Thalictrum plants are perennial herbs in the family Ranuneulaceae, many of which are of important medicinal values. Alkaloids are major active constituents in Thalictrum plants in addition to a small amount of triterpene and flavonoids. The major pharmacological functions of the active constituents include： anti-tumor, anti- virus, antibiosis, antiphlogosis, hypotensive action, and etc. This paper summarizes the methods for determining the contents of chemical constituents in Thalictrum plants and new chemical constituents discovered in this genus in recent ten years.
[Objective] To study the germination characteristics and secondary metabolism of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi seeds under different temperatures.[Method]The activities of superoxide dismutase（SOD）and peroxidase（POD）were determined with lactoflavine-NBT method and guaiacol-colorimetry assay,respectively.The catalase（CAT）,ascorbate peroxidase（APX）,phenylalanine ammonia-lyase（PAL）and cinnamic acid 4-Hydroxylase（C4H）were determined with ultraviolet spectrophotometry.The secondary metabolites were detected by High Performance Liquid Chromatography（HPLC）.[Result]The germination percentage,germination potentiality and germination index were seriously affected by low or high temperature.The proper germination temperature was 20-25 ℃.The activities of SOD,POD and CAT were significantly decreased as comparison to suitable temperature.The activities of PAL and C4H were also significantly decreased as comparision to suitable temperature which was accordance to the secondary metabolites.There was a positive correlation between the flavonoids content and the PAL and C4H activity（r=0.956,r=0.951,P0.05）.[Conclusion]The quality of the skullcaps could be improved by improving the activity of PAL and C4H.The proper temperature for the seed germination and the formation of secondary metabolites was 20 ℃.
[Objective] To investigate the primary and secondary metabolism during the seed germination of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. [Method] The activities of SOD and POD were determined with lactoflavine-NBT method and guaiacol-colorimetry as- say, respectively. The activities of CAT, APX,PAL and C4H were determined with ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The contents of secondary metabolites were detected by High-performance Liquid Chromatography （HPLC）. [Result] The results indicate that the soluble sugar content decreased during the first 5 days and then increased when the cotyledons formed. The contents of PAL, C4H and CHS continuously in- creased at different stages during the seed germination process. The secondary metabolites also showed the consistent variation trend. In addition, the contents of secondary metabolites had significant positive correlation with the key enzyme activi- ty. [Conclusion] The formation of secondary metabolites is significantly positively cor- related with the key enzyme during the seed germination process. Therefore, the key enzyme activity can be enhanced by adopting appropriate measures to improve the secondary metabolites, thereby obtaining high-quality medicinal materials.
[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the primary and secondary metabolisms during the germination of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi seeds under different light intensities. [Method] The activities of CHL, soluble sugar, PAL, C4H and CHS were determined with ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The secondary metabolites were detected by High Performance Liquid Chromatography （HPLC）. [Result] The results indicate that the germination of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi seeds is not sensitive to light and the seedlings were very sensitive to light. The CHL, soluble sugar, PAL, C4H and CHS continuously increased with light intensity. The content of secondary metabolites also increased. [Conclusion] Light increased the formation of leaf photosynthetic pigment, thereby affecting the primary metabolites. The activities of PAL, C4H and CHS significantly increased with the development of light intensity. Finally the secondary metabolites of medicinal plants increased sharply. Therefore, the quality of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi materials can be improved by increasing the light intensity moderately.
