Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.
Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.
J Mass Spectrom. 2024 Jun;59(6):e5035. doi: 10.1002/jms.5035.
Bupleuri Radix is an important medicinal plant, which has been used in China and other Asian countries for thousands of years. Cultivated Bupleurum chinense DC. (B. chinense) is the main commodity of Bupleuri Radix. The benefits of intercropping with various crops for B. chinense have been recognized; however, the influence of intercropping on the chemical composition of B. chinense is still unclear yet. In this study, intercropping with sorghum and maize exhibited little effect on the root length, root diameter, and single root mass of B. chinense. Only the intercropping with sorghum increased the root length of B. chinense slightly compared to the monocropping. In addition, 200 compounds were identified by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS, and metabolomic combined with the Venn diagram and heatmap analysis showed apparent separation between the intercropped and monocropped B. chinense samples. Intercropping with sorghum and maize could both increase the saikosaponins, fatty acyls, and organic acids in B. chinense while decreasing the phospholipids. The influence of intercropping on the saikosaponin biosynthesis was probably related with the light intensity and hormone levels in B. chinense. Moreover, we found intercropping increased the anti-inflammatory activity of B. chinense. This study provides a scientific reference for the beneficial effect of intercropping mode of B. chinense.
柴胡是一种重要的药用植物，在中国和其他亚洲国家已经使用了数千年。栽培的北柴胡（Bupleurum chinense DC.）是柴胡的主要商品。与各种作物间作对北柴胡的益处已得到认可；然而，间作对北柴胡化学成分的影响尚不清楚。在这项研究中，与高粱和玉米间作对北柴胡的根长、根直径和单根质量几乎没有影响。与单作相比，只有与高粱间作略微增加了北柴胡的根长。此外，通过 UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS 鉴定了 200 种化合物，代谢组学结合 Venn 图和热图分析表明，间作和单作的北柴胡样品之间明显分离。与高粱和玉米间作均可增加北柴胡中的柴胡皂苷、脂肪酸和有机酸，同时降低磷脂。间作对柴胡皂苷生物合成的影响可能与北柴胡中的光照强度和激素水平有关。此外，我们发现间作增加了北柴胡的抗炎活性。本研究为北柴胡间作模式的有益效果提供了科学参考。
