Origin traceability is critical for food safety, and the strontium isotope ratio (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) has been widely used in this field due to its accuracy and stability. Establishing a regional baseline map of bioavailable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr is essential for precise traceability. However, the existing large-scale bioavailable Sr isotope map of China has low spatial resolution and uses water as the main sample, making it unsuitable for plant-derived food traceability. This study focused on Anhui, a major agricultural province in China. Based on geological lithology distribution, 149 plant samples were collected across Anhui to construct a fine-scale bioavailable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr map. The map enabled traceability of Anhui’s characteristic plant-derived foods, such as Cha (Camellia sinensis), Mugua (Chaenomeles speciosa), Fengdan (Paeonia ostii), Jiegeng (Platycodon grandiflorum), and Duohua Huangjing (Polygonatum cyrtonema). It provides a basis for food origin traceability in Anhui and supports market supervision of China’s geographical indication (GI) products.

Endocarps of the genus Rubus are frequently recovered from archaeobotanical assemblages in China, yet species-level identification has remained limited due to the lack of systematic endocarp morphological references. Here, we establish the first comprehensive endocarp morphology atlas for Rubus based on the analysis of mature endocarps from 126 modern taxa in China, including 22 varieties. Using this atlas, Rubus endocarps recovered from seven archeological sites dating from the Shang–Zhou dynasties to the present were identified, including one carbonized and six uncarbonized specimens, and assigned to Rubus lambertianus, R. parvifolius, R. flosculosus, R. coreanus var. tomentosus, R. trianthus, and R. adenophorus. In addition, previously reported Rubus endocarps from nine archeological sites were re-evaluated and primarily attributed to R. parvifolius, R. hirsutus, and R. rosifolius. This morphological atlas provides a standardized reference for identifying archeological Rubus endocarps and supports more refined interpretations of their past distribution and use in China.

Honglanqi (HLQ), a distinctive commercial specification of Astragali Radix (AR) characterized by rhytidome and interxylary cork, remains undervalued despite originating from premium long-cultivated material. The ethyl acetate fraction (HLQE) showed the greatest anti-inflammatory activity among the polarity-based fractions of an HLQ ethanol extract. We applied an integrated ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–QTOF-MS/MS) and feature-based molecular networking (FBMN) strategy to systematically profile the chemical composition of HLQE. A total of 102 metabolites were annotated across seven compound classes, of which 18 were predicted as potential new compounds, and 37 were reported in AR for the first time. Three undescribed compounds, astragalinin A, astragalinin B, and astragquinone, were isolated and characterized, together with 19 known compounds. In LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages, astragalinin A exhibited potent inhibition of TNF-α and IL-6 (IC₅₀ < 10 μM). Astragquinone showed significant TNF-α inhibition with a favourable safety profile. Stereochemical configuration critically influenced anti-inflammatory potency, as demonstrated by the enantiomeric pair. Molecular docking predicted favourable binding orientations toward TNF-α and IL-6 in silico. These findings provide a comprehensive phytochemical and bioactivity profile of HLQ, supporting its value-added utilization as an underutilized AR resource.