中国芍药组7种植物根的生长轮及其在赤芍类药材鉴别中的应用

药材的生长年限与其质量息息相关,近年来兴起的"草本植物生长轮"被用于判别多年生双子叶草本植物的生长年限。该研究结合常规石蜡切片和徒手切片方法,对芍药Paeonia lactiflora、草芍药P.obovata、川赤芍P.veitchii、美丽芍药P.mairei、窄叶芍药P.anomala、新疆芍药P.sinjiangensis和块根芍药P.anomala var.intermedia 7种植物的根和就地引种栽培芍药的主根进行解剖学研究。结果显示,芍药组7种植物的根在显微结构上存在一定差异,可用于不同种之间的鉴别;芍药组7种植物根的次生木质部中,口径较大的导管和周围的小导管或木纤维聚集呈团块状分布,切向断续排列成与形成层平行的环,均形成清晰的生长轮;吉林四平就地引种栽培的一至四年生的芍药主根中均有生长轮,且与其生长年限一致。该研究报道了芍药组7种植物的生长轮现象,由于野生芍药组植物根中生长轮特点与栽培的芍药类似,因此可为其生长年限提供判别依据,也可为赤芍类药材的质量评价研究奠定基础。

Growth rings in roots of seven Sect. Paeonia species and its application on identification of Paeoniae Radix Rubra

The growth years of medicinal materials are closely related to their quality, and "Herb-chronology" has been used to determine the growth years of perennial dicotyledonous plants in recent years. On the basis of conventional paraffin section and freehand section, the anatomical study on roots of seven Sect. Paeonia species and main roots of cultivated Paeonia lactiflora was conducted in this paper. The results showed that, there existed some differences in microstructure of the seven species such as P. lactiflora, P. obovata, P. veitchii, P. mairei, P. anomala, P. sinjiangensis and P. anomala var. intermedia, and this could be used to distinguish different species. In the roots of seven Sect. Paeonia species, distinct growth rings were formed because that the different diameters or density of xylem vessels in the secondary xylem formed clusters and arranged interrupted rings in tangential direction. There were growth rings in the main roots of P. lactiflora cultivated 1-4 years in Siping, Jilin, which were all consistent with their growth years. Due to the similar growth characteristics between wild Sect. Paeonia species and cultivated P. lactiflora, the growth rings can provide a basis for the age identification and lay the foundation for the quality evaluation of Paeoniae Radix Rubra.