Liang Wei, Zhang Weimei, Chen Yuan, Guo Fengxia, Sun Jiachen, Zhang Xuemin, Li Xia, Gao Wenyuan
School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.
College of Agronomy, College of Life Science and Technology, Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic and Germplasm Enhancement, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China.
J Sci Food Agric. 2022 Oct;102(13):5628-5641. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.11910. Epub 2022 Apr 18.
The active component content is an important factor affecting quality of traditional Chinese medicines. The fume-drying process can effectively improve the content of active components in rhubarb, but the accumulation dynamics and molecular mechanisms are not known. In this study, variations in the active components of rhubarb during the drying process were determined, and the most intense changes in the active components were preferred for transcriptome inquiry.
The results showed that the accumulation of active ingredients could be significantly promoted in the early stage of fume-drying and air-drying. In particular, the active ingredients increased by 61.57% (from 44.58 to 72.02 mg g ) on the fourth day of fume-drying. A total of 4191 DEGs (differentially expressed genes) were identified by transcriptome analysis when the active components changed significantly. Transcriptome data of different dried rhubarb samples revealed, that the fume-drying process could significantly improve the expression of genes relevant to respiration, phenolic acid, and anthraquinone synthesis pathways in rhubarb, which was more conducive to the synthesis and accumulation of the active components.
Fume-drying stimulated respiration and secondary metabolite synthesis in rhubarb cells by exerting strong external stress on freshly harvested rhubarb. This study revealed the variations and molecular mechanism of active component accumulation in the rhubarb drying process and might serve as a guide for the development of alternative methods for rhubarb fumigation and drying process. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
有效成分含量是影响中药质量的重要因素。炮制过程能有效提高大黄中活性成分的含量，但其积累动态及分子机制尚不清楚。本研究测定了大黄在干燥过程中活性成分的变化，并选择活性成分变化最为剧烈的阶段进行转录组分析。
结果表明，炮制初期和风干初期均能显著促进大黄活性成分的积累。特别是在炮制第4天，活性成分含量提高了61.57%（从44.58mg/g增至72.02mg/g）。在活性成分显著变化时，通过转录组分析共鉴定出4191个差异表达基因（DEG）。不同干燥大黄样品的转录组数据显示，炮制过程可显著提高大黄中与呼吸作用、酚酸和蒽醌合成途径相关基因的表达，更有利于活性成分的合成与积累。
炮制通过对新鲜采收的大黄施加强烈的外部胁迫，刺激大黄细胞的呼吸作用和次生代谢产物合成。本研究揭示了大黄干燥过程中活性成分积累的变化规律及分子机制，可为大黄炮制干燥新工艺的开发提供参考。© 2022化学工业协会。
