| ObjectivePoria cocos is the dry sclerotium of polyporaceae fungus Poria. The earliest surviving herbal book in China, Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic, listed it as top grade goods, modern research indicated that it had health preservation functions such as anti-aging, anti-tumor, immune regulation and et al. Notice on Further Standardizing the Management of Healthy Food Ingredients, announced by the Ministry of Health, confirmed it as goods both food and medicine. Currently, no analysis on special report about efficacy of health preservation of Poria in Lingnan medical books or academic point of view about the quality of Poria cultivated in Guangdong. With the increasing emphasis on health preservation of the masses and Guangdong’s construction of strong province of traditional Chinese medicine, as an important Chinese herbal medicine for health preservation, the quality of Poria cultivated in Guangdong needs further study. Therefore, this study based on analysis of classic medical books and quality comparison of Poria cultivated in different regions.First, the use of Poria in classical traditional Chinese medicine prescription was comprehended. Contents about health preservation effects of Poria in books on health preservation from the past dynasties were arranged, the use of Poria in representative medical books in Lingnan region was arranged, the characteristics of application on Poria by famous physicians in Lingnan were abstracted, and the health preservation efficacy of Poria was relatively systematicly summarized.Second, the quality of Poria among Guangdong and three other provinces such as Yunnan, Anhui and Hubei was compared, and the quality of Poria cultivated in Guangdong was assessed for the purpose of improving the high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) fingerprint method of quality evaluation on Poria, and providing reference for the feasibility of cultivation of Poria in Guangdong.Third, by means of documentations analysis and experimental research, the research model of herbal with health preservation efficacy was improved.MethodsLiterature research. Both domestic and foreign reference documentations about health preservation and quality research of Poria were retrieved. Basing on texebooks Study of Prescriptions of Chinese Materia Medica, the years from1978to2013were divided into three periods as follows:1978-1989,1990-2001,2002-2013, one textbook from each period was randomly selected, the using frequence of Poria and other herbs was arranged, prescriptions that included Poria were analyzed. The contents about health preservation efficacy from classic medical books about health preservation were summarized. Lingnan medical study originated from the Jin dynasty, formed during the Song and Yuan dynasties, and got great developments in the Qing dynasty. This study selected one book from each stage as follows:Zhouhou Beiji Fang by Ge Hong in the Jin dynasty, Lingnan Weisheng Fang by Shi Ji-hong in the Yuan dynasty and Yi Bian by He Meng-yao in the Qing dynasty, and the usage of Poria was analyzed.Experimental research. Three regions of Guangdong were randomly selected as follows:Raoping of the east of Guangdong, Xinyi of the west of Guangdong, Lianshan of the north of Guangdong. Besides, Yunnan, the native place of origin, Anhui and Hubei, the main cultivation provinces. Poria cultivated in these regions were selected. Methods such as UV-visible spectrophotometry and HPLC fingerprint were used to measure the content of polysaccharide and pachymic acid of Poria from different regions, and the system of fingerprint analysis for traditional Chinese medicine was used to assess the quality of Poria cultivated in Guangdong.Statistical Analysis. Data entry, the software Excel was used to calculate the using frequence of herbs in each textbook, medical book and experiment, and the above data was input twice and checked by the computer program to ensure the completeness and accuracy. Statistical software SPSS was used to analyze data, such as two independent samples nonparametric test, multiple non-parametric test for paired samples, and multiple independent samples nonparametric tests, besides, box plots and scatter plots were used for analysis.Results The using frequency of Poria in these three textbooks are all in the second place, just less than Glycyrrhizae Radix Et Rhizoma Praeparata Cum Melle. The total numbers of occupied percentage were respectively as21.61%,23.08%, and24.18%, which were all more than20%. Excluding the repeat sections, total number of prescriptions including Poria is54, from34classic medical books, which dated from the Han dynasty to the contemporary era. The difference among percentage of prescriptions including Poria of these three textbooks was not statistically significant(P>0.05). Efficacy and indications corresponding to prescriptions such as eliminateing dampness, phlegm, calming the nerves, promoting digestion and enhancing the body, the percentages were higher than other types, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).In Series of Books of Classic Chinese Health Preservation, published by the Zhonghua Book Company, the Poria was used for130times, as follows:Qianjing Fang,4times; Qianjing Yi Fang,25times; Shouqin Yanglao Xinshu28times; Yinshi Xuzhi,1time;Dongpo Yangsheng Ji,4times;Zunsheng Baqian,60times;Shoushi Qingbian,4times;Laolao Hengyan,1time; Yangsheng Sanyao,3times. Dosage forms included soup, dan, pill, powder, ointment, and et al. In this series of books, health care efficacies of Poriawere mainly concentrated in health maintenance, excreting dampness, invigorating spleen, and calming down tbe mind, and et al. Alimentary therapy included porridge, noodles, cake, preserved fruit, wine, cream, and introduced not to use Poria with vinegar.In Zhouhou Beiji Fang, Poria was used in14passages for27times, at the eighteenth place for using frequency. According to the Pharmacopoeia of People’s Republic of China (2010edition), the usage of Poria was divided into types such as clearing damp and promoting diuresis, tonifying the spleen and calming the mind for analysis. Efficacy of clearing damp and promoting diuresis of Poria was taken advantage of for8times;tonifying the spleen,6times;calming the mind,7times;whitening,5times;and1time for describing contraindication.In Lingnan Weisheng Fang, Poria was used in19prescritions for19times, at the third place for using frequency, just less than Glycyrrhizae Radix Et Rhizoma Praeparata Cum Melle and Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens. Efficacy of clearing damp and promoting diuresis of Poria was taken advantage of for7times; tonifying the spleen,10times;calming the mind,2times. In Yi Bian, Poria was used in241prescritions for256times, at the second place for using frequency, just less than Glycyrrhizae Radix Et Rhizoma Praeparata Cum Melle.20texts related with the function of Poria were selected, and the percentages of prescriptions contained Poria were compared with all texts, totally,10types at the top25%; adding up to13types at the top50%.Basing on the using frequency, the frequency of being used in medical book was set as X, the score was set as S, score for the first place of using frequency was set for100,the calculation formula for the score of the second to the twentieth was:Sn+1=Sn-(Xn-Xn+1)/d; d=(Xmax-Xmin)(n-1).The total scores of the top20types of herb of these three medical books were calculated, the score of Poria is259.96, at the third place, just less than Glycyrrhizae Radix Et Rhizoma Praeparata Cum Melle and Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens.In all reports of literature of Chinese herbal books, from the Jin dynasty to the period of the Republic of China, just Guangdong Xinyu introduced the cultivation of Poria in Lingnan. And in representative herbal books such as Yiwu Zhi, Nan fang Caomu Zhuang, Haiyao Bencao, Shengcao Yaoxing Beiyao, Poria was not recorded.Experimental results showed that:the content of Polysaccharide of Poria between Guangdong and the other three provinces was not statistically significant(P>0.05), and so was the pachymic acid(P>0.05).Similarity analysis of different origins of Poria showed, the similarity is greater than90%, respectively0.960,0.961,0.960,0.976,0.976,0.922,0.924,0.987,0.981,0.981, and the total peak number consistency was strong, and the relative retention time was consistent.ConclusionFirst, Poria is an important, commonly used herb in health care and disease prevention, and is suitable for people in Lingnan for health preservation.Through the analysis of the use of Poria in these three medical books, physicians in Lingnan used Poria mainly considered the climate, geographical environment and constitution of population. Three characteristics were summarized:Firstly, basing on inducing diuresis. Factors such as the hot climate in Lingnan usually caused people Yang Qi leaked out, and caused pathological changes of the upper part cold and the lower heat, most of constitutions of population pattern were damp-heat and dual vacuity of Qi and Yin. Principles of threatment emphasized on supplementation without dryness, nourishing without sliminess and dispersion detriment. Poria was used for the purposed of clearing heat and dispelling dampness, summerheat-damp and removing the phlegm. Secondly, emphasizing on tonifying the spleen. Moisture of Lingnan area trapped inside the stomach, caused the people easy to get physical fatigue, cough vomiting, no pleasure in eating, and stomach dysfunction symptoms. Poria has the effect of protecting spleen and stomach. Thirdly, attaching importance to tranquilize the mind. When the heart function is normal, the human spirit,consciousness and thinking activity would be normal, physiological functions and various viscera could be normally played. Physicians used Poria for prevention of phlegm, irritability and other symptoms.Research result of the Lingnan medical study displayed that Lingnan region is not the genuine of Poria, and most of the medicinal materials might came from other provinces.Second,the quality of Poria cultivated in Guangdong produce is not inferior to other provinces, therefore, expanding the cultivation scale and enhancing R&D of Poria health care products might be considered. These research methods can be used for quality analysis and evaluation of Poria.Experimental results demonstrated that the quality of Poria cultivated in Guangdong is not inferior to other provinces. Therefore, we should deepen the development of Poria, to meet people’s health care demand, and by deep processing to increase the added value of products, to improve the enthusiasm of agricultural cultivation.At the same time, method for determination of content of polysaccharide and pachymic acid, showed good repeatability and high reliability, could perfect the Pharmacopoeia of People’s Republic of China for quality standard of Poria. Study on the fingerprint of Poria displayed that differences of quality of Poria cultivated in Guangdong and other provinces such as Yunnan, Anhui and Hubei are not obvious, and these research methods are simple, stable, more signal peak, and good reproducibility, could be used as methods to evaluate the quality of Poria.Third, the method of research on herb with health preservation could be optimized by combination of ancient literature analysis and modern experimental research.Several Opinions of the State Council on Promoting the Healthy Development of Service Industry put forward to extending the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, promoting the scientific standardand product, strengthening the usage of traditional Chinese medicine. At present, study basing on the efficacy of health preservation of Poria has not been comprehensive and deep enough. In addition, the pattern of health herbal should be further improved, specifically, on the one side, to provide historical data in support by excavating the ancient literature, on the other, by analysis of health care efficacy of herbs and quality analysis of different cultivation regions by experiments to provide modern research data support.By means of making a combination of doing historical research and modern research, to better satisfy the growing needs of herbs with health preservation efficacy of the masses. |
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