TY - JOUR
T1 - Tissue-specific analysis of secondary metabolites creates a reliable morphological criterion for quality grading of polygoni multiflori radix
AU - Liang, Li
AU - Xu, Jun
AU - Liang, Zhi Tao
AU - Dong, Xiao Ping
AU - Chen, Hu Biao
AU - Zhao, Zhong Zhen
N1 - Funding Information:
We acknowledge Shenzhen Tsumura Medicine Co., Ltd. for providing us sample materials. We thank Alan Ho from the School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, for his technical assistance. This work was supported by Research Grants Council (Project No. 12102415) and National Natural Science Foundation of the People’s Republic of China (Project No. 11475248).
Publisher copyright:
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2018/5/8
Y1 - 2018/5/8
N2 - In commercial herbal markets, Polygoni Multiflori Radix (PMR, the tuberous roots of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb.), a commonly-used Chinese medicinal material, is divided into different grades based on morphological features of size and weight. While more weight and larger size command a higher price, there is no scientific data confirming that the more expensive roots are in fact of better quality. To assess the inherent quality of various grades and of various tissues in PMR and to find reliable morphological indicators of quality, a method combining laser microdissection (LMD) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) was applied. Twelve major chemical components were quantitatively determined in both whole material and different tissues of PMR. Determination of the whole material revealed that traditional commercial grades based on size and weight of PRM did not correspond to any significant differences in chemical content. Instead, tissue-specific analysis indicated that the morphological features could be linked with quality in a new way. That is, PMR with broader cork and phloem, as seen in a transverse section, were typically of better quality as these parts are where the bioactive components accumulate. The tissue-specific analysis of secondary metabolites creates a reliable morphological criterion for quality grading of PMR.
AB - In commercial herbal markets, Polygoni Multiflori Radix (PMR, the tuberous roots of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb.), a commonly-used Chinese medicinal material, is divided into different grades based on morphological features of size and weight. While more weight and larger size command a higher price, there is no scientific data confirming that the more expensive roots are in fact of better quality. To assess the inherent quality of various grades and of various tissues in PMR and to find reliable morphological indicators of quality, a method combining laser microdissection (LMD) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-QqQ-MS/MS) was applied. Twelve major chemical components were quantitatively determined in both whole material and different tissues of PMR. Determination of the whole material revealed that traditional commercial grades based on size and weight of PRM did not correspond to any significant differences in chemical content. Instead, tissue-specific analysis indicated that the morphological features could be linked with quality in a new way. That is, PMR with broader cork and phloem, as seen in a transverse section, were typically of better quality as these parts are where the bioactive components accumulate. The tissue-specific analysis of secondary metabolites creates a reliable morphological criterion for quality grading of PMR.
KW - Laser microdissection
KW - Polygoni Multiflori Radix
KW - Quality grading
KW - Secondary metabolites
KW - Ultra-performance liquid chromatography triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-QqQ-MS/MS)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85046640515&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/molecules23051115
DO - 10.3390/molecules23051115
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29738485
AN - SCOPUS:85046640515
SN - 1420-3049
VL - 23
JO - Molecules
JF - Molecules
IS - 5
M1 - 1115
ER -