Identification of Different Bile Species and Fermentation Times of Bile Arisaema Based on an Intelligent Electronic Nose and Least Squares Support Vector Machine.[Pubmed: 29397686]

Fermentation is one of the most traditionally utilized methods to process the raw materials of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Bile Arisaema (BA) is produced by the fermentation of the roots of Arisaema heterophyllum with bile. Fermentation time and bile species are the key factors in producing BA. The study was aimed to develop a new and rapid method for the identification of different fermentation times and bile species of BA. The polysaccharide content (PC), protease activity (PA), and amylase activity (AC) of BA were determined. The changes of PC, PA, and AC were significant indicators for the evaluation of different fermentation times. On the basis of the odor data of BA obtained by electronic nose technology (E-nose), the principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify bile species. The results were further verified by the least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM). The trained LS-SVM was also used to predict the PC, PA, and AC of the samples to identify fermentation time. The present study indicated that E-nose combined with LS-SVM could effectively predict the PC, PA, and AC of the samples and identify the bile species and fermentation time of BA, and it was proved to be a useful strategy for quality control of fermented products of TCMs.

Authentication of Pinellia ternata and its adulterants based on PCR with specific primers.[Pubmed: 16732536]

Tubers of Pinellia ternata are one of the well known traditional Chinese medicines. According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, the remedy is commonly used as an antitussive and expectorant. The shapes of young tubers from species of P. ternata are similar to those of P. pedatisecta and Arisaema heterophyllum, but different in medicinal properties. In order to provide molecular evidence for genuine origin identification of P. ternata species, the mannose-binding lectin sequences of P. ternata and its adulterants P. pedatisecta and A. heterophyllum were cloned using genomic walker technology. Based on the sequence analyses, we designed a pair of species-specific primers to authenticate P. ternata. For PCR-selective restriction (PCR-SR), we identified two distinctive sites which can be recognized by the restriction endonucleases BAMHI and NCOI in the open reading frame sequences of P. ternata, P. pedatisecta and A. heterophyllum. Our results indicate that the methods of PCR and PCR-SR are effective, accurate and applicable for identification of the bulbs of P. ternata.

Expression and purification of Arisaema heterophyllum agglutinin in Escherichia coli.[Pubmed: 16399011]

Recombinant Arisaema heterophyllum agglutinin (AHA) was expressed in Escherichia coli as N-terminal His-tagged fusions. After induction with isopropylthio-beta-D-galactoside, the recombinant AHA was purified by metal-affinity chromatography. The purified AHA protein was incorporated into artificial diet at 0.1% (w/v) concentration in insect bioassay trial and the result showed that artificial diet containing AHA could significantly inhibit the growth of the third-instar nymphs of peach potato aphid (Myzus persicae). This study suggested that AHA could be an effective candidate for the control of peach potato aphid, one of the most serious sap-sucking insect pests causing significant yield loss of crops.

An efficient method for rapid amplification of Arisaema heterophyllum agglutinin gene using a genomic walking technique.[Pubmed: 15881597]

The genomic sequence of Arisaema heterophyllum agglutinin (AHA), a mannose-binding lectin (MBL), was cloned through a novel genomic walking technique. Adaptor ligation reactions and subsequent amplifications with adaptor primer and multiple specific primers were used to generate specificity in this method. The method allowed for the amplification of over 1 kb of genomic DNA sequence immediately upstream and downstream from the 5' and 3' ends of full-length cDNAs. For aha gene, the upstream regions contained a putative transcription initiation start site and other sequences commonly found in eukaryotic promoters. The downstream regions of aha contained two polyadenylation signals. Our study demonstrated that aha had no intron like mannose-binding lectin genes cloned from other plant species so far. This efficient method, based on a genomic walking technique, was useful for the cloning of promoters, insertion sites, and other sequences of interest without constructing and screening genomic libraries.

Effects of light and soil water availability on leaf photosynthesis and growth of Arisaema heterophyllum, a riparian forest understorey plant.[Pubmed: 12579445]

The effects of soil-water availability on leaf light acclimation and whole-plant carbon gain were examined in Arisaema heterophyllum Blume, a riparian deciduous forest understorey plant. Photosynthesis, above-ground morphology and ramet biomass accumulation (relative growth rate: RGR of a corm for a full leaf life-span) were measured on plants raised under three light treatments combined with two soil water conditions. The two higher light treatments during growth (high: max. 550 micro mol photons m(-2) s(-1); medium: 150 micro mol photons m(-2) s(-1)) resulted in a twofold increase in RGRs, 30% higher photosynthetic capacities and 20% less photosynthetic low-light use efficiency than those under a low light condition (50 micro mol photons m(-2) s(-1)). Leaf area was the smallest and leaf mass area ratio was the largest under the high light treatment. Water stress decreased both photosynthetic rate and leaf area and, hence, RGR in all the light regimes. However, water stress did not alter the general patterns of physiological and morphological responses to different light regimes. We estimated that higher photosynthetic low-light use efficiency and larger leaf area in the low light leaf would lead to a threefold carbon gain as compared with the high light leaf under simulated low light conditions. Both experimental and simulation results suggest that the physiological and morphological acclimations tend to be beneficial to carbon gain when light availability is low, whereas they favor increased water use efficiency when light availability is sufficiently high.