Variability in the yield of benzophenanthridine alkaloids in wildcrafted vs cultivated bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis L.).
Populations of bloodroot [Sanguinaria canadensis L. (Papaveraceae)] are found throughout the eastern forests of North America, with particular abundance in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Increasingly, it is finding use in Europe as a nonantibiotic animal feed supplement to promote weight gain. As efforts to cultivate this herb are underway, there is a need to understand the effect of agronomic permutations on both the dry mass rhizome yield and the yield of benzophenanthridine alkaloids. Month-to-month variability of the concentration of the alkaloids sanguinarine and chelerythrine in both cultivated and wildcrafted bloodroot was examined. The alkaloid yield was consistently higher, but more variable, in wildcrafted plants. On average, cultivated rhizomes were both larger and more consistently sized than those that were wildcrafted. The concentration of a suite of trace elements was measured in soil that was collected concomitantly with each plant accession. Differences in element profiles were compared against alkaloid yields.
Graf
Tyler N
TN
Natural Products Laboratory, Trace Inorganics Department, and Social and Statistical Sciences, Research Triangle Institute, P.O. Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194, USA.
Levine
Keith E
KE
Andrews
Margaret E
ME
Perlmutter
Jason M
JM
Nielsen
Samara Joy
SJ
Davis
Jeanine M
JM
Wani
Mansukh C
MC
Oberlies
Nicholas H
NH
D000470:Alkaloids / Q000032:analysis; D053119:Benzophenanthridines / Q000032:analysis*; D007546:Isoquinolines / Q000032:analysis; D027343:Rhizome / Q000737:chemistry / Q000254:growth & development; D031681:Sanguinaria / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development*; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis
D000470:Alkaloids; D053119:Benzophenanthridines; D007546:Isoquinolines; D012987:Soil; D014131:Trace Elements; C005705:sanguinarine; C016299:chelerythrine