Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, 810008, China.
Resource Institute for Chinese and Ethnic Materia Medica, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, 550025, China.
BMC Plant Biol. 2024 Mar 28;24(1):226. doi: 10.1186/s12870-024-04933-9.
Plant growth and quality are often affected by environmental factors, including geographical location, climate, and soil. In this study, we describe the effect of altitudinal differences on the growth and active ingredients in Rheum tanguticum Maxim. ex Balf. (R. tanguticum), a traditional Chinese medicinal herb known for its laxative properties.
The results showed that plants grown at lower altitudes had better growth performances than those in higher altitude areas. The yield varied by 2.45-23.68 times with altitude, reaching a maximum of 102.01 t/ha. In addition, total anthraquinone and total sennoside contents decreased with increasing altitude, whereas total tannins increased with increasing altitude. The total anthraquinone content of the indicator compound reached 5.15% at five experimental sites, which exceeded the Chinese Pharmacopoeia standard by 70.87%. The content of the other two categories of active ingredients reached a maximum value of 0.94% (total sennosides) and 2.65% (total tannins). Redundancy analysis revealed that annual rainfall, annual average temperature, annual sunshine hours, and pH significantly affected growth and active ingredients. Moreover, key metabolites, such as flavonoids, amino acids and their derivatives, phenolic acids, lipids, and terpenes, were differentially expressed between samples from low- and high-altitude cultivation areas. These metabolites were enriched in the flavonoid and flavonol biosynthetic pathway and the monoterpene biosynthetic pathway.
These results suggest that high anthraquinone content was observed in the lowest-latitude cultivation area due to low rainfall and alkaline soil pH. Key metabolites were significantly upregulated in high-latitude cultivation areas. These results provide a scientific basis for quality control and the systematic cultivation of R. tanguticum.
植物的生长和质量通常受到环境因素的影响，包括地理位置、气候和土壤。本研究描述了海拔差异对传统中药大黄（Rheum tanguticum Maxim. ex Balf.）生长和活性成分的影响。
结果表明，低海拔地区生长的植物比高海拔地区的生长表现更好。产量随海拔高度的变化范围为 2.45-23.68 倍，最高可达 102.01 吨/公顷。此外，总蒽醌和总番泻苷含量随海拔升高而降低，而总鞣质含量随海拔升高而增加。五个实验点指示化合物的总蒽醌含量达到 5.15%，超过中国药典标准的 70.87%。另外两种活性成分的含量达到最大值，总番泻苷为 0.94%，总鞣质为 2.65%。冗余分析表明，年降雨量、年平均温度、年日照时数和 pH 值显著影响生长和活性成分。此外，来自低海拔和高海拔种植区的样品之间差异表达了关键代谢物，如类黄酮、氨基酸及其衍生物、酚酸、脂质和萜类化合物。这些代谢物富集在类黄酮和类黄酮醇生物合成途径和单萜生物合成途径中。
这些结果表明，由于降雨量低和土壤 pH 值呈碱性，最低纬度种植区的蒽醌含量较高。高纬度种植区的关键代谢物显著上调。这些结果为大黄的质量控制和系统栽培提供了科学依据。
