Effects of growth altitude on chemical constituents and delayed luminescence properties in medicinal rhubarb.
To improve the quality control of herbal drugs, there has been a major shift from evaluating individual chemicals to evaluating multiple-constituent chemicals, given the multi-pharmacology nature of herbal drugs. Therefore, rapid, systematic assays are needed in order to assess the quality of medicinal herbs using a comprehensive, integrated approach. Light-induced delayed luminescence (DL) is used to measure decaying long-term ultra-weak photon emissions following excitation with light. DL is considered to be a sensitive indicator for characterizing the properties of biological systems and herbal medicines with various therapeutic properties. The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of using DL as a novel quality-assessment tool using rhubarb material as a model system, and to establish the correlation between DL parameters and the chemical constituents of rhubarb. Raw roots and rhizomes were collected from rhubarb (Rheum palmatum L.) at various elevations in western China. HPLC analysis was used to identify fourteen bioactive constituents. Five DL parameters were calculated from the DL decay curves of the rhubarb samples. Statistical tools, including principal component analysis, were used to classify the rhubarb samples using data obtained using two different assays. Finally, Spearman's correlation coefficient was calculated to quantify the correlation between the bioactive compounds and corresponding DL parameters. We found that both the chemical analysis and DL measurements reflect variations in the quality of rhubarb due to environment factor. The DL parameters were correlated significantly with the bioactive chemical constituents. Our results indicate that DL is a promising tool for evaluating multiple constituents and for assessing the therapeutic properties of herbal medicines. Thus, DL may be used as part of a comprehensive system for assessing the quality and/or therapeutic properties of herbal medicines.
Sino Dutch Center for Preventive and Personalized Medicine, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden University, LACDR, Department of Analytical Biosciences, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Mengmeng
M
Sun
Capital Medical University subsidiary Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 23 Backstreet of Art Gallery, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100010, China; Beijing Institute of Chinese Medicine, No. 13 Shuiche Alley Xinjiekou, Xicheng District, Beijing 100035, China.
Li
L
Li
Sino Dutch Center for Preventive and Personalized Medicine, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden University, LACDR, Department of Analytical Biosciences, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands; SU BioMedicine, Utrechtseweg 48, 3700, AJ, Zeist, The Netherlands.
Mei
M
Wang
Sino Dutch Center for Preventive and Personalized Medicine, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden University, LACDR, Department of Analytical Biosciences, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands; Meluna Research, Koppelsedijk 1-a, 4191 LC, Geldermalsen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: eduard.vanwijk@sinodutchcentre.nl.
Eduard
E
van Wijk
Sino Dutch Center for Preventive and Personalized Medicine, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden University, LACDR, Department of Analytical Biosciences, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Min
M
He
Sino Dutch Center for Preventive and Personalized Medicine, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands; Meluna Research, Koppelsedijk 1-a, 4191 LC, Geldermalsen, The Netherlands.
Roeland
R
van Wijk
Leiden University, LACDR, Department of Analytical Biosciences, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Slavik
S
Koval
Sino Dutch Center for Preventive and Personalized Medicine, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden University, LACDR, Department of Analytical Biosciences, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Thomas
T
Hankemeier
Sino Dutch Center for Preventive and Personalized Medicine, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden University, LACDR, Department of Analytical Biosciences, P.O. Box 9502, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands; TNO, P.O. Box 360, 3700, AJ, Zeist, The Netherlands; SU BioMedicine, Utrechtseweg 48, 3700, AJ, Zeist, The Netherlands.
Jan
J
van der Greef
School of Chinese Pharmacy, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, No. 6 Wangjing Zhonghuan South Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100102, China. Electronic address: WSL7491@126.com.
Shengli
S
Wei
D000531:Altitude; D049449:Luminescence; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D012250:Rheum / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics
Active constituents; Delayed luminescence; Environmental factor; Quality control; Rhubarb