Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine mainly containing flavonoids that contribute to its bioactivities. In this study, the distributions and dynamic changes of flavonoid levels in various organs of S. baicalensis at different development stages were investigated by UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS and HPLC-DAD methods. The results indicated that the metabolic profiles of S. baicalensis changed with growth and development. During the initial germination stage, the seeds mainly contained flavonols. With growth, the main kinds of flavonoids in S. baicalensis changed from flavonols to flavanones and flavones. The results also revealed that the accumulation of flavonoids in S. baicalensis is organ-specific. The flavones without 4′-OH groups mainly accumulate in the root and the flavanones mainly accumulate in aerial organs. Dynamic accumulation analysis showed that the main flavonoids in the root of S. baicalensis accumulated rapidly before the full-bloom stage, then changed to a small extent. The results suggested the proper harvest time for the aerial parts was at the initial stage of reproductive growth and the flower buds should be collected before flowering. This study deepening the knowledge of S. baicalensis should provide valuable information for guiding the scientific cultivation of this plant and the development and utilization of S. baicalensis.

The dried rhizome of Belamcanda. chinensis (L.) DC. is an important traditional Chinese medicine. Previous chemical and pharmacological investigations indicated that flavonoids may be responsible for the bioactivity of the herb. In this paper, the effects on the contents of twelve flavonoids in the three subunit parts of the rhizome of B. chinensis during the thermal drying process under treatment temperatures ranging from 40 °C to 120 °C at 10 °C intervals were investigated. The results showed that the content of most of the individual flavonoids except that of tectorigenin in the fresh eldest parts of the rhizome that originate directly from the seedling was higher than those of the other junior parts. The change trends of flavonoids contents were similar for three subunit parts of the rhizome during the drying process under the same treatment temperature. Most of the individual flavonoid contents in the rhizome increased in the early stages of the drying processes and decreased as the process was prolonged. The durations required to reaching the points of the maximal amounts of flavonoids revealed a significant negative correlation with the temperature. The variation of the content of mangiferin, iristectorigenin A, irigenin, irilone and dichotomitin was positively correlated with irisflorentin that is the chemical marker used for the quality control of this herb. Taking into account of the production effectiveness and flavonoid yields, the appropriate drying temperature for this herb was suggested to be 100 °C.

Asian ginseng and American ginseng are functional foods that share a close genetic relationship and are well-known worldwide. This article aims to investigate the correlation between morphological characteristics and the inherent quality of Asian and American ginsengs. In this study, an ultra-HPLC-quadrupole/time-of-flight MS (UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS) method was established for the quantitative analysis of 45 ginseng samples. The method developed for determination was precise and accurate. The results showed that Asian ginseng samples with the same growing time (with the same or similar number of stem scars) that had a thinner main root, a longer rhizome and more branch roots contained greater amounts of ginsenosides. For American ginseng, two tendencies were observed in the relationship between the diameter of the main root and contents of ginsenosides. One tendency was that samples with thinner main roots tended to contain higher levels of ginsenosides, which was observed in the samples sold under the commercial name pao-shen. Another tendency was that samples with thicker main roots contained higher contents of ginsenosides, which was observed in the samples sold under the commercial name pao-mian, as well as in samples of American ginseng cultivated in Jilin, China. An approach using ultra-HPLC-quadrupole/time-of-flight MS was successfully established to link morphology and active components for evaluating the quality of Asian and American ginsengs. Clear correlation between visible morphological features and quality of Asian and American ginsengs was found. People can see the difference; this means consumers and vendors can evaluate ginseng by themselves.