Comparative Studies On Schisandra Chinensis And Schisandra Sphenanthera

The dry fruits of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill.and Schisandra sphenanthera Rehd.et Wils are used as Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis and Fructus Schisandrae Sphenantherae, two kinds of traditional Chinese medicines with the functions of inducing astringency, replenishing and promoting production of body fluid and tonifying the kidney to relieve mental strain. There were notable differences in the type and content of lignans and in the effect of lowering SGPT level among the fruits of S. sphenanthera distributing in different places. So the quality of Fructus Schisandrae Sphenantherae was not steady. There have been no report about the genetic variation and the evaluation of idioplasmatic resources of S. chinensis and S. sphenanthera. The quality standards of Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis and Fructus Schisandrae Sphenantherae were not specific. A survey on the resources of the two crude drugs was carried out firstly. The botanically taxonomic and anatomic approaches, chemical analytical methods and the molecular markering techniques were used to find out the variations of S. chinensis and S. sphenanthera in the organic structures, chemical components and genetic characters, to search for the good resources and to establish the specific methods for identification of Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis and Fructus Schisandrae Sphenantherae. This research program will supply useful data for the production and the quality control of Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis and Fructus Schisandrae Sphenantherae, and will also be helpful to assure the safety and efficiency of these two crude drugs in clinical practice. The results of taxonomical identification and the survey on the drug resources showed that S. sphenanthera was commonly distributed in Ankang area, Hanzhong area, Xian, Weinan, Taibaishan, Meixian in Sh' province, Hengshan, Shimen of Hunan province, Shennongjia of Hubei province, Southeastern area of Sichuan province, Funiu mountainous area of Henan province, Yangcheng, Qingshui, Lingchuan of Shanxi province and Tianshui of Gansu province, and occasionally found at Yuanqu and Yichengof Shanxi province. S. viridis A. C. Smith, S. rubriflora (Planch.) Rehd. Et Wils., S. henryi Clarke and S. propinqua (Wall.) Baill. var. sinensis Oliva were also distributed in the above mentioned areas. Fructus Schisandrae Sphenantherae was actually derived from several Schisandra plants.S. chinensis was mainly distributed in Changbaishan mountainous area, eastern mountainous area of Xiaoxinganling in Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Jilin provinces, and also found in Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong provinces. Fructus Schsandrae Chinensis was only originated from S. chinensis.Microstructural features of the seed surface of S. chinensis, S. sphenanthera, S. rubriflora, S. viridis and S. henryi were observed under scanning electron microscope. The fruits of S. chinensis,S. sphenanthera , S. rubriflora , S. viridis and S. henryi can be classified to four types with the characters of micromorphological features of the seed surface. S. chinensis was belonged to the type â… , and S. sphenanthera from the principal producing areas was belonged to the typesâ…¡. Based on the characters of that if there are strumae and secondary reticulate grain on the outer epidermis of seed or not, The fruits of S. chinensis and S. sphenanthera can be distingushied from S. viridis and S. henryi with the characters of micromorphological features of the seed surface. The epidermal characters of mature leaves and vessel elements of S. sphenanthera collected from different districts were examined under light microscope. Multi-statistical analysis was used to clarify the relationships of the morphological characters of the leaves and vessel elements to the environmental factors of Schisandra sphenanthera, which distribute in different locations. The variations of anatomical characters for the lower epidermis of leaves and vessel elements of Schisandra sphenanthera from different districts were definitely. The stomatal size and stomatal length were...