Contents of Heavy Metals in Chinese Edible Herbs: Evidence from a Case Study of Epimedii Folium.[Pubmed: 28620728]

Toxic heavy metal contamination in Chinese edible herbs has raised a worldwide concern. In this study, heavy metals in Epimedii Folium, an edible medicinal plant in China, were quantitatively analyzed. Variations of heavy metals in different species, in various organs (i.e., leaves, stems, and roots), in wild-growing and cultivated plants, and in 35 market samples of Epimedii Folium, were systematically investigated. In all of Epimedium samples, Hg (mercury) was not detectable (0.00 μg/g). Four species, Epimedium pubescens, Epimedium sagittatum, Epimedium brevicornu, and Epimedium wushanense, were found to contain Cu (copper) and Pb (lead). And contents of Cu and Pb in E. brevicornu were significantly higher than those in other species (P < 0.01). In wild-growing and cultivated Epimedium plants, Cd (cadmium) and As (arsenic) were not detectable, and concentrations of Cu and Pb in wild-growing plants were significantly higher than those in cultivated plants (P < 0.01). Cd was not detectable in leaves, roots, and stems, while organ specificity was apparent in the distribution of Cu, As, and Pb. And the highest levels of Cu and Pb were observed in roots and leaves, respectively. In Chinese markets, several samples of Epimedii Folium contained excessive Cu, Cd, As, and Pb beyond the national permissible limits. In summary, there was a large variation of heavy metals among Epimedii Folium samples, and Cu and Pb were the most important heavy metals contaminating the edible medicinal plant. Application of Epimedii Folium to drug and food industries will need to focus more on toxic heavy metal contamination.

[Effects of fluridone, gibberellin acid and germination temperature on dormancy-breaking for Epimedium wushanense].[Pubmed: 28905597]

We introduced Epimedium wushanense seed which has been stratified for 90 days at 10/20 ℃ as experimental materials, with which we studied the effects of fluridone, gibberellin acid and temperature on E. wushanense germination. The results were suggested as shown below. ①Temperature, fluridone and gibberellin acid can both solely or jointly affect germination energy, germination rate significantly. Among those factors, fluridone affect germination rate and germination energy the most, followed by gibberellin acid and temperature. The highest germination rate under 4 ℃ and 10/20 ℃ stratification are 79.3%, 72.0% respectively, which resulted from treatment of F10GA300 and F20GA200 respectively. The highest germination energy under 4 ℃ and 10/20 ℃ stratification are 52.7%, 52.0%, respectively, which both resulted from F20GA200. ②Compared with 4 ℃ germination, seed could not germinate at 10/20 ℃ germination. Nontheless, application of fluridone can lead E. wushanense seeds to germinating.③The effects of gibberellin acid and interaction between gibberellin acid and fluridone significantly affect seed rotten rate during germination. In addition, soaking is another remarkable factor which increased seed rotten rate. As a result, it is feasible to promote E. wushanense dormancy releasing with gibberellin acid and fluridone associating with a proper germination temperature. Further, it is necessary taking actions to avoid seed rotten rate for saving E. wushanense nurseries'cost.

Elucidation of the fragmentation pathways of a complex 3,7-O-glycosyl flavonol by CID, HCD, and PQD on an LTQ-Orbitrap Velos Pro hybrid mass spectrometer.[Pubmed: 26614462]

The present study was designed to systematically investigate the ESI-MS(n) behavior of a complex 3, 7-O-glycosyl flavonol, kaempferol 3-O-α-L-[2,3-di-O-β-D-(6-E-p-coumaroyl)glucopyranosyl]-rhamnopyranosyl-7-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (KO) isolated from Epimedium wushanense, and to address the elimination priority among different glycosylation sites and different sugars/substituents. The direct-infusion ESI-MS(n) experiment of KO was performed on a hybrid LTQ-Orbitrap Velos Pro mass spectrometer in both negative and positive ion modes by three different fragmentation mechanisms (CID, HCD, and PQD). The CID, HCD, and PQD analyses of KO exhibited remarkable discrimination in respect of the scan range, richness, and distribution of product ions through the entire spectra. KO experienced different fragmentation pathways between two ionization modes: the negative mode CID of KO eliminated the glycosyl portions (priority: 7-sugar > 3-substituent and terminal substituents > inner sugar) and produced aglycone product ions at m/z 284.03/285.04; however, abundant sodium-adduct B(3)2 together with subsequent (i,j)X(3)0 cleavages were found characteristic for the positive mode CID-MS(n). The fragmentation pathways by CID for KO were proposed by analyzing the high accuracy ESI-MS(n) data. Complementary structural information of KO regarding the aglycone and glycosyl portions was obtained by analyzing the ESI-MS(n) data in both ionization modes. In conclusion, the LTQ-Orbitrap method facilitates highly reliable qualitative analysis of bioactive flavonoids with three alternative fragmentation modes.

The growth and medicinal quality of Epimedium wushanense are improved by an isolate of dark septate fungus.[Pubmed: 25858327]

Seven dark-septate endophytic (DSE) fungi have been isolated from the roots of Epimedium wushanense T. S. Ying (Berberidaceae), an important medicinal plant with various pharmacological activities.

[Tissue cultivation of tiller buds of Epimedium wushanense].[Pubmed: 23627167]

To established the rapid tissue propagation system of Epimedium wushanense, in order to provide theoretical basis for industrialized seed cultivation.

[In vitro embryo culture of Epimedium wushanense].[Pubmed: 23126181]

To study the in vitro embryo culture of Epimedium wushanense and provide scientific basis for large scale production of tissue culture.

Antioxidant flavonoids from Epimedium wushanense.[Pubmed: 21968061]

Two new flavonoids, wushanicaritin (1) and wushankaempferol (2), along with 24 known flavonoids were isolated from the whole herb of Epimedium wushanense T.S. Ying (Berberidaceae). On the basis of NMR and ESI-MS spectroscopic analysis, structures of compounds 1 and 2 were elucidated as 8-γ-hydroxy-γ,γ-dimethylpropyl-3,5,7-trihydroxy-4'- methoxyflavone and kaempferol 3-O-α-l-[2,3-di-O-β-D-(6-E-p-coumaroyl) glucopyranosyl]-rhamnopyranosyl-7-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside, respectively. DPPH radical scavenging activity tests indicated that 1 (IC(50) 35.3 μM) exhibited antioxidant activity comparable to Vitamin C (IC(50) 32.0 μM), while 2 (IC(50) 443.7 μM) showed weak activity.