Comparative study of the Rheum tanguticum's chemical contents based on spatial distribution characteristics

Yafei Guo; Qiang Cao; Mei Guo; Junmei Wang; Renbo Kou; Leilei Ye

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0278113

Comparative study of the Rheum tanguticum's chemical contents based on spatial distribution characteristics

PLoS One. 2022 Nov 29;17(11):e0278113. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278113. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yafei Guo¹, Qiang Cao¹, Mei Guo^{1

2}, Junmei Wang¹, Renbo Kou¹, Leilei Ye¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Pharmacy, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, China.
² Key Laboratory for Chemistry and Quality of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Tibetan Medicine of Gansu Provincial Colleges, Lanzhou, China.

Abstract

Rheum tanguticum (R. tanguticum) has been widely used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases in clinical. However, limited research exist on the quality evaluation of various R. tanguticum locations, which has certain drawbacks. In this study, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used to comparative study on the chemical contents of R. tanguticum, to clarify the relationship between the chemical contents and the spatial distribution of R. tanguticum. First of all, the FTIR spectra of 18 batches of R. tanguticum were examined. Following the cluster analysis, the FTIR spectra of various production locations differed. To some extent, establishing the double index analysis sequence of common and variation peaks may differentiate distinct production locations of medicinal materials. The HPLC fingerprint of R. tanguticum was constructed to further explore the link between components and their origin. PCA of common peaks of 18 batches of R. tanguticum indicated that R. tanguticum grown in Gannan and Qinghai had a tendency to separate t[2], however this trend was not noticeable. Then, OPLS-DA model was established, and the key differential components of R. tanguticum produced in Gannan and Qinghai were discovered to be R16, R37, R46, and R47 (Aloe emodin) (VIP ≥ 1 and P < 0.05). At last, Pearson's test was used to examine the relationship between longitude, latitude, altitude, and composition. Longitude was significantly positively correlated with R28 and R30 (P < 0.05), and a very significantly positively correlated with R35, R36, R37, R46, and R47 (P < 0.01). Latitude was significantly negatively correlated with R34, R35, and R40 (P < 0.05), and extremely significantly negatively correlated with R28, R30, R36, R37, R46, and R47 (P < 0.01). Altitude was significantly positive correlation with R36 and R37 (P < 0.01). The results of our study can provide insights into R. tanguticum quality control and aid in establishing a natural medication traceability system.

Copyright: © 2022 Guo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Altitude
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Cluster Analysis
Emodin*
Rheum*

Substances

Emodin

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the key Project of Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U21A20412); the Provincial Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province, China (21JR7RA558); Excellent doctoral student program of Gansu Province, China (22JR5RA576); the “Double First-Class” key Scientific Research Project of the Department of Education of Gansu Province, China (GSSYLXM-05); The Project of Central Government Guides the Development of Local Science and Technology, Gansu Province, China. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.