resources for future molecular and genetic studies in M. savatieri.

BackgroundMonochasma savatieriis an endangered hemiparasitic medicinal plant with a variety of antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Despite the urgent need to understand the parasitic biology ofM. savatieri, parasite-host associations have long been neglected in studies ofM. savatieri.MethodsWe conducted a pot cultivation experiment to analyze changes in the growth traits, physiological performance and anatomical structures ofM. savatierigrown with the potential hostGardenia jasminoidesE., before and after the establishment of the parasite-host association.ResultsPrior to the establishment of the parasite-host association, the presence of the host had no significant effect on the maximum root length, leaf indexes or total dry weight ofM. savatieriseedlings, but had significant positive effect on seedling height, number of roots or number of haustoria. When it was continuously grown without a host,M. savatierigrowth was rather slow. The establishment of the parasite-host association enhanced the growth ofM. savatieri, and higher levels of photosynthetic pigments, increased antioxidant enzyme activity and lower malondialdehyde accumulation were observed inM. savatieriwith an established parasite-host association. Furthermore, an analysis of the anatomical structures ofM. savatierishowed that the establishment of the parasite-host association enabled better development of the seedling vegetative organs than that in seedlings without parasite-host associations.ConclusionsOur study demonstrates the physiological and anatomical changes that occurred inM. savatieriafter connection with a host and suggests that the enhanced growth and development ofM. savatieriwere highly dependent on the parasite-host association.

Amana edulis (Miq.) Honda is an important medicinal plant with a variety of anti-cancer properties, and it is of great importance to improve its reproductive rate through micropropagation technology to meet increasing demand. In the present study, in order to establish a rapid in vitro bulblet propagation protocol for A. edulis, an L16 (45) orthogonal design was used to investigate the effects of sucrose, 6-benzyladenine (6-BA), α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and macro-elements on bulblet induction. The results show that the sucrose concentration was the crucial factor for A. edulis bulblet initiation, followed by 6-BA and macro-elements, while NAA had the weakest effect. The optimal medium for in vitro bulblet induction was Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 0.1 mg·L−1 6-BA, 0.01 mg·L−1 NAA, and 100 g·L−1 or 80 g·L−1 sucrose (pH 5.8), in which A. edulis shoot clusters (without roots) were cultured at 5(±2)°C for 35 d or 60 d and then incubated at 23(±2)°C for 90 d. The entire cultivati...

Hibernation is an energy-saving and adaptive strategy adopted by leech, an important medicinal resource in Asia, to survive low temperature. Reversible protein phosphorylation (RPP) plays a key role in the regulation of mammalian hibernation processes but has never been documented in freshwater invertebrate such as leech. In this study, we detected the effects of hibernation on the proteome and phosphoproteome of the leech Whitmania pigra. A total of 2184 proteins and 2598 sites were quantified. Deep-hibernation resulted in 85 up-regulated and 107 down-regulated proteins and 318 up-regulated and 204 down-regulated phosphosites using a 1.5-fold threshold (P0.05). Proteins involved in protein digestion and absorption, amino acid metabolism and N-glycan biosynthesis were significantly down-regulated during deep-hibernation. However, proteins involved in maintaining cell structure stability in hibernating animals were up-regulated. Differentially phosphorylated proteins provided the first global picture of a shift in energy metabolism, protein synthesis, cytoprotection and signaling during deep hibernation. Furthermore, AMP-activated protein kinase and protein kinase C play major roles in the regulation of these functional processes. These data significantly improve our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of leech hibernation processes and provides substantial candidate phosphorylated proteins that could be important for functionally adapt in freshwater animals. SIGNIFICANCE: The leech Whitmania pigra as an important medicinal resource in Asia is an excellent model freshwater invertebrate for studies of environmentally-induced hibernation. The present study provides the first quantitative proteomics and phosphoproteomic analysis of leech hibernation using isobaric tag based TMT labeling and high-resolution mass spectrometry. These data significantly improve our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms when ectotherm animals face environmental stress and provides substantial candidate phosphorylated proteins that could be important for functionally adapt in freshwater animals.

We have examined the influence of four phosphorus (P) levels on growth performance, photosynthetic efficiency and bioactive phytochemical production of Prunella vulgaris L. in hydroponic culture. Results that 0.20 mM P was enhanced the dry weight, shoot height, spica and root weights, spica length and number, total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents, net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance were determined after three months' treatment. A supply of surplus P resulted in a higher concentration of foliar P and was negatively correlated with biomass. Both P-deficient (0 mM) and high P (10.00 mM) resulted in increased concentrations of ursolic acid and oleanolic acid, with the exception of flavonoids. An increase in water extract from P. vulgaris spicas was noted with the application of increasing P concentrations. Our results indicated that the application of 0.20 mM P improves the biomass production and the yield of bioactive constituents of P. vulgaris.

The stolon is the main asexual reproductive organ of the medicinal plant Tulipa edulis and has special morphology. In the greenhouse experiment presented herein, the dynamic changes in carbohydrates and related enzymes, proteins, and endogenous hormones of stolons during T. edulis stolon formation were investigated. The results showed that the content of total soluble sugar, sucrose, reducing sugar, fructose, and starch were all significantly enhanced in the middle period when stolon emerged and maintained at relatively high levels until the later period of stolon formation, while protein content decreased during stolon formation. The activities of amylase (AMY), sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), and sucrose synthase (SS) peaked in the initial period and were negatively correlated with soluble sugars. However, adenosine diphosphoglucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) activity increased as stolon formation progressed, and the changes in soluble starch synthase (SSS), granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS) activities presented a single peak, reaching their maximums in the middle period. AGPase, SSS, and GBSS activities were all positively related to starch content. Moreover, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) verified the changes in SS and SSS activities via the expression levels of the SS, SSSI, and SSSII genes. The gibberellin (GA) and zeatin riboside (ZR) content attained their maximum in the initial period of stolon formation. Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA) remained at high levels during the initial and middle period and decreased significantly during the later period of stolon formation, inversely to the ratio of ABA:IAA. Analysis of the physiological changes in T. edulis stolon indicated that the accumulation of soluble sugars and starch via various enzymes, a high level of IAA and a low ABA to IAA ratio mainly contributed to stolon development of T. edulis. This paper explored carbohydrate levels and endogenous hormones profiles during stolon formation, which provided the theory basis for further regulating stolon growth of T. edulis.

The stolon is the main asexual reproductive organ of Tulipa edulis (Miq.) Baker. It has a special morphology and can develop into a new bulb for propagation. In the current greenhouse experiment, the dynamic changes in carbohydrates and related enzymes, protein and endogenous hormones during T. edulis stolon development were investigated. The results showed that soluble sugar levels were basically declining, whereas starch and protein content rose continuously during stolon development. The adenosine diphosphoglucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) activity peaked in the initial swelling stage and stayed a relative high level in the middle swelling stage; sucrose synthase (SS), soluble starch synthase (SSS) and granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS) activities followed the same law that showed rising trends during stolon development. SS activity was significantly inversely related to sucrose content but had significantly positive relations with starch content, SSS and GBSS activities. Gibberellin (GA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and zeatin riboside (ZR) peaked in the initial swelling stage and maintained high levels in the middle swelling stage; they then decreased significantly in the later swelling stage. A substantial increase was observed in abscisic acid (ABA) content until the middle swelling stage, followed by a significant reduction in the later swelling stage. The ratios of ABA to IAA, GA and ZR reached their lowest levels in the initial swelling stage. In conclusion, T. edulis stolon development is a process of new bulb morphogenesis along with the starch accumulation catalyzed by AGPase, SSS and GBSS, using the product of sucrose cleavage caused by SS. Initial low ABA content and low ratios of ABA to IAA, GA and ZR, together with the GA, IAA and ZR of high-content, soluble sugars worked more efficiently to induce new bulb formation.

A new cytoplasmic small heat shock protein gene was cloned from Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Breit and designated PtHSP18.2 (GenBank number: KF693218). The PtHSP18.2 gene has an open reading frame of 711 bp that encodes 159 amino acids, and a molecular mass of 18.20 kDa. The phylogenetic tree indicated high homology of the PtHSP18.2 protein with that of cytosolic class I small heat shock proteins (CI sHSPs) from other plant species. PtHSP18.2 is expressed in root, leaf, and stem tissues. The expression of PtHSP18.2 was increased under heat and cold stress but was not induced by drought stress. When overexpressed in E. coli, PtHSP18.2 was correlated with the preservation of viability under heat stress. The CI sHSP family is the largest sHSP subfamily, and several different members of this subfamily are present in P. ternata. Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) western blot analysis with an anti-AtHSP17.7 (a member of CI sHSPs) antibody revealed five 18 kDa heat shock-induced P. ternata proteins. In combination, our findings suggest that PtHSP18.2 is potentially significant in the response to thermal stress.

Tulipa edulis is an important medicinal plant with a variety of anti-cancer properties. There is an urgent need to reduce water consumption in T. edulis under greenhouse cultivation. A greenhouse experiment was performed to study the effect of well-watered (80% of field capacity, Control), persistent drought (50% of field capacity, D) and alternate wetting and drying (50% and 80% of field capacity, AWD) regimes on the growth traits, photosynthetic pigment contents, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, photosynthetic characteristics and yield of T. edulis . The results showed that compared with the well-watered control, persistent drought inhibited plant growth and yields dramatically, presumably due to the significantly lower photosynthetic rate caused by a decrease in photosynthetic pigments and a reduced chlorophyll fluorescence efficiency (Fv/Fm, Fv/F0). In contrast, the AWD plants showed a capacity for photosynthesis comparable to the well-watered control, which could be associated with similar photosynthetic pigment levels and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (Fv/Fm, Fv/F0). AWD reduced the irrigation water input by 25.09% while leading to comparable yields and increased water productivity by 21.21% compared with the well-watered control. The results suggested that an alternate wetting and drying (50% and 80% of field capacity) regime can be an effective means of saving water, promoting bulb production, and improving water production for T. edulis .

Isatis indigotica Fort. (Cruciferae) is a biennial medicinal plant. In order to protect the decreasing natural genetic resources of I. indigotica , three candidate DNA barcodes (ITS2, trnL-F and rbc L) were employed to establish an accurate and effective identification system for I. indigotica . The results demonstrated that all three candidate DNA barcodes have performed very well in I. indigotica . The interspecific genetic distances were obviously greater than the intraspecific distance among I. indigotica as indicated by ITS2, trnL-F and rbc L. Sequence alignment analysis of I. indigotica genotypes revealed that four SNPs (54, 108, 146 and 181 bp) located in ITS2, three (2, 30, 709 bp) in trnL-F and one (531 bp) in rbc L, respectively. UPGMA phylogenetic tree constructed from trnL-F and rbc L could allote I. indigotica to the correct corresponding genus, whereas rbc L could not distinguish I. indigotica from its adulterants. Meanwhile, UPGMA tree of ITS2 could accurately identify I. indigotica from its adulterants according to the corresponding species. Consequently, it can be concluded that ITS2 is a more suitable and accurate DNA barcode for identifying I. Indigotica and its adulterants than trnL-F and rbc L.

Tulipa edulis (Liliaceae) is the botanical origin of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) “Guangcigu”. Due to overexploitation that induced a decline in natural sources, many dried bulbs from other species of Tulipa have been used, adulterating the medicine in recent years. This practice may cause a series of inconsistent therapeutic effects and quality control problems in the herbal medicine industry. Hence, three DNA regions ( mat K, psb A- trn H and rbc L) were evaluated as barcodes for identifying T. edulis and its adulterants. All candidate DNA barcodes were successfully amplified from leaf samples. Based on the sequence divergences, rbc L and psb A- trn H can assign T. edulis and its adulterants to the correct genus, while mat K can accurately differentiate T. edulis and its adulterants. Thus, at the DNA level, the mat K intergenic region is a more suitable, accurate and applicable identification of T. edulis and its adulterants than rbc L and psb A- trn H.

Context: Changium smyrnioides Wolff (Apiaceae) is an endangered medicinal plant with numerous pharmacological uses. Objective: To investigate the effect of light intensity levels on the growth and accumulation of secondary metabolites of C. smyrnioides, cultivated seedlings were subjected to different relative light intensities via sun-shading. Materials and methods: Changium smyrnioides seedlings were subjected to five irradiance treatments (100, 60.54, 44.84, 31.39, and 10.56% sunlight) in glasshouse for 9 months. Enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants with spectrophotometric method, photosynthetic parameters with Li-6400XT, dry matter accumulation and active component contents in the root with spectrophotometric and HPLC method were analyzed. Results: With an increase in relative light intensity levels, activities of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were increased overall, while net photosynthetic rate (Pn) and dry matter accumulation patter first increased and then declined. The highest net photosynthetic rate (30.68 μmol/m2·s) and dry root weight (5.07 g) were achieved under 60.54% sunlight. Lower relative light intensity levels stimulated the accumulation levels of bioactive compounds in the roots so that the highest contents of mannitol (1.35%) and choline (405.58 μg/g) were recorded under 31.39% sunlight, and the highest polysaccharide content (10.80%) were achieved under 44.84% sunlight. With a decrease in the relative light intensity levels, the water-soluble component content increased first and then decreased. Discussion and conclusion: The results revealed that 31.39–60.54% sunlight serve as appropriate relative light intensity conditions for cultivated C. smyrnioides.

The objective of this study was to obtain an overview of the genetic relationships among and within Whitmania pigra and Hirudo nipponica using the ISSR and SRAP markers that were derived from related accessions, 11 W. pigra and 4 H. nipponica, from 8 provinces in China. All populations were uniquely fingerprinted by two markers. Mean genetic similarities were estimated at 0.76 and 0.79 using the ISSRs and SRAPs. Two main clusters that separated the W. pigra and H. nipponica populations were produced using UPGMA analysis. The Mantel test resulted in a good fit (SRAP = 0.80609) to the fit (ISSR = 0.76006) of the cophenetic values. Comparing the two marker systems, the ISSR and SRAP similarity indices were correlated (r = 0.8564). Finally, an appropriate strategy for conserving the Hirudo germplasm is proposed.

► The best harvest time of Chrysanthemum morifolium is when 50% tubular and 70% ray florets open. ► Dynamic accumulation of four bioactive components showed the trend of “low-high-low”. ► Genotype Wanyang (Tongxiang) exhibited the highest bioactive components contents. ► Genotype, origin and harvest time affect significantly the quality of C. morifolium.

This study assessed the molecular genetic diversity and relationships among 25 wild Prunella vulgaris L. populations and one cultivated population in China. The results showed that all the 26 P. vulgaris populations possessed high levels of genetic diversity. However, polymorphism was relatively lower in the cultivated population. Seventeen SRAP primer combinations generated 153 amplification bands, of which 134 were polymorphic. However, 195 polymorphic bands were detected out of 219 bands that were amplified using 20 ISSR primers. ISSR markers showed a slightly higher proportion of polymorphic loci (PPL = 89.19%) than did the SRAP markers (PPL = 87.93%). The results also showed that the 26 populations could be clustered into three groups by cluster analysis, which matched the geographic distribution of this species. The data indicated that ISSR and SRAP are both reliable and effective tools for analyzing genetic diversity in P. vulgaris .

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous, non-coding small RNAs that play an important role in transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene regulation. However, the sequence information and functions of miRNAs are still unexplored in Tulipa edulis. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was used to identify small RNAs in stolon formation stages (stage 1, 2, and 3) in T. edulis. A total of 12,890,912, 12,182,122, and 12,061,434 clean reads were obtained from stage 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Among the reads, 88 conserved miRNAs and 70 novel miRNAs were identified. Target prediction of 122 miRNAs resulted in 531 potential target genes. Nr, Swiss-Prot, GO, COG, and KEGG annotations revealed that these target genes participate in many biologic and metabolic processes. Moreover, qRT-PCR was performed to analyze the expression levels of the miRNAs and target genes in stolon formation. The results revealed that miRNAs play a key role in T. edulis stolon formation.

Tulipa edulis (Miq.) Baker is an important medicinal plant with a variety of anti-cancer properties. The stolon is one of the main asexual reproductive organs of T. edulis and possesses a unique morphology. To explore the molecular mechanism of stolon formation, we performed an RNA-seq analysis of the transcriptomes of stolons at three developmental stages. In the present study, 15.49 Gb of raw data were generated and assembled into 74,006 unigenes, and a total of 2,811 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected in T. edulis. Among the three libraries of stolons at different developmental stages, there were 5,119 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A functional annotation analysis based on sequence similarity queries of the GO, COG, KEGG databases showed that these DEGs were mainly involved in many physiological and biochemical processes, such as material and energy metabolism, hormone signaling, cell growth, and transcription regulation. In addition, qRT-PCR (quantitative real-time PCR) analysis revealed that the expression patterns of the DEGs were consistent with the transcriptome data, which further supported a role for the DEGs in stolon formation. This study provides novel resources for future genetic and molecular studies in T. edulis.

The effect of stereoscopic cultivation on the growth, photosynthetic characteristics and yield of Tulipa edulis was studied to explore the feasibility of stereoscopic cultivation on efficient cultivation of T.edulis. Total leaf area and photosynthetic parameters of T.edulis under stereoscopic cultivation (the upper, middle and the lower layers ) and the control were measured using LI-3100 leaf area meter and LI-6400XT photosynthesis system in the growing peak period of T.edulis.Plant biomass and biomass allocation were also determined.In addition, the bulb regeneration and yield of T.edulis were measured in the harvesting time.The results indicated that in the middle layer of stereoscopic cultivation, leaf biomass proportion was the highest, but total bulb fresh and dry weight and output growth (fresh weight) were the lowest among the treatments.And total bulb fresh weight in the middle of stereoscopic cultivation reduced significantly, by 22.84%, compared with the control.Light intensity in the lower layer of stereoscopic cultivation was moderate, in which T.edulis net photosynthetic rate and water use efficiency were higher than those of the other layers of stereoscopic cultivation, and bulb biomass proportion was the highest in all the treatments.No significant difference was detected in the total bulb fresh weight, dry weight and output growth (fresh weight) between the middle layer of stereoscopic cultivation and the control.In general, there was no significant difference in the growth status of T.edulis between stereoscopic cultivation and the control.Stereoscopic cultivation increased the yield of T.edulis by 161.66% in fresh weight and 141.35% in dry weight compared with the control in the condition of the same land area, respectively.In conclusion, stereoscopic cultivation can improve space utilization, increase the production, and achieve the high density cultivation of T.edulis.

Essential oils present in the dried flowers, leaves and stems of Prunella vulgaris were investigated for their chemical diversity using capillary GC and GC-MS. A total of 68 compounds were isolated from these three components: 28 from the flowers (representing 83.4 % of the essential oils present), 19 (80.1 %) from the leaves and 21 (79.5 %) from the stem. The most abundant components in the flower oil included hexadecanoic acid (70.0 %), (Z)-9-octadecenoic acid hexyl ester (3.8 %) and 2,2,3-trimethyl-decane (2.7 %). Aromadendrene (55.4 %), cucumber alcohol (8.5 %) and phytol (5.1 %) were the main components in the leaf. In the stem, hexadecanoic acid (38.4 %), trans-traumatic acid (22.4 %) and phytol (6.6 %) were the major components.

Dried root of Bupleurum spp. is one of the most popular ingredients in many oriental medicinal preparations. Potted Bupleurum chinense DC. seedlings were subjected to progressive drought stress by withholding irrigation followed by a rewatering phase. The changes in antioxidant system, hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), superoxide radicals (O(2)(-)), and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents as well as saikosaponin a (SSa) and saikosaponin d (SSd) content in B. chinense roots were investigated. Additionally, the antioxidant activity of the roots extract was evaluated. The results showed that B. chinense root appeared highly resistant to water deficit. Both SSa and SSd content increased with the progressive water deficit, however, decreased tinder severe drought conditions or after water recovery. Moderate drought treatment resulted in 83% increase in SSa content and 22% increase in SSd content compared to the well-hydrated treatment. And increased SSa and SSd content during drought were accompanied by enhanced O(2)(-) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity until severe drought stress. Notably, in vitra antioxidant tests demonstrated that the lipid peroxidation inhibition capacity was positively correlated with the content of SSa and SSd, particularly significant at p=0.05 with SSd content. These results suggest that B. chinense roots exhibit effective antioxidative protection mechanism to withstand drought stress. And it could be speculated that drought-induced SSa and SSd accumulation in B. chinense roots may be stimulated via active oxygen species, and consequently involve in mitigating the oxidative damage due to its high anti-lipid peroxidation capacity. (c) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Bupleurum chinense DC. is a plant with high medicinal value. Its roots have been used in Chinese medicine for at least 2000 years. Environmental stress has been used as a strategy to optimize yield of important compounds in other crops. The objective of this pot study was to investigate the combined effects of fertilizer and. water-stress on total saikosaponin a (SSa) and saikosaponin d (SSd) yield from B. chinense. The 2 x 3 factoral design included two levels of water-stress and three fertilizer amounts. The results showed that mild water-stress significantly increased the SSa and SSd content in B. chinense roots, but decreased root biomass. Total SSa and SSd yield were lower in the water-stressed treatment compared to the well-watered treatment. There was significant interaction between the water and fertilizer treatments and the negative effect of water-stress on total SSa and SSd yield could be partly mitigated through the application of N and P fertilizer. In conclusion, results from this study show that the application of proper amounts of fertilizer are important for medicinal plant production in semi-arid and and regions, and that it is possible to increase total SSa and SSd yield through the combined use of fertilizer and properly timed exposure to water-stress. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The optimum harvest time of Tulipa edulis was explored based on biomass accumulation and medicinal quality evaluation. Samples were taken from bud stage (Feb 13th) to dormancy stage (May 14th) and the growth indexes, organs biomasses, drying rate, contents of water-soluble extract and polysaccharides were determined. The results showed that biomass distribution of T. edulis varied with growth center and the bulb gained maximum biomass allocation in the whole growth period. The total biomass accumulation and bulb biomass accumulation increased in the whole growth period and peaked in fructescence stage. No differences were observed in bulb biomass among fructescence stage, withering stage and dormancy stage. The correlation between bulb biomass allocation and other morphological indexes varied with the harvest time. Bulb dry weight biomass had negative correlation with some morphological indexes of aerial part of T. edulis at bud stage, flower stage and fructescence and had significant positive (P

Seven dark-septate endophytic (DSE) fungi have been isolated from the roots of Epimedium wushanense T. S. Ying (Berberidaceae), an important medicinal plant with various pharmacological activities.The current study explores the effects of seven DSE fungi on the growth and accumulation of bioactive compounds in E. wushanense.Each 1-month-old E. wushanense seedling was inoculated with one of the seven DSE fungi and was grown under greenhouse conditions for 90 d. The molecular identification of the fungi was based on the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 nuclear ribosomal gene cluster.The results showed that the influence of DSE fungi inoculation varied between strains. Inoculation with DSE8 not only significantly enhanced plant height, root length, leaf area, leaf number, and shoot and root biomass but also improved the total flavonoid and icariin content, with an increase ranging from 20.24% to 237.97%. Three of the seven DSE fungi caused the inoculated plants to die, and the remaining three DSE strains showed neutral or negative effects on plant growth and the accumulation of bioactive compounds. According to the ITS sequence, DSE8 is congeneric to the genus Leptodontidium.The findings indicate that application of DSE8 may be valuable to facilitate the cultivation of E. wushanense with a higher biomass and improved medicinal quality.

Prunella vulgaris L (Labiatae) is commonly used as a traditional medicinal herb in some Asian and Europe countries. To date, few studies have been conducted to determine the influence of [Formula: see text] - N/[Formula: see text] - N ratio on growth, physiological development, and bioactive phytochemical accumulation in hydroponically grown P. vulgaris.The current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of five [Formula: see text] - N/[Formula: see text] - N ratios on growth, nitrogen metabolism, photosynthetic efficiency, and bioactive phytochemical production in P. vulgaris.Hydroponically cultivated P. vulgaris were fertilized with five [Formula: see text] - N/[Formula: see text] - N ratios in a greenhouse for 85 d. Dried weight of root, stem, leaf and spica, leaf area, photosynthetic efficiency, activities of nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), and the concentrations of N, soluble protein, and free amino acids in the leaves, as well as the contents of rosmarinic acid (RA), ursolic acid (UA), and oleanolic acid (OA) in the spicas were measured.Both [Formula: see text] - N and [Formula: see text] - N as the sole source of nitrogen had inhibitory effects on P. vulgaris growth. P. vulgaris fertilized with the 25/75 ([Formula: see text] - N/NO3 - N) ratio had the highest leaf area, photosynthetic rate, and chlorophyll content. The 25/75 ([Formula: see text]/[Formula: see text]) ratio increased the spica biomass by 1828%, nitrate-reductase (NR) activity by 98%, and soluble protein concentration by 29.45% compared with the 100/0 ([Formula: see text]/[Formula: see text]) treatment. Additionally, 25 [Formula: see text] - N/75 NO3 - N resulted in the highest contents of RA and total flavonoids as well as relatively high contents of UA and OA; therefore, this ratio had the highest yield of RA, UA, OA, and total flavonoids in spicas.The use of 25 [Formula: see text] - N/75 [Formula: see text] - N is recommended to improve biomass production and medicinal quality of P. vulgaris.

The purpose of phenotyping is to produce a description of the plant's anatomical, ontological, physiological, and biochemical properties. The description needs to be numerical, and the methodology needs to be rapid, repeatable, and inexpensive if a large number of samples need to be measured. In recent years, high throughput phenotyping analysis methods have become state of the art in the life sciences. The recent advancement in currently used new high throughput and high resolution phenotyping technologies is reviewed. Keywords: phenotyping; high throughput analysis; high resolution; genotype; 3D laser scanner

Red-emission at similar to 640 nm from self-assembled In0.55Al0.45As/Al0.5Ga0.5As quantum dots grown on GaAs substrate by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has been demonstrated. We obtained a double-peak structure of photoluminescence (PL) spectra from quantum dots. An atomic force micrograph (AFM) image for uncapped sample also shows a bimodal distribution of dot sizes. From the temperature and excitation intensity dependence of PL spectra, we found that the double-peak structure of PL spectra from quantum dots was strongly correlated to the two predominant quantum dot families. Taking into account quantum-size effect on the peak energy, we propose that the high (low) energy peak results from a smaller (larger) dot family, and this result is identical with the statistical distribution of dot lateral size from the AFM image.

Pinellia ternata is an important traditional Chinese medicinal plant. The growth of P. ternata is sensitive to high temperatures. To gain a better understanding of heat stress responses in P. ternata, we performed a comparative proteomic analysis. P. ternata seedlings were subjected to a temperature of 38 °C and samples were collected 24 h after treatment. Increased relative ion leakage and lipid peroxidation suggested that oxidative stress was frequently generated in rice leaves exposed to high temperature. Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) was used to analyze heat-responsive proteins. More than 600 protein spots were reproducibly detected on each gel; of these spots, 20 were up-regulated, and 7 were down-regulated. A total of 24 proteins and protein species were successfully identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. These proteins and protein species were found to be primarily small heat shock proteins (58%) as well as proteins involved in RNA processing (17%), photosynthesis (13%), chlorophyll biosynthetic processes (4%), protein degradation (4%) and defense (4%). Using 2-DE Western blot analysis, we confirmed the identities of the cytosolic class II small heat shock protein (sHSPs-CII) identified by MS. The expression levels of four different proteins [cytosolic class I small heat shock protein (sHSPs-CI), sHSPs-CII, mitochondrial small heat shock protein (sHSPs-MIT), glycine-rich RNA-binding protein (GRP)] were analyzed at the transcriptional level by quantitative real-time PCR. The mRNA levels of three sHSPs correlated with the corresponding protein levels. However, GRP was down-regulated at the beginning of heat stress but then increased substantially to reach a peak after 24 h of heat stress. Our study provides valuable new insight into the responses of P. ternata to heat stress.

Prunella vulgaris L. is an important medicinal plant with a variety of pharmacological activities, but limited information is available about its response to potassium chloride (KCl) supplementation. P. vulgaris seedlings were cultured in media with four different KCl levels (0, 1.00, 6.00 and 40.00 mM). Characteristics relating to the growth, foliar potassium, water and chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, transpiration, nitrogen metabolism, bioactive constituent concentrations and yield were determined after three months. The appropriate KCl concentration was 6.00 mM to result in the highest values for dry weight, shoot height, spica and root weight, spica length and number in P. vulgaris. The optimum KCl concentration resulted in a maximum net photosynthetic rate (Pn) that could be associated with the highest chlorophyll content and fully open stomata conductance. A supply of surplus KCl resulted in a higher concentration of foliar potassium and negatively correlated with the biomass. Plants that were treated with the appropriate KCl level showed a greater capacity for nitrate assimilation. The Pn was significantly and positively correlated with nitrate reductase (NR) and glutamine synthetase (GS) activities and was positively correlated with leaf-soluble protein and free amino acid (FAA) contents. Both KCl starvation (0 mM) and high KCl (40.00 mM) led to water loss through a high transpiration rate and low water absorption, respectively, and resulted in increased concentrations of ursolic acid (UA), oleanolic acid (OA) and flavonoids, with the exception of rosmarinic acid (RA). Moreover, the optimum concentration of KCl significantly increased the yields of RA, UA, OA and flavonoids. Our findings suggested that significantly higher plant biomass; chlorophyll content; Pn; stronger nitrogen anabolism; lower RA, UA, OA and flavonoid accumulation; and greater RA, UA, OA and flavonoid yields in P. vulgaris could be expected in the presence of the appropriate KCl concentration (6.00 mM).

Objective To compare botanical characteristics of cultivated Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. 'Hangju' of different origins in order to provide the basis for introduction and cultivation of Ch. morifolium cv. 'Hangju'. Method The characteristics of plants, leaves and capitulum of Ch. morifolium cv. 'Hangju' were measured, and the obtained data were analyzed and compared. Result The range of plant height was 60.87-99.47 cm, number of branches 2.76-5.20, leave length 4.90-8.40 cm, leave width 3.25-5.38 cm, aspect ratio of leave 1.35-1.83, number of leave split 1.92-3.08. Numbers of capitulum were 21.92-53.12, diameter of capitulum 3.41-5.48 cm, lays of ray florets 3.28-7.16, number of ray florets 55.32-114.60, ray florets length 1.58-2.37 cm, ray florets width 0.50-0.69 cm, aspect ratio of ray florets 2.90-3.99, diameter of tubular flower 1.10-1.58 cm. Conclusion The botanical characteristics of cultivated Ch. morifolium cv. 'Hangju' were distinguished from different origins. With the cultivation environment change, the botanical characteristics of the cultivars are changed.

OBJECTIVE To establish the quality classification criteria of Oldenlandia diffusa seeds. METHOD Thirty batches of O. diffusa seeds from different provenances with different collecting time were selected. And the seed germination percentage, seed purity, weight per 1 000 grains, moisture content and seed viability were determined and analyzed through SPSS 11.0 software. RESULT AND CONCLUSION Seed germination percentage was selected as the main index for classification, while seed purity, weight per 1 000 grains and moisture content could be used as references. The quality classification criteria of O. diffusa seeds have been initially established.

Prunella vulgaris L. (Labiatae) is a perennial plant common in China and Europe and is rich in rosmarinic acid (RA), ursolic acid (UA), and oleanolic acid (OA). The dried spica of P. vulgaris has been used as traditional medicine in China for over a hundred years. To our best knowledge, no study has been conducted to determine the influence of harvesting time on concentrations of bioactive compounds of P. vulgaris.In the current study, changes in the bioactive compounds present in spicas were investigated at five harvest times over 2 months.Plant material were collected at five fixed dates: 5th May, 20th May, 7th June, 15th June, and 25th June and assayed for chemical contents by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).Among the different harvest times, the highest levels of RA (56.81 mg·g⁻¹), UA (2.77 mg·g⁻¹), and OA (0.91 mg·g⁻¹) were found on 5th May, whereas the lowest levels of RA (1.66 mg·g⁻¹), UA (2.27 mg·g⁻¹), and OA (0.43 mg·g⁻¹) were observed on 25th June.As each medicinal product has its own content requirement for different bioactive components, the optimum harvest time might be determined according to the accumulation dynamics of target compound in dried spicas of P. vulgaris. These results may be useful for determining the optimal harvest time when bioactive components are at the maximum level, which is in early May.

Objective To optimize the testing methods for seed quality, and provide basis for establishing seed testing rules and seed quality standard of Oldenlandia diffusa. Method According to the related seed testing regulations, the seed quality of O. diffusa from different producing areas was measured. Result and conclusion The testing methods for seed of O. diffusa was established, including sampling, purity analysis, weight per 1 000 seeds, seed moisture content, seed viability and percentage germination.

Prunella vulgaris L. (Labiatae) contains a variety of structurally diverse natural products, primarily rosmarinic acid (RA), ursolic acid (UA) and oleanolic acid (OA), which possess a wide array of biological properties. In the present study, P. vulgaris was harvested at three developmental stages (vegetative, full-flowering and mature-fruiting stages), dissected into stem and leaf tissues and assayed for chemical contents using high performance liquid chromatography. Significant changes in the concentrations of the major secondary metabolites (RA, UA and OA) were observed at the different development stages. The highest concentrations of RA, UA and OA were found at the full-flowering stage (15.83 mg/g dry weight (DW) RA, 1.77 mg/g DW UA and 0.65 mg/g DW OA). Among the different aerial parts of the plant, the concentrations of RA, UA and OA were higher in the leaves than in the stems at the different developmental stages. These results suggest that the full-flowering stage is characterized by the highest concentrations of bioactive compounds. Therefore, this stage may be the optimum point for harvesting P. vulgaris plants. In additional, the leaves of P. vulgaris demonstrated higher RA, UA and OA concentrations than the stems, suggesting higher utilization potential.

Objective Current study was conducted to investigate the seed physiological characteristics of Tulipa edulis and improve germination rate. Method Anatomical characteristics was observed. Seed water absorption curve was tested by soaking method. Dynamic of embryo development and germination rate as well as germination index under different conditions were recorded. And the biological test of cabbage seed was used for detecting the germination inhibitors. Result The embryo rate of newly matured seeds was about 10%, and there was no obstacle of water absorption on testa of T. edulis. The optimum method for embryo development was exposure to 300 mg x L(-1) gibberellin solution for 24 hours, and stratification at 25 degrees C for 70 days followed by stratification at 5 degrees C for 40 days. The germintion rate and germination index of dormancy-broken seeds under the dark environment at 10 degrees C and 15 degrees C were significantly higher than those under other conditions. Additionally, there were some germination inhibitory substances in dry seeds. Conclusion The seed of T. edulis can be classified as having complex morphophysiological dormancy, and the morphological embryo dormancy played a leading role. Warm and cold stratification resulted in a fast dormancy breaking effect, and a high germination rate more than 90% could be obtained under the optimum conditions.

The dried over-ground parts of the plant Glechoma longituba are one of the important ingredients used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In this study, five different watering treatments, namely 95 to100% (T1), 80 to 85% (T2), 65 to 70% (T3), 50 to 55% (T4) and 35 to 40% (T5) of field capacity were used to investigate the effects of water deficiency on the growth, physiological characteristics and total flavonoid content of G. longituba. The study found that epidermis, palisade tissue, spongy tissue and vascular cylinder thickness peaked in the T2 treatment and then decreased in the other treatments in anatomy structure of leaf. And anatomical structure analysis of the stem revealed that the thickness of the cortex and the vascular cylinder were the highest in the T2 treatment, too. Water stress increased the thickness of the vessel walls in the xylem and the size of the parenchyma cells in the cortex, whereas it decreased the size of the parenchyma cells in the pith. As the water stress intensified, the resulting changes found in physiological indices suggested that water stress stimulated the level of redox activity. In addition, the yield of total flavonoids in the T2 treatment was higher than in the other treatments. Our results suggested that 80 to 85% of field capacity is the most suitable watering treatment for the growth of G. longituba. This procedure would be suitable for the domestication of G. longituba. Key words: Glechoma longituba, water treatment, physiological characteristics, total flavonoids.