OBJECTIVETo compare the contents of resveratrol and polydatin in some materials of Polygonum cuspidatum from various sources, so to screen and obtain the suitable cultures for the following metabolism regulation study.

METHODRP-HPLC method was applied to simultaneously assay resveratrol and polydatin in different samples.

RESULTBy the modified methods of extraction and determination, large amount of materials were screened. The results indicated that the contents of resveratrol and polydatin in root and rhizome were evidently higher than those in the leave and stems. The content of polydatin in the seedlings cultured indoor for three months was 1.27% and showed a 1.25-time increse than that in the wild plants, while the content of resveratrol (0.401%) approached that in the wild plants. Both of resveratrol and polydatin could be examined from different tissue cultures of P. cuspidatum, such as the sterile seedlings, callus, suspended cells and hairy roots, and the levels of them were closely related to the growth speed, physiological status and developmental phase. Hairy roots had the highest potentiality in several tested cultures and the increase rate of dry weight was 8.29 when cultured in vitro for 30 days, and showed a 8.4-fold and a 192.8-fold increase compared with those of natural roots and suspended cells, respectively. The content of polydatin in the hairy roots was up to 0.037% and that of resveratrol was 0.007%.

CONCLUSIONThe established analysis method is rapid, simple and accurate, especially adapted to the simultaneous determination of resveratrol and polydatin in massive biological samples. Hairy-root cultures have the superiority among the tested materials of P. cuspidatum and are suitable for the large-scale biomass and consistent production of efficient constituents.