The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the effect of the cultivation year on the quality of different ginseng tissues. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of ginsenosides were conducted using a UPLC-UV-MS method. Eight main ginsenosides in three tissues (leaf, rhizome and main root) and four parts (periderm, phloem, cambium and xylem) of ginseng aged from 1 to 13 years were determined using a UPLC-PDA method. Additionally, the antioxidant capacities of ginseng leaves were analyzed by the DPPH, ABTS and HRSA methods. It was found that the contents of ginsenosides increased with cultivation years, causing a sequential content change of ginsenosides in an organ-specific manner: leaf > rhizome > main root. The ratio between protopanaxatriol (PPT, Rg₁, Re and RF) and protopanaxadiol (PPD, Rb₁, Rb₂, RC and Rd) in the main root remained stable (about 1.0), while it increased in leaf from 1.37 to 3.14 and decreased in the rhizome from 0.99 to 0.72. The amount of ginsenosides accumulated in the periderm was 45.48 mg/g, which was more than twice as high compared with the other three parts. Furthermore, the antioxidant activities of ginseng leaves were measured as Trolox equivalents, showing that antioxidant activity increased along with time of cultivation. The results show that the best harvest time for shizhu ginseng is the fifth year of cultivation, and the root and rhizome could be used together within seven planting years for their similar PPT/PPD level. Besides, the quality of the ginseng products would be enhanced with the periderm. The ginseng leaf is rich in ginsenosides and has potential application for its antioxidant capacity.

Saffron (Crocus sativusL.) is one of the most important and expensive medicinal spice products in the world. Because of its high market value and premium price, saffron is often adulterated through the incorporation of other materials, such asCarthamus tinctoriusL. andCalendula officinalisL. flowers,HemerocallisL. petals,Daucus carotaL. fleshy root,Curcuma longaL. rhizomes,Zea mayL., andNelumbo nuciferaGaertn. stigmas. To develop a straightforward, nonsequencing method for rapid, sensitive, and discriminating detection of these adulterants in traded saffron, we report here the application of a barcoding melting curve analysis method (Bar-MCA) that uses the universal chloroplast plant DNA barcoding regiontrnH-psbAto identify adulterants. When amplified at DNA concentrations and annealing temperatures optimized for the curve analysis, peaks were formed at specific locations for saffron (81.92°C) and the adulterants:D. carota(81.60°C),C. tinctorius(80.10°C),C. officinalis(79.92°C),Dendranthema morifolium(Ramat.) Tzvel. (79.62°C),N. nucifera(80.58°C),Hemerocallis fulva(L.) L. (84.78°C), andZ. mays(84.33°C). The constructed melting curves for saffron and its adulterants have significantly different peak locations or shapes. In conclusion, Bar-MCA could be a faster and more cost-effective method to authenticate saffron and detect its adulterants.

The Paeonia root, with or without bark, are considered vital traditional Chinese medicine materials; the examples are those of Bai Shao, Chi Shao, and Dan Pi. In this study, we examine 24 genes and their expressions involved in the biosynthesis of paeoniflorin and its derivatives, which are active compounds of the Paeonia root, in Paeonia lactiflora and P. suffruticosa, as well as other related plants, Punica granatum, Rhus radicans, and Coriaria nepalensis. Our phylogenetic analyses suggest that these genes have functional diversity, and analysis of the transcriptional level shows paeoniflorin and gallic acid biosynthesis-related genes exhibit different transcription profiles in flowers, carpels, bark-free roots, and bark of P. lactiflora. The correlation analysis of gene expression and active compound contents support the idea that hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase and phosphomevalonate kinase in the mevalonate pathway and 3-dehydroquinate dehydratase/shikimate dehydrogenase in shikimate biosynthesis are potentially closely related to the accumulation of paeoniflorin and benzoylpaeoniflorin. Coupling gene diversity with chemical analysis, we show that paeoniflorin and its derived aromatic amino acids are predominant in bark.

Through a combination of morphological and DNA data, a new scolopendrid centipede from southern and southwestern China was revealed: O. tricarinatus sp. nov. The species belong to the politus group but has three sharp tergal keels. Validation of phylogenetic status was performed through molecular analysis of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), 16S rRNA, and 28S rRNA sequences from 16 Otostigmus species. Otostigmus tricarinatus sp. nov. was found to be two populations and varied in the number of spines on the ultimate prefemur, the sutures on a sternite, and a pore-free median longitudinal strip in the pore field. The Yunnan-Guizhou plateau population of O. tricarinatus sp. nov. was sister to the clade O. politus politus + O. politus yunnanensis + Guangxi population of O. tricarinatus sp. nov. with strong support from both BI (bayesian inference) and ML (maximum likelihood) analyses (PP = 1, BS = 97%).

The millipede genus Kronopolites Attems, 1914 was originally described by monotypy with Strongylosoma swinhoei Pocock, 1895 as the type species, which was based on a single female specimen. Although this species has been believed to be widespread in China, there have been no confirmed reports of it from its type locality, leading to uncertainty about its taxonomic status. To address this issue, we newly sampled specimens from its type locality in Zhifu, Shandong Province, China. Our morphological analysis suggests that Kronopolites swinhoei (Pocock, 1895) should be reclassified as Nedyopus swinhoei (Pocock, 1895) comb. nov. and is a senior synonym of Nedyopus patrioticus Attems, 1898, syn. nov. The results also support the recovery of the name Kronopolites svenhedini (Verhoeff, 1934) sp. reval., which was previously misidentified as a junior synonym under K. swinhoei. The former is now the genus type of Kronopolites.