The growth years of traditional Chinese medicinal materials are closely related to their quality, which directly affects the efficacy and safety of clinical medication. Therefore, it is particularly important to establish an identification method for the growth years of traditional Chinese medicinal materials. In this review, the identification methods for the growth years of traditional Chinese medicinal materials were summarized systematically, and were divided into four types according to the identification principles and methods: traditional identification, molecular identification, physical/chemical identification, and integrated identification. Relying on rich experience, objective molecular markers, various physical/chemical methods and integrated identification techniques(including infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, bionic identification technology and their tandem technologies, etc.), the differences of characters or chemical fingerprints were compared in depth. The growth years of traditional Chinese medicinal materials were quickly identified or predicted by the appearance and characters, the whole fingerprint information or the content of specific chemical markers, and their content ratios. Through the case analysis of mature varieties, we intend to promote the establishment of a perfect technology system for the identification of the growth years of traditional Chinese medicinal materials, and to provide a reference for other perennial herbal materials, finally resulting in the accurate and precise quality control of traditional Chinese medicinal materials.
China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

As a traditional Chinese medicine， Ziziphi Spinosae Semen （ZSS） has the functions of tonifying liver， tranquilizing heart， astringent sweat and producing body fluid， which is used to treat neurasthenia， insomnia， dreaminess， debility， night sweat and so on. With the rapid and constant development of ZSS resource industry and its medicinal value， a large number of by-products and waste generated in the production and processing process， resulting in serious environmental problems. In general， the utilization rate of ZSS resources was still not high. Based on this， the chemical components and potential resources of ZSS were systematically combed from the perspective of the medicinal parts and bioactive components in this paper， and the authors had summarized that the widely application of ZSS and its by-products （fruit， leaf， root， etc.） in the fields of food， medicine， functional food and other areas was discovered and summarized as feed， feed additives， activated carbon， organic fertilizer， etc. In addition， this paper systematically summarized the current environmental protection problems of the industry， and put forward suggestions for improvement， aiming at reducing environmental pollution and improving the utilization efficiency of resources， so as to provide reference and basis for the comprehensive utilization of ZSS and its by-products， and promote the green， economical and double-effect development of the industry.

Objective:To study the distribution characteristics of mineral elements in Gastrodia elata samples with different grades and specifications （variants） from diverse producing areas and their classification and identification evidences. Method:Fourteen mineral elements in 31 batches of Gastrodia elata samples of different grades and specifications （variants） from diverse producing areas were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry， Mo-Sb colorimetry， and curcumin colorimetry， and then subjected to correlation analysis （CA）， discriminant analysis （DA）， and principal component analysis （PCA）. Result:The content of K， N， and P in G. elata was the highest， enabling them to serve as the nutritional limiting factors affecting its growth. The G. elata samples could be identified by the variation trend of elements （K>N>P>Mg>Ca>Fe>B>Zn>Mn>Cu>Ni>Cr>Pb>Cd）. The comparison of G. elata samples from multiple producing areas showed that G. elata from Zhaotong has the highest P， Fe， and Cd content， that from Lijiang the highest K content， that form Luotian the highest Zn and Cr content， and that from Jinzhai the highest Cu and Pb content. The content of Mg， B， Pb， and Cr in G. elata f. elata was higher than that in G. elata f. glauca. It was found that the content of P， Cu， and Cd in commercially available G. elata products gradually increased with the decrease in the commercial grade， while that of Mg， Fe， B， and Ni mostly decreased. As revealed by CA， Fe was positively correlated with Mg， Cr， and B. The producing areas of G. elata samples could be effectively identified by DA with Cd， Pb， Cr， Cu， B， and Ni as the main variables， and the accuracy reached up to 85.71%. According to the PCA of mineral elements in G. elata f. glauca from Zhaotong， Yunnan Province， Fe， Cr， Mg， Cd， P， Mn， B， Pb， and Cu exerted a greater influence on G. elata. Conclusion:The determination of mineral elements in G. elata samples contributes to identifying their authenticity and origin due to the easy operation， accurate results， and good stability.

Objective:To study the protective effect of different doses of single-flavored Coptis， Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex， and their compatibility on ulcerative colitis （UC） model rats and the colonic B lymphoblastoma-2 associated X protein （Bax） and cysteine-containing aspartame-3（Caspase-3） protein， inflammatory cytokines， and other expressions. Method:The 120 healthy adult SD rats were randomly divided into blank group， model group， sulfasalazine group， Coptidis Rhizoma 2.00， 1.00， 0.50 g·kg^-1 group， Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 2.00， 1.00， 0.50 g·kg^-1 group， Coptidis Rhizoma combine with Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 4.00， 2.00， 1.00 g·kg^-1 group， 12 groups with 10 rats in each group. The UC model was prepared by 2，4， 6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid/ethanol （TNBS/ethanol）. After 24 h of modeling， the rats were gavaged at 10 mL·kg^-1 for one time/d. After modeling， the mental state， activity state， hair luster， stool characteristics， and blood in the stool of each group were observed. After continuous administration for 6 days， colon tissues and spleen were taken after the last administration for 24 h. The ratio of colonic weight to length and spleen index was calculated. The degree of colonic injury was evaluated according to the colonic mucosal injury index （CMDI） score criteria. the histopathological observation was performed using hematoxylin-eosin staining （HE）. The expression levels of tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， and myeloperoxidase （MPO） in the serum of Coptidis Rhizoma 2.00 g·kg^-1 group， Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 2.00 g·kg^-1 group， Coptidis Rhizoma combine with Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 4.00 g·kg^-1 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） in blank group and model group. Western blot was used to detect the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 proteins in the colon of rats. Result:Compared with blank group， rats in model group were sluggish and less active. The colon weight-length ratio， spleen index， CMDI， and colon tissue pathological damage increased significantly， and the expression of serum TNF-α， IL-6， and MPO increased significantly. Serum IL-10 expression levels were extremely significantly reduced （P<0.01）. Compared with model group， the sulfasalazine group， the Coptidis Rhizoma 2.00， 1.00 g·kg^-1 group， the Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 2.00 g·kg^-1 group， and the three-dose groups of Coptidis Rhizoma combine with Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex， their colon weight-length ratio and CMDI were significantly reduced （P<0.05，P<0.01）. The colon weight length ratio and CMDI index of the Coptidis Rhizoma 0.50 g·kg^-1 group， Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 0.50 and 1.00 g·kg^-1 group were not significantly different from the model group but compared with Coptidis Rhizoma and Magnolia 0.50 g·kg^-1 group， the ratio of colon weight to length in the group of Coptidis Rhizoma combine with Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 1.00 g·kg^-1 group was significantly reduced （P<0.01）. Compared with model group， the spleen index of the sulfasalazine group， the Coptidis Rhizoma 2.00 g·kg^-1， and the Coptidis Rhizoma combine with Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 4.00 g·kg^-1 group were significantly lower （P<0.05）， compared with model group， the sulfasalazine group， Coptidis Rhizoma 2.00， 1.00 g·kg^-1 and Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 2.00 g·kg^-1， thre dose groups of Coptidis Rhizoma combine with Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex can significantly improve the depth and scope of histopathological damage and tissue necrosis. Compared with the model group， the preferred Coptidis Rhizoma 2.00 g·kg^-1 group， Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 2.00 g·kg^-1group， Coptidis Rhizoma combine with Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 4.00 g·kg^-1 group serum TNF-α， IL-6， MPO expression levels are extremely significantly reduced， the level of IL-10 increased significantly （P<0.01）．Compared with blank group， the expression of 　Bax and Caspase-3 protein in the colon of model group was significantly increased （P<0.01）. Compared with model group， the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 protein in preferred Coptidis Rhizoma 2.00 g·kg^-1 group and Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 2.00 g·kg^-1 group， Coptidis Rhizoma combine with Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex 4.00 g·kg^-1 group were significantly reduced （P<0.01）． Conclusion:The compatibility of single-flavored Coptidis Rhizoma， Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex， and Coptidis Rhizoma combine with Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex may improve the pathology of UC model rats induced by TNBS/ethanol by down-regulating the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 protein， inhibiting the release of inflammatory cytokines and promoting the release of anti-inflammatory factors injury， it plays a role in protecting colonic mucosa. The compatibility effect of Coptidis Rhizoma and Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex is better than that of single medicine， and Coptidis Rhizoma has a tendency to be better than Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex.