Objective To establish and optimize the ISSR-PCR reaction system for Prunella vulgaris and lay foundation for its genetic diversity research.Methods The single-factor and orthogonal design were applied for optimizing seven factors in the ISSR-PCR reaction system including Mg2+,dNTP,primers,Taq DNA polymerase,the template DNA,annealing temperature,and cycles.Results The suitable PCR reaction system contained 2.2 mmol/L Mg2+,175 ?mol/L dNTP,0.75 ?mol/L primer,1.0 U Taq DNA polymerase,and 30 ng template DNA in total 20 ?L reaction solution.On this basis,18 primers were screened with stable amplification and rich polymorphism from 92 ISSR primers.The optimal annealing temperature for ISSR-PCR reaction was proposed by gradient PCR.Conclusion It is a way to establisb the ISSR-PCR system for orthogonal design combining with single-factor test.And it is proved to be stable and credible for the result of 24 P.vulgaris populations.This optimized ISSR reaction system would provide the basis for the genetic analysis of P.vulgaris.

Objective To establish and optimize ISSR-PCR systems of Chrysanthemum morifolium and lay the foundation for its genetic diversity research. Methods Based on the analysis of variance, an orthogonal design was used to optimize the ISSR-PCR amplification system on C. morifolium by four factors (Taq polymerase, Mg2+, dNTP, and primer) at three concentration levels, respectively. Results A suitable ISSR reaction system was constructed with the 20 ?L reaction system containing 1.00 U Taq polymerase, 2.00 mmol/L Mg2+, 0.20 mmol/L dNTP, and 0.50 ?mol/L primer. Conclusion ISSR-PCR is significantly influenced by the concentration of Taq polymerase, Mg2+, and dNTP. This ISSR-PCR system could provide clear bands, reliable reaction system, and abundant polymorphisms . It is proved to be suitable for the study of the genetic diversity of C. morifolium

Objective To investigate the variation of chemical characteristics with environmental factors and establish a relationship betweem morphological characters and chemical composition of Prunella vulgaris collected in different areas of China.Methods Twelve phenotypic traits and three chemical compositions were assessed in 28 populations of P.vulgaris collected from different locations in China.Results The variability ranges observed at phenotypic and chemical levels were polymorphic.According to the morphological traits,28 populations of P.vulgaris could be grouped into six clusters,and two morpho-types could be clearly distinguished.Perceptible differences could be discerned in the plant height,leaf length,corolla length,calyx length,fruiting spikes length,and maturity period.Based on three kinds of components including ursolic acid,total flavonoids,and total polysaccharides,all populations could be identified as four types.Cluster Ⅳ showing high content of ursolic acid,total flavonoids,and total polysaccharides could be utilized to develop superior derivatives.Conclusion The variation of chemical characteristics is influenced by the genetic and environmental factors,such as soil,climate,longitude,and altitude.It provides a solid basis for efficiently evaluating qualities and establishing good agricultural practices for P.vulgaris.

OBJECTIVETo explore the character of inorganic elements in Flos Chrysanthemi indici and look for relationship between the element concentration and regions.

METHODThe contents of elements, including borum (B), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium(Ca), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), strontium (Sr), cesium (Se), barium(Ba) and lead(Pb) in Chinese traditional herb Flos Chrysanthemi indici from different regions were determined by ICP-AES. The element distrubution diagram were plotted. The principal component analysis and correlation analysis of SPSS were applied for the study of characteristic elements.

RESULTSimilar curves of element concentration have been acquired. It is observed that the content of elements in the samples shows regional diversity. There are 15 correlative element pairs in correlation analysis. Four principal components which accounted for over 84.437% of the total variance were extracted from the original data. The first and second factors accounted for 60.090% of the total variance, which means that P, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Sr, B, Na and Se may be the characteristic elements.

CONCLUSIONThe showed that element content in Flos Chrysanthemi Indici display special distributing diagram. Remarkable correlation is presented in some element pairs. The elements contents of Flos Chrysanthemi indici gained from Yunan, Hunan are higher than those from other regions.

China ; Chrysanthemum ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Principal Component Analysis ; Trace Elements ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo study the arbuscular mycorrhiza and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with cultivated and wild Pinellia ternata in Guizhou province.

METHODWild and cultivated P. ternata roots were observed through staining and microscopic examination, the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi spores were isolated through wet thieving according to Gerdemann & Nicolson (1963), the spores were identified following the description of Schenck & Pérez (1988), and some previous publications.

RESULTThe typical arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) structure was showed according to a research of wild and cultivated P. ternata. In the survey of AM fungi species in the rhizosphere of wild and cultivated P. ternata, 3 genera and 21 species were found, 3 genera and 7 species were identified. 5 species of them belong to Glomus, 1 species belongs to Scutellospora, 1 species belongs to Gigaspora, including Glomus mosseae, G. intraradices, G. melanosporum, G. deserticola, G. aggregatum, Scutellospora castanea, Gigaspora albida, and one of them was a new record, i.e., Scutellospora castanea which was the dominant species in Bijie.

CONCLUSIONThe diversity of AM fungi between wild and cultivated Pinellia ternata was showed on this survey, the fungi associated with wild ones are different form the cultivated ones, such as Gigaspora albida only occurs in cultivated ones, Glomus melanosporum only occurs in wild ones, while Glomus mosseae and Glomus intraradices occur in both wild and cultivated ones, and there were specialization species in Bijie, all these can provide new though for solving degradation problem of cultivated Pinellia ternata.

Biodiversity ; Fungi ; classification ; cytology ; isolation & purification ; Mycorrhizae ; classification ; cytology ; isolation & purification ; Pinellia ; microbiology ; Plant Roots ; microbiology ; Soil Microbiology ; Spores, Fungal ; classification ; cytology ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo investigate the herbal medicine of Prunella vulgaris by textual researches, and provide a theoretical basis for clinical medication, exploitation and protection of wild P. vulgaris resources.

METHODTextual research on medicinal works of past dynasties and field work were adopted.

RESULTThe natural distributions of P. vulgaris were concentrated distribution in Sichuan province, Huaihe river basin, and Middle-Lower Yangtze river valley in Chinese history. The indications of P. vulgaris in ancient and modern times were basically identical. While there were difference between the medicinal parts, harvest period and processing methods existed difference between ancient and modern.

CONCLUSIONThree periods that whole grass of P. vulgaris as medicinal parts (from late Ming dynasty to late Qing dynasty and early stage of Republic of China), both whole grass and spicas as medicinal parts (from mid-term Republic of China to 1963), and the semi-maturity or maturity of spicas as medicinal parts (from 1963 to today) existed. The processing method for medicinal parts of P. vulgaris adopted sun drying and shady drying in ancient China, but only the sun drying was only used in modern times.

China ; Drug Therapy ; history ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; analysis ; history ; Herbal Medicine ; history ; History, Ancient ; Humans ; Prunella ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo investigate the original plant and dietotherapy history of Prunella vulgaris by textual researches, and provide a theoretical basis for clinical medication, exploitation and protection of wild resources.

METHODThe ancient literatures in the graphic, geographical distribution and morphological description of P. vulgaris were used in this studied.

RESULTThe varieties of P. vulgaris for therapeutic were no confusion. However, there has existed confusion between P. vulgaris and its confusable species (Ajuga ciliate, A. decumbens and Lagopsis supina) with appellations, morphological description and attached drawing of original plant.

CONCLUSIONThe original plant is originated from two species (P. vulgaris, P. asiatica). P. hispida was used as a certified medicinal material in Yunnan province from Ming Dynasty to modern time. The dietotherapy history of P. vulgaris in China can be traced back to Ming Dynasty or before.

China ; Drug Therapy ; history ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; history ; therapeutic use ; History, Ancient ; Humans ; Medicine in Literature ; Prunella ; chemistry ; growth & development

OBJECTIVETo investigate the quality of Schisandra chinensis, and thus provide the useful reference data for its quality standard establishment and standardized cultivation.

METHODBase on the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and literature relating to S. chinensis, the appearance, water-soluble extractive, total ash, acid-insoluble ash and volatile oil of 10 S. chinensis sampes collected from different producing sites in northeast China were studied or determined, and the contents of major active lingans were measured by HPLC.

RESULTThe content of total ash and acid-insoluble ash in S. chinensis was less than 7.0%, 1.0%, respectively. The contents of water-soluble extractive were higher than 45.0%. HPLC analyses showed that the content of schisandrol A was higher than 0.40%. All these results in accordance with the requirements of Chinese Pharmacopoeia were published in 2010.

CONCLUSIONThe differences of the appearance and the internal quality are different for the samples collected from different areas. And the establishment of a scientific and comprehensive quality standard system will be very important role in ensuring the quality of S. chinensis.

China ; Cyclooctanes ; analysis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; standards ; Lignans ; analysis ; Oils, Volatile ; analysis ; Quality Control ; Schisandra ; chemistry ; growth & development

OBJECTIVETo determine the concentration of mineral elements and analyze the principal components in Thesium chinense.

METHODMineral elements were determined by ICP-DES. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used toanalyze and evaluate the characteristic elements.

RESULTT. chinense contained more than 17 mineral elements, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Cr, Co, Ni, Sr, B, Ca, P, K, Na, Mg, Mg, Mn, Zn and Cu were abundance in T. chinense. The concentration of Mn and Zn were about 100 microg x g(-1), Mg was from 1 898.0 to 3 137.73 micro x g(-1), Fe > 500 microg x g(-1). PCA concluded that four factors (F1, F2, F3, F4 ) could be used to evaluate the quality of T. chinense. The function is following: F = 0.444 77F1 + 0.237 71F2 + 0.167 28F3 + 0.150 24F4. The scores of different populations of T. chinens were from 0.627 to 0.189. Zn,Cu,Mg,P, K, Al, Fe, Cr, Na, Co, Pb, Mn, B and Ca were the characteristic elements of T. chinense.

CONCLUSIONT. chinense contain more than 17 mineral elements. Zn, Cu, Mg, P, K, Al, Fe, Cr, Na, Co, Pb, Mn, B and Ca were the characteristic elements of T. chinense.

Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Principal Component Analysis ; Santalaceae ; chemistry ; Trace Elements ; analysis