Polygonati rhizoma (Huangjing in Chinese) is a traditional and classic dual-purpose material used in food and medicine. Herbalists in China and Japan have noticed several different rhizome types in Huangjing with different qualities. Rhizome of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua and P. sibiricum Red. is divided into five types: “Jitou-type” Polygonati rhizoma (JTPR), atypical “Jitou-type” Polygonati rhizoma (AJTPR), “Jiang-type” Polygonati rhizoma (JPR), “Cylinder-type” Polygonati rhizoma (CPR), and “Baiji-type” Polygonati rhizoma (BJPR). This study observed the microstructure and histochemical localization of polysaccharides, saponins, and proteins in Huangjing. Nutritional and medicinal component data and antioxidant capacity (DPPH and ABTS) were analyzed to evaluate the quality of different types of Huangjing. The results showed that the comprehensive quality of the rhizomes, BJPR and JTPR, was better, regardless of their nutritional or medicinal values. Altogether, these results could recommend future breeding efforts to produce Huangjing with improved nutritional and medicinal qualities.

Many species of Corydalis (Papaveraceae) have been used as medicinal plants in East Asia, and the most well-known species are Corydalis yanhusuo and C. decumbens in the Pharmacopoeia of China. However, authentication of these species remains problematic because of their high morphological variation. Here, we selected 14 closely related species and five genomic regions (chloroplast: matK, trnG, rbcL, psbA-trnH; nuclear: ITS) to explore the utility of DNA barcoding for authenticating these herbs. In addition, the Poisson tree process (PTP) and automatic barcode gap discovery (ABGD) were also used and compared with DNA barcoding. Our results showed that the ITS region was not suitable for molecular analysis because of its heterogeneous nature in Corydalis. In contrast, matK was an ideal region for species identification because all species could be resolved when matK was used along with the other three chloroplast regions. We found that at least five traditional identified species were lumped into one genetic species by ABGD and PTP methods; thus, highlighting the overestimation of species diversity using the morphological approach. In conclusion, our first attempt of molecular analysis of Corydalis herbs presented here successfully resolved the identification of medicinal species and encouraged their taxonomic re-assessment.

Background: Qianhu is a traditional Chinese medicine. It is thought that Qianhu roots will harden after bolting and not be suitable for medicinal purposes. Bolting Qianhu and unbolting Qianhu are referred to as “Xiong Qianhu” and “Ci Qianhu,” respectively. In this study, the properties, microscopic and chemical characteristics of Ci Qianhu and Xiong Qianhu roots were compared using fluorescence microscopy, laser microdissection coupled with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection. Results: Microscopy results showed that the area of secondary xylem in the root increased after bolting, with the cork and secretory canals showing strong fluorescence intensity. A total of 34 peaks, mostly pyranocoumarins, were identified in the tissues of Ci Qianhu and Xiong Qianhu. The secretory canals contained the highest variability of coumarins, whereas the secondary xylem contained the least coumarins. Moreover, seven coumarins, especially the pyran- coumarin, decreased after bolting. Generally, both before and after bolting, coumarin level was the highest in the bark, followed by the middle part, and the lowest in the inner part. Conclusion: Thus, it was indicated that the area of secondary xylem increased after bolting, however the coumarin variant and content decreased in the secondary xylem of Qianhu. The result shows that the quality of Qianhu decreases after bolting, which supports the viewpoint that Xiong Qianhu is not suitable for medicinal use.

Platycodi Radix (PR) is the root of Platycodon grandiflorum (Jacq.) A. DC., which has been used for a long time in China to treat pulmonary diseases. The present study aimed to evaluate the quality of PR samples collected from 23 regions of 11 provinces in China. Eight saponins were quantified using HPLC coupled with evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-ELSD). The samples with the highest total contents of saponins were from southern China, such as Yunnan, Guangxi, Jiangxi, and Guangzhou. The fingerprint analysis of PR samples was conducted by HPLC-UV method. Nineteen common peaks were selected and the similarity values varied from 0.607 to 0.921. These findings indicated that the saponins contents of PR from different regions varied significantly, with PR samples from southern China having the highest contents of saponins. These comprehensive methods were successful in evaluating the quality of PR samples from northern and southern China, which will serve as a guide for the development of PR as a clinical medication.