Molecular authentication of the traditional Tibetan medicinal plant Swertia mussotii

Swertia mussotii is an important species in Tibetan folk medicine. However, it is quite expensive and frequently adulterated, so reliable methods for authentication of putative specimens and preparations of the species are needed to protect consumers and to support conservation measures. We show here that the chloroplast (cp) DNA rpl16 intron has limited utility for differentiating S. mussotii from closely related species, since the cpDNA rpl16 sequences are identical in S. mussotii and two other species of Swertia. However, the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences differ significantly between S. mussotii and all of 13 tested potential adulterants. Thus, the ITS region provides a robust molecular marker for differentiating the medicinal S. mussotii from related adulterants. Therefore, a pair of allele-specific diagnostic primers based on the divergent ITS region was designed to distinguish S. mussotii from the other species. Authentication by allele-specific diagnostic PCR using these primers is convenient, effective and both simpler and less time-consuming than sequencing the ITS region.

A molecular marker that is specific to medicinal rhubarb based on chloroplast trnL/trnF sequences

"Da-Huang" (Radix et Rhizoma Rhei, medicinal rhubarb), a famous and important Traditional Chinese Medicine, has often been confused with the adulterant species in the same genus, Rheum. Through sequencing the trnL (UAA)/trnF (GAA) regions of chloroplast DNA of thirteen species of Rheum (three medicinal rhubarb species and ten adulterant ones), a molecular marker of the medicinal species was found. A pair of PCR primers based on the sequences, was thus designed, which amplified a highly specific DNA fragment in medicinal rhubarb exclusively, and absent in the adulterants at all under an optimized PCR condition.

Anti-HIV-1 activities of extracts from the medicinal plant Rhus chinensis

Rhus chinensis, a species used in folk medicine by Chinese native people, the anti-HIV-1 activities of the petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, butanol and aqueous extract of Rhus chinensis, named as RC-1, RC-2, RC-3 and RC-4, respectively, was evaluated. The

Anti-HIV-1 activities of compounds isolated from the medicinal plant Rhus chinensis

Aim of the study: Previously, we reported that the petroleum ether fraction, RC-1, and EtOAc fraction, RC-2, of the medicinal plant Rhus chinensis showed potent anti-HIV-1 activities. To address anti-HIV-1 constituents of RC-1 and RC-2, 17 compounds were

Melatonin in Chinese medicinal herbs

Melatonin is a highly conserved molecule that not only exists in animals, but also is present in bacteria, unicellular organisms and in plants. Since melatonin is an antioxidant, in plants melatonin was speculated to protect them from intrinsic and environmental oxidative stress. More importantly, melatonin in edible plants inevitably enters animals and human through feed and food. In this study, more than 100 Chinese medicinal herbs were analyzed using the methods of solid phase extraction and HPLC-FD on-line with MS to determine whether melatonin is present in these commonly used herbs. Melatonin was detected in majority of these plants. Sixty-four of them contain melatonin in excess of 10 ng per gram dry mass. Melatonin levels in several herbs are in excess of 1000 ng/g. It is well known that normal average physiological plasma levels of melatonin are only 10-60 pg/mL. These high level-melatonin containing plants are traditionally used to treat diseases which presumably involve free radical damage. The current study provides new information concerning one potentially effective constituent present in a large number of medicinal herbs. The results suggest that these herbs should be reevaluated in reference to their nutritional and medicinal value. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Structural analysis of saponins from medicinal herbs using electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

The underivatized saponins from Tribulus terrestris and Panax ginseng have been investigated by electrospray ionization multi-stage tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MSn). In ESI-MS spectra, a predominant [M + Na](+) ion in positive mode and [M - H](-) ion in negative mode were observed for molecular mass information. Multi-stage tandem mass spectrometry of the molecular ions was used for detailed structural analysis. Fragment ions from glycoside cleavage can provide information on the mass of aglycone and the primary sequence and branching of oligosaccharide chains in terms of classes of monosaccharides. Fragment ions from cross-ring cleavages of sugar residues can give some information about the linkages between sugar residues. It was found that different alkali metal-cationized adducts with saponins have different degrees of fragmentation, which may originate from the different affinity of a saponin with each alkali metal in the gas phase. ESI-MSn has been proven to be an effective tool for rapid determination of native saponins in extract mixtures, thus avoiding tedious derivatization and separation steps.

Antioxidative principals of Jussiaea repens: an edible medicinal plant

Jussiaea repens L. (JRL) is an edible medicinal plant and is also used as a vegetable by the local people in southwestern China. The crude extract and its four fractions derived from JRL were evaluated for the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging ability, hydroxyl radical-scavenging capacity and the potassium ferricyanide reduction property. The ethyl acetate-soluble fraction (EAF) and EAF6 (a subfraction derived from EAF) were the most valuable fraction and subfraction, respectively. Furthermore, bioactivity-guided chromatographic fractionation revealed that three pure compounds greatly contributed to the antioxidant activities. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the major antioxidant constituents in the extract were systematically conducted by NMR, mass spectral analyses and RP-HPLC. The result demonstrated that rosmarinic acid (2.00 mg g(-1) JRL dry weight) quercetin 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (9.88 mg g(-1) JRL dry weight), and kaempferol 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1.85 mg g(-1) JRL dry weight) were the major antioxidative constituents in JRL. These compounds are reported for the first time from this plant.

Chemical constituents of marine medicinal mangrove plant Sonneratia caseolaris

Twenty-four compounds including eight steroids (1-8), nine triterpenoids (9-16, 24), three flavonoids (20-22), and four benzenecarboxylic derivatives (17-19, 23) were isolated and identified from stems and twigs of medicinal mangrove plant Sonneratia caseolaris. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined by extensive analysis of their spectroscopic data. Among these metabolites, compounds 1, 4-20 and 22-24 were isolated and identified for the first time from S. caseolaris. In the in vitro cytotoxic assay against SMMC-7721 human hepatoma cells, compound 21 (3',4',5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone) exhibited significant activity with IC50 2.8 mu g/mL, while oleanolic acid (14), 3,3'-di-O-methyl ether ellagic acid (18), and 3,3',4-O-tri-O-methyl ether ellagic acid (19) showed weak activity. None of these compounds displayed significant antibacterial activites.

Decline in medicinal and forage species with warming is mediated by plant traits on the Tibetan Plateau

Experimental studies of how global changes and human activities affect plant diversity often focus on broad measures of diversity and discuss the implications of these changes for ecosystem function. We examined how experimental warming and grazing affected species within plant groups of direct importance to Tibetan pastoralists: medicinal plants used by humans and palatable plants consumed by livestock. Warming resulted in species losses from both the medicinal and palatable plant groups; however, differential relative vulnerability to warming occurred. With respect to the percent of warming-induced species losses, the overall plant community lost 27%, medicinal plants lost 21%, and non-medicinal plants lost 40% of species. Losses of palatable and non-palatable species were similar to losses in the overall plant community. The deep-rootedness of medicinal plants resulted in lowered sensitivity to warming, whereas the shallow-rootedness of non-medicinal plants resulted in greater sensitivity to warming; the variable rooting depth of palatable and non-palatable plants resulted in an intermediate response to warming. Predicting the vulnerability of plant groups to human activities can be enhanced by knowledge of plant traits, their response to specific drivers, and their distribution within plant groups. Knowledge of the mechanisms through which a driver operates, and the evolutionary interaction of plants with that driver, will aid predictions. Future steps to protect ecosystem services furnished by medicinal and palatable plants will be required under the novel stress of a warmer climate. Grazing may be an important tool in maintaining some of these services under future warming.