Codonopsis, in the family Campanulaceae, is a genus containing 42 species of dicotyledonous herbaceous perennial plants, predominantly found in Central, East and South Asia. Several Codonopsis species are widely used in traditional medicine and are considered to have multiple medicinal properties. Among the Codonopsis species, Codonopsis pilosula (Franch.) Nannf. and C. lanceolata (Sieb. et Zucc.) Benth. & Hook. f. ex Trautv. are more popular than others according to the findings, especially phytochemical and bioactive studies. Phytochemical research shows that Codonopsis species contain mainly polyacetylenes, phenylpropanoids, alkaloids, triterpenoids and polysaccharides, which contribute to multiple bioactivities. However, the mechanisms of their bioactivities need to be further elucidated. The less popular Codonopsis species remain to be studied and exploited. In addition, although a series of methods for the quality evaluation of Codonopsis species have been developed, a feasible and reliable approach to the efficacious and safe use of various Codonopsis species is still needed, with considering botanical origin, chemical constituents and bioactive effects. This review aims to provide up-to-date and comprehensive information on the phytochemistry, bioactivity and quality control of medicinal plants in the genus Codonopsis and to highlight current gaps in knowledge, which is useful for the wider development of the Codonopsis genus.
A comparative study on the triterpene saponins of 47 samples of Ginseng drugs derived from 12 Panax taxa was conducted using a reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)method. Eleven ginsenosides, which represent 4 types of typical sapogenins, were chosen as standards for quantitative determination in order to characterize the chemical constituent pattern of each Ginseng drug and investigate the relationship between genetic varieties and chemical constituent pattern. The results showed that the ginsenoside compositions in Ginseng drugs of different origins were of considerable variability. Total saponin contents varied by 10-fold from the highest drug to the lowest one. Chikusetsu-ninjin derived from P. japonicus (Japan) was found to have the highest content (192.80 - 296.18 mg/g) and Ginseng from P. ginseng to be the lowest (5.78 - 15.63 mg/g). Two main groups (I and II) suggested by phytochemical data were clearly observed; group I mainly containing dammarane saponins consisted of P. ginseng, P. quinquefolius, P. notoginseng, P. vietnamensis and P. vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus; and group II containing a large amount of oleanolic acid saponins was com-posed of P.japonicus (apan), P. zingiberensis, P.japonicus (China),P. japonicus var. angustifolius, P. japonicus var. major, P. japonicus var. bipinnatifidus and P. stipuleanatus. The ratios of the subtotal of dammarane saponins to that of oleanolic acid saponins (D/0) were found to be > 1.9 and < 0.25 for groups I and II, respectively. The drug samples derived from the same botanical origin revealed similar constituent patterns, in other words, each Panaxtaxon showed its own characteristic chromatographic profile,which appeared in the specific shape of an 11-direction radar graph constructed on the basis of the result of quantitative analysis. Similarities of chemical constitution were seen among the closely phylogenetically-related taxa, including P. ginseng and P.quinquefolius, P. vietnamensis and P. vietnamensis var.fuscidiscus,P. japonicus (China) and its varieties were demonstrated, except P. japonicus (Japan) and P. zingiberensis.
Ephedrae herba has been used in traditional Chinese and Japanese (Kampo) medicine from ancient times, with the primary resource being in China. In the present study, a field survey as well as molecular and chemical assessments were conducted on Ephedra plants in Mongolia to clarify whether they could be an alternative resource of the Ephedrae herba used in Japanese Kampo medicine. Ephedra sinica, E. equisetina, E. przewalskii, E. regeliana, E. monosperma and an unknown taxon (ESP) collected in Mongolia were divided into 9 genotypes on the basis of nucleotide sequences of 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene and trnK gene. E. sinica, E. equisetina, and E. monosperma presented completely identical sequences to the corresponding species from China. The sequences of trnK gene and 18S rRNA gene provide a useful index for identification and taxonomic classification of Mongolian Ephedra plants. Quantitative analysis of 5 ephedrine alkaloids revealed that almost all Mongolian Ephedra plants contained high amounts of total ephedrine alkaloids (TAs, 1.86-4.90%) and a high percentage of pseudoephedrine in TAs differed obviously from the Chinese. E. sinica and E. equisetina found in eastern and central Mongolia, showing total contents of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine higher than 1.43%, were potential new resources of Japanese Pharmacopoeia grade Ephedrae herba.Key words Ephedra; Mongolia; molecular identification; ephedrine alkaloid; HPLC analysis Biol. Pharm. Bull. 32(7) 1235-1243 (2009) © 2009 Pharmaceutical Society of Japan * To whom correspondence should be addressed. e-mail: katsukok@inm.u-toyama.ac.jp present study, we determined the nucleotide sequences of these two regions and compared them with 8 clearly identified Chinese Ephedra plants for objective identification and to aid in the taxonomic resolution of Ephedra plants in Mongolia. In addition, clarification of the chemical equality of Mongolian Ephedra plants and the available Ephedrae herba is needed, because the constitutions of ephedrine alkaloids differ among species and there are also some species without these alkaloids.2) Subsequently, quantitative analysis on five major ephedrine alkaloids was conducted by HPLC-photodiode array detector (PDA) method for quality evaluation. lia showed curved or twisted stems and some had allopheric features as shown in Fig. 2. Here, we tentatively treated these samples as Ephedra sp. (ESP) and included all of them in the following molecular and chemical analyses. It is noteworthy that due to fewer morphological characteristics being available in "Flora of Mongolia" 11) and the "Key to the vascular plants of Mongolia," 12) floristic literature with valuable morphological information on Ephedra plants of neighboring regions were used as reference in morphological identification, such as "Flora Xinjiangensis," MATERIALS AND METHODS Materials19) "Flora of China" and "Flora of Siberia." 20) All the vouchers and samples from Mongolia are stored in the Museum of Materia Medica, Institute of Natural Medicine, University of Toyama...
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