Tao Shen

Mycology, cultivation, traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Wolfiporia cocos (Schwein.) Ryvarden et Gilb.: A review

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Wolfiporia cocos (Schwein.) Ryvarden et Gilb. has a long history as a Chinese traditional medicine with uses of inducing diuresis, excreting dampness, invigorating the spleen, and tranquilizing the mind. Recently, Wolfiporia cocos has received increasing interest, and phytochemical and pharmacological studies have validated the traditional uses of this species. AIMS OF THE REVIEW To provide an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the mycology, cultivation, traditional uses, chemical constituents and pharmacological activities aspects of Wolfiporia cocos in order to highlight its ethnopharmacological use and to explore its therapeutic potentials and to provide a basis for future research. MATERIALS AND METHODS The accessible literature, from 1980 to 2012, on Wolfiporia cocos written in English, Chinese, French, Korean, Spanish and Turkish were selected and analyzed. RESULTS The phytochemical and modern pharmacological studies demonstrated that Wolfiporia cocos possess a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities, such as anti-tumor, anti-oxidant, anti-rejection, nematicidal, anti-hyperglycemic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertonic stress activities, which could be explained by the presence of various triterpenes and polysaccharides. CONCLUSIONS Modern phytochemical and pharmacological investigations showed that major active components separated from Wolfiporia cocos had anti-tumor, anti-oxidant, anti-rejection activities, and so on. Further investigations are needed to explore the relationship of the molecular mass, chain stiffness, and water solubility of polysaccharide from Wolfiporia cocos with the antitumor activities.

Evaluation of the mercury contamination in mushrooms of genus Leccinum from two different regions of the world: Accumulation, distribution and probable dietary intake.

This study focused on investigation of the accumulation and distribution of mercury (Hg) in mushrooms of the genus Leccinum that emerged on soils of totally different geochemical bedrock composition. Hg in 6 species from geographically diverse regions of the mercuriferous belt areas in Yunnan of SW China, and 8 species from the non-mercuriferous regions of Poland in Europe was measured. Also assessed was the probable dietary intake of Hg from consumption of Leccinum spp., which are traditional organic food items in SW China and Poland. The results showed that L. chromapes, L. extremiorientale, L. griseum and L. rugosicepes are good accumulators of Hg and the sequestered Hg in caps were up to 4.8, 3.5, 3.6 and 4.7 mg Hg kg(-1) dry matter respectively. Leccinum mushrooms from Poland also efficiently accumulated Hg with their average Hg content being an order of magnitude lower due to low concentrations of Hg in forest topsoil of Poland compared to the elevated contents in Yunnan. Consumption of Leccinum mushrooms with elevated Hg contents in Yunnan at rates of up to 300 g fresh product per week during the foraging season would not result in Hg intake that exceeds the provisional weekly tolerance limit of 0.004 mg kg(-1) body mass, assuming no Hg ingestion from other foods.

Discrimination of wild Paris based on near infrared spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography combined with multivariate analysis.

Different geographical origins and species of Paris obtained from southwestern China were discriminated by near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with multivariate analysis. The NIR parameter settings were scanning (64 times), resolution (4 cm−1), scanning range (10000 cm−1∼4000 cm−1) and parallel collection (3 times). NIR spectrum was optimized by TQ 8.6 software, and the ranges 7455∼6852 cm−1 and 5973∼4007 cm−1 were selected according to the spectrum standard deviation. The contents of polyphyllin I, polyphyllin II, polyphyllin VI, and polyphyllin VII and total steroid saponins were detected by HPLC. The contents of chemical components data matrix and spectrum data matrix were integrated and analyzed by partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). From the PLS-DA model of NIR spectrum, Paris samples were separated into three groups according to the different geographical origins. The R2X and Q2Y described accumulative contribution rates were 99.50% and 94.03% of the total variance, respectively. The PLS-DA model according to 12 species of Paris described 99.62% of the variation in X and predicted 95.23% in Y. The results of the contents of chemical components described differences among collections quantitatively. A multivariate statistical model of PLS-DA showed geographical origins of Paris had a much greater influence on Paris compared with species. NIR and HPLC combined with multivariate analysis could discriminate different geographical origins and different species. The quality of Paris showed regional dependence.

Simultaneous determination of six index constituents and comparative analysis of four ethnomedicines from genus Gentiana using a UPLC‐UV‐MS method

Many species from genus Gentiana (Gentianaceae) have a long history of applications as folk medicines in the world. A simple rapid UPLC-UV-MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of six index constituents (gentiopicroside, swertiamarin, loganic acid, sweroside, mangiferin and ferulic acid) from the four ethnomedicines (G. rigescens Franch. ex Hemsl., G. rhodantha Franch. ex Hemsl., G. scabra Bunge and G. farreri Balf. f.). The UPLC analysis was performed on Shim-Pack XR-ODS III (150 × 2.0 mm, 2.2 µm). The mobile phase was consisted of acetonitrile-0.1% formic acid water using gradient elution. The wavelength 242 nm was chose for the four iridoids as well as mangiferin and 320 nm was set for ferulic acid. Mass spectrometry was applied for identification and quantification for analytes with low concentration. All the regression equations revealed a good linear relationship (R(2)  > 0.9993). Accuracy and precision were all within the required limits. The chromatogram fingerprints analysis combined with principal component analysis showed the similarity values of the four species were <0.788 while the similarity values of G. scabra Bunge and G. rigescens Franch. ex Hemsl. were >0.993, which provided reasonable foundation for utilization and clinical application of the four ethnomedicines. This developed method appears to be a useful tool for quality control of the four ethnomedicines.

Investigation of chemical diversity in different parts and origins of ethnomedicine Gentiana rigescens Franch using targeted metabolite profiling and multivariate statistical analysis.

Gentiana rigescens, an ethnomedicine, is widely cultivated in Yunnan province of China. Although a wide range of metabolites including iridoid glycosides, flavonoids and triterpenoids have been reported in this ethnomedicine, the data on accumulation and distribution of metabolites in certain parts are limited. In this study, targeted metabolic fingerprinting of iridoid glycosides based on liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-UV-MS/MS) was developed to investigate the metabolic similarities and differences in different parts and origins. Thirty-one compounds, including iridoid glycosides and flavonoids, were detected from targeted metabolite profiling and plausibly assigned to the different parts of G. rigescens. Multivariate statistical analysis was designed to reveal close chemical similarities between all the selected samples and to identify key metabolites characteristic of the standard. The results suggested that accumulation and distribution of metabolites in aerial and underground parts were different. Moreover, root samples tended to be grouped on the basis of the geographical closeness of region. Five metabolites can be considered as potential markers for the classification of underground parts from different regions. These results provided chemical information on the potential pharmaceutical value for further research, making G. rigescens ideal for the rational usage of different parts and exploitation of the source.

Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry Combined with Fourier Transform Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy and Chemometrics for Comparative Analysis of Raw and Processed Gentiana rigescens

Herbal medicines have been shown to change chemical constituents upon different processing approaches, which might lead to different pharmacological activities and therapeutic effects. In this study, raw and processed Gentiana rigescens (wine-, vinegar-, and salt water-processed) were extracted and profiled by ultra-fast liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC–MS/MS) and Fourier transform mid-infrared spectroscopy (FT-MIR). Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) based on FT-MIR revealed potential relationships between raw and processed samples, while the processed sample displayed chemical variation. Partial least-squares discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) was used for screening the marker metabolites. The results indicated that UFLC–UV-MS/MS and FT-MIR fingerprints with chemometrics could effectively evaluate the quality of G. rigescens under different processed approaches. Eight compounds were selected as potential marker metabolites for contributing to the most effective classification of raw and processed samples. In addition, these potential marker metabolites were tentatively identified by matching mass information with the fragmentation patterns of the published literature or standard compounds. These results revealed that UFLC–UV-MS/MS and FT-MIR methods coupled with chemometrics could provide an effective platform for monitoring quality variations of G. rigescens under different processed approaches.

Development and validation of a UPLC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination and detection of four neuritogenic compounds in different parts of Gentiana rigescens Franch using multiple reaction monitoring and precursor ion scanning

A simple, sensitive, selective and reliable ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination and detection of four neuritogenic compounds (gentisides A, B, J and K) isolated from Gentiana rigescens. The analysis was carried out on an ODS column with isocratic elution of methanol : 0.1% formic acid coupled to ESI-triple-quadrupole-MS operating in negative ion mode. The four compounds were detected in a precursor ion scan (m/z 135.00, 153.00, 109.10 and 91.10) and quantified in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) acquisition mode. All the regression equations revealed a good linear relationship (R2 = 0.9978–0.9992) within the test ranges. The mean recoveries of the targets measured at three concentrations were in the range of 98.00% to 102.29%. The inter- and intra-day %RSD of retention time and peak area were less than 2%. The method appears to be a useful tool for the simultaneous determination and detection of the four neuritogenic compounds in G. rigescens, and may have potential for the screening of other populations of plants.

Mineral element content in prized matsutake mushroom (Tricholoma matsutake) collected in China

The contents of Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, and Zn in fruiting bodies of the highly-prized matsutake mushroom (Tricholoma matsutake) from twelve widely separated sites in Southwest China were determined using AAS. The results for dried mushrooms showed that the mean contents (mg kg−1) of the determined elements decreased in the following order: K (440–2000), Na (150–740), Ca (90–850), Mg (90–680), Zn (20–180), Fe (13–78), Cu (0.34–45), Mn (0.09–7.6).

The impact of human activity on the biomass allocation of a medicinal herbaceous species in an agroforestry system of Southwest China

Human activity has a greater influence on plants than on any of the other components of the environment. We used material from cultivated and wild Coptis teeta populations in the Hengduan Mountains to test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of human activity on the biomass allocation of an herbaceous understory species in a forest ecosystem. At the plot level, an isometric relationship existed in most of the significant relationships. However, at the individual level, an allometric relationship existed in most of the log–log relationships. Human activity could significantly affect the slope of the linear relationship of leaf versus total biomass; and also the intercepts of the relationships of root biomass versus total biomass, plant height versus total biomass and reproductive versus vegetative biomass. At any given plant body size, wild C. teeta has higher biomass in the leaf and less in root than cultivated counterpart. But the trajectories of log rhizome biomass versus log total biomass were the same for both cultivated and wild individuals. Thus, we conclude that (1) the allometric trajectories change at different scales and (2) C. teeta-based agroforestry system could ensure sustainable use of this medicinal plant because of the stable biomass allocation to the salable rhizome organs.

Geographical Authentication of Gentiana Rigescens by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Infrared Spectroscopy

ABSTRACT The chemical characteristics of Gentiana rigescens are extremely variable due to their geographical origins which should be determined to evaluate the quality of this species. Different with other herbs with official tissue for classification materials, the geographical characterization of raw herbal materials on the basis of nonmedicinal parts is rarely discussed. Chromatographic active components were used as references to characterize the chemical profiles of samples from various geographical origins. Based on spectra data matrix of different botanical parts, the chemometric methods of partial least square discrimination analysis and support vector machine discrimination analysis were used to develop mathematical models to classify samples from different geographical origins. In terms of six active components, we found that significant differences were present in the tissue of G. rigescens based on geographical origins. In addition, the region with higher content of gentiopicroside was selected to be the optimal cultivated location. Chemometric results indicated that leaves were the optimal material for geographical characterization of G. rigescens with 100% accuracy by support vector machine while the accuracies of roots, stems, and flowers were 90.91, 96.10, and 97.01%, respectively. Partial least square discrimination analysis showed that accuracy values for roots, stems, leaves, and flowers were 35.65, 67.53, 76.62, and 50.75%, respectively, which also indicated that leaves are the optimal material. In conclusion, northwest Yunnan Province with higher content of gentiopicroside was selected to be the optimal cultivation location. Furthermore, leaves should be used for the most accurate geographical authentication.