Title:Metabolic Changes of Active Components of Important Medicinal Plants on the basis
of Traditional Chinese Medicine under Different Environmental Stresses
Volume: 27
Issue: 9
Author(s): Mohamad Hesam Shahrajabian, Yue Kuang, Haoran Cui, Lan Fu*Wenli Sun*
Affiliation:
- School of Engineering,
China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 211100, P.R. China
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R. China
Keywords:
Berberine, ginger, ginseng, astragalus, goji berry, abiotic stress, biotic stress.
Abstract:
Traditional Chinese medicine is an ancient system of wellness and health that has
been used in almost all countries of the world, specially in Asia for thousands of years.
The growth, development, final yield and chemical compounds of medicinal plants can be
negatively influenced by different kinds of biotic and abiotic stresses. Abiotic stress signals
are chemical stress (Mineral salts, heavy metal, aerosols, gaseous toxins, pesticides, and pollutants),
salinity (salt), temperature (Heat, cold), radiation (Ionisation radiation, light and UV),
water (Flooding, drought) and mechanical stress (Submergence, wind, soil movement). Relevant
literature has been obtained using the keywords “Traditional Chinese Medicine”, “Abiotic
Stress”, “Biotic Stress”, “Ginseng”, “Ginger”, “Goji berry”, “Astragalus”, “Ginkgo”, “Artemisia
annua L.”, “LC-MS”, “GC-MS”, and “NMR” in scientific information, namely “Web
of Science”, “PubMed”, “SciFinder”, and “Elsevier”. Some of the plants’ secondary metabolites under different
growth conditions are Camptothecin (Camptotheca acuminata), Capsaicin (Capsicum sp.), Rosmarinic acid (Salvia
miltiorrhiza), Codeine (Papaver somniferum), Resveratrol (Grapes, groundnut), Artemisinin (Artemesia annua),
Allicin (Allium sativum), Rohitukine (Dysoxylum binectariferum), Stevioside (Stevia rebaudiana), Andrographolide
(Andrographis paniculata), Saikosaponins (Bupleurum chinense), Sennosides (Cassia augustifolia),
Rutin (Dimorphandra mollis), Valepotriates (Valeria species), Indole alkaloids (Catharanthus roseous), and
Furanocoumarins (Bituminaria bituminosa).
The aim of this article is a survey of active chemical compounds and metabolic changes of some of the most important
medicinal plants in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in both abiotic and biotic stresses.
Future research is needed to evaluate the effects of biotic and abiotic stresses on chemical compounds and active
metabolites of medicinal plants specially traditional Chinese medicine, and more surveys on the roles of LC-MS,
GC-MS and NMR techniques for a better understanding of chemical components of medicinal plants.
