The Comprehensive Evaluation of Safflowers in Different Producing Areas by Combined Analysis of Color, Chemical Compounds, and Biological Activity

Genetic diversity, clinical uses, and phytochemical and pharmacological properties of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.): an important medicinal plant

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), a member of the Asteraceae family, is widely used in traditional herbal medicine. This review summarized agronomic conditions, genetic diversity, clinical application, and phytochemicals and pharmacological properties of safflower. The genetic diversity of the plant is rich. Abundant in secondary metabolites like flavonoids, phenols, alkaloids, polysaccharides, fatty acids, polyacetylene, and other bioactive components, the medicinal plant is effective for treating cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and respiratory diseases. Especially, Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HYSA) has a variety of pharmacological effects. In terms of treatment and prevention of some space sickness in space travel, safflower could be a potential therapeutic agent. Further studies are still required to support the development of safflower in medicine. Our review indicates that safflower is an important medicinal plant and research prospects regarding safflower are very broad and worthy of further investigation.

Chromatographic Methods Developed for the Quantification of Quercetin Extracted from Natural Sources: Systematic Review of Published Studies from 2018 to 2022

Quercetin (QUE) is the most widely used flavonoid for therapeutic purposes. To improve the available knowledge about the properties of some natural products, determining the amount of QUE is crucial. The main objective of this systematic review is to identify the analytical methods validated for detecting and quantifying QUE in different matrices and characterize their sensitivity. A search was conducted until 30 June 2023 in the PubMed database for experimental studies that addressed the validation of chromatographic analytical methods to detect and quantify QUE from consumable natural products. Only studies published between 2018 and 2022, written in English, were included. The risk of bias was assessed by emphasizing methods of comparison according to previously published studies. Descriptive statistics were used to depict the obtained results. The studies were analyzed based on the type of QUE source, chromatographic method, and validation parameters. A total of 17 studies were included in this review. Plants were the most commonly analyzed source of QUE. Among the detection methods, spectrophotometry proved to be the most widely used, surpassing mass spectrometry (MS). After analyzing the bias, all the included studies mentioned/presented, totally or partially, at least four of the eight parameters.

Metabolite Profiling of External and Internal Petals in Three Different Colors of Tea Flowers (Camellia sinensis) Using Widely Targeted Metabolomics

The flower is the reproductive organ of the tea plant, while it is also processed into different kinds of products and thus of great significance to be utilized. In this study, the non-volatile secondary metabolites in the internal and external petals of white, white and pink, and pink tea flowers were studied using a widely targeted metabolomics method with ultra-high liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). A total of 429 metabolites were identified, including 195 flavonoids, 121 phenolic acids, 40 alkaloids, 29 lignans and coumarins, 19 tannins, 17 terpenoids, and 8 other metabolites. The metabolites in the internal and external petals of different colored flowers showed great changes in flavonoids. Most flavonoids and all tannins in the internal petals were higher compared with the external petals. Some phenolic acids were more accumulated in the external petals, while others showed opposite trends. The pink tea flower contained more flavonoids, alkaloids, lignans, coumarins, terpenoids, and tannins compared with white tea flowers. In addition, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside was more accumulated in the external petals of the pink flower, indicating that anthocyanin may be the main reason for the color difference between the pink and white tea flower. The enriched metabolic pathways of different colored flowers were involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. The findings of this study broaden the current understanding of non-volatile compound changes in tea plants. It is also helpful to lay a theoretical foundation for integrated applications of tea flowers.

Distinct Effects of Seed Coat and Flower Colors on Metabolite Contents and Antioxidant Activities in Safflower Seeds

Safflower is an important oilseed crop cultivated primarily for its seeds, which have pharmaceutical properties. Color is an important agronomical trait that appears to be a prior parameter for evaluating the internal quality of plant seeds. This study employs 197 safflower accessions seeds to analyze how their seed coat and flower colors affect their total oil content, fatty acid composition, total phenolic content (TPC), N-(p-coumaroyl)serotonin (CS) and N-feruloylserotonin (FS) contents, and [2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS)] radical scavenging activities. Significant variations were observed in the targeted metabolite contents and antioxidant properties among genotypes. Notably, the linoleic acid content, total unsaturated fatty acid content, the ratio of total unsaturated fatty acid to total saturated fatty acid, CS, FS, ABTS, and DPPH scavenging capacities varied significantly based on seed coat color, with white-seeded genotypes having the highest average values of these parameters. Moreover, the linoleic acid content differed significantly (p < 0.05) among the genotypes with varying flower colors, with white-flowered accessions having the highest average content. Furthermore, genotypes K185105 (No. 75) and K175278 (No. 146) were identified as promising genetic resources with health benefits. Overall, these findings reveal that seed coat and flower colors distinctly affect metabolite contents and antioxidant properties in safflower seeds.

Remediation of Methyl Red Dye from Aqueous Solutions by Using Biosorbents Developed from Floral Waste

The disposal of biological waste into water bodies is a major global concern as it leads to water pollution resulting in the loss of plenty of revenue in the cleaning of water bodies. Here, in the present research work, sacred flowers were collected, segregated, sun-dried, and powdered. The dried floral powders (marigold and rose) were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), electron diffraction spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The microscopy revealed the irregular spherical shape of the sheet-like structure whose size varies in microns. The EDS revealed the elemental composition which was dominated by mainly carbon and oxygen. The XRD shows the presence of carbon (10-25ɵ) in the amorphous form and the absence of any crystalline phase in the biosorbents. The FT-IR showed peaks that conformed to the presence of functional groups like -OH and a carbonyl group. The dried powders were used as an economical and eco-friendly biosorbent for the removal of methyl red (MR) dye from the aqueous solutions by batch adsorption study. After 60 minutes of contact time, the marigold powder (MGP) and rose petal powder (RPP) showed decolorization of 61.16% and 56.08% for 2 ppm of MR dye. The kinetic revealed that the dye removal reaction does not follow the pseudo-first-order as well as the pseudo-second-order. The utilization of such waste-based biosorbents will minimize solid waste and also will provide an economical biosorbent for the removal of environmental pollutants.

Authenticity and species identification of Fritillariae cirrhosae: a data fusion method combining electronic nose, electronic tongue, electronic eye and near infrared spectroscopy

This paper focuses on determining the authenticity and identifying the species of Fritillariae cirrhosae using electronic nose, electronic tongue, and electronic eye sensors, near infrared and mid-level data fusion. 80 batches of Fritillariae cirrhosae and its counterfeits (including several batches of Fritillaria unibracteata Hsiao et K.C. Hsia, Fritillaria przewalskii Maxim, Fritillaria delavayi Franch and Fritillaria ussuriensis Maxim) were initially identified by Chinese medicine specialists and by criteria in the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia. After obtaining the information from several sensors we constructed single-source PLS-DA models for authenticity identification and single-source PCA-DA models for species identification. We selected variables of interest by VIP value and Wilk's lambda value, and we subsequently constructed the three-source fusion model of intelligent senses and the four-source fusion model of intelligent senses and near-infrared spectroscopy. We then explained and analyzed the four-source fusion models based on the sensitive substances detected by key sensors. The accuracies of single-source authenticity PLS-DA identification models based on electronic nose, electronic eye, electronic tongue sensors and near-infrared were respectively 96.25%, 91.25%, 97.50% and 97.50%. The accuracies of single-source PCA-DA species identification models were respectively 85%, 71.25%, 97.50% and 97.50%. After three-source data fusion, the accuracy of the authenticity identification of the PLS-DA identification model was 97.50% and the accuracy of the species identification of the PCA-DA model was 95%. After four-source data fusion, the accuracy of the authenticity of the PLS-DA identification model was 98.75% and the accuracy of the species identification of the PCA-DA model was 97.50%. In terms of authenticity identification, four-source data fusion can improve the performance of the model, while for the identification of the species the four-source data fusion failed to optimize the performance of the model. We conclude that electronic nose, electronic tongue, electronic eye data and near-infrared spectroscopy combined with data fusion and chemometrics methods can identify the authenticity and determine the species of Fritillariae cirrhosae. Our model explanation and analysis can help other researchers identify key quality factors for sample identification. This study aims to provide a reference method for the quality evaluation of Chinese herbs.

Composition of major quinochalcone hydroxysafflor yellow A and anhydrosafflor yellow B is associated with colour of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) during colour-transition but not with overall antioxidant capacity: A study on 144 cultivars

Yellow pigments in the water-extract of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) belong to quinochalcone flavonoid family and are widely used as food colourants. The aim of the study was to characterize the main quinochalcone compounds in safflower water-extract during blooming period when floret changed colour. Mass-spectrometry results showed that hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) and anhydrosafflor yellow B (AHSYB) were the most abundant. Based on 370 florets samples collected from 144 cultivars, the contents of HSYA and AHSYB were determined, which showed that only AHSYB content had relatively strong positive association with colour indexes. The ratio of HSYA/AHSYB and visual colour exhibited certain patterns: yellow = 2, orange = 3-4, red = more dispersed, mostly falling 5-6. Most of the florets had HSYA increased first and decreased, while AHSYB decreased all the time when floret changed colour as yellow → orange → red. Regardless of the composition of HSYA/AHSYB in florets, the antioxidant capacities of safflower petal water-extracts were the same.

Discrimination between Zingiberis Rhizoma Praeparatum and carbonised ginger by colour measurement and fingerprint analysis

INTRODUCTION

Zingiberis Rhizoma (ZR) has been used as a traditional Chinese herb and culinary food for thousands of years. Its two processed products, Zingiberis Rhizoma Praeparatum (ZRP) and carbonised ginger (CG), possess different therapeutic effects.

OBJECTIVES

To establish an objective and comprehensive method to differentiate ZRP from CG and to evaluate their qualities.

METHODOLOGY

Colour values of ZRP and CG were tested to establish the colour models by spectrophotometry. Moreover, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed for fingerprint and quantitative analysis, and chemometric approaches were applied to discriminate between ZRP and CG. Finally, Spearman's correlation analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between the colour values and the peak areas of the common chemical compositions.

RESULTS

Colour reference ranges of colour parameters and mathematical functions were built to distinguish ZRP from CG. In fingerprint analysis, 26 common peaks were detected in these two processed products, among which 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, 6-shogaol, 10-gingerol, 8-shogaol and 10-shogaol were identified. Meanwhile, ZRP could be differentiated from CG by chemometrics analysis. In addition, the correlation between colour parameters and common peak areas was found and the contents of 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, 6-shogaol, 10-gingerol, and 8-shogaol were determined simultaneously.

CONCLUSIONS

An objective approach of colour measurement, HPLC fingerprint coupled with chemometrics analysis and quantitative assessment could be applied to discriminate ZRP from CG and evaluate the qualities of ZRP and CG rapidly.

Bioactive Substances in Safflower Flowers and Their Applicability in Medicine and Health-Promoting Foods

Safflower flowers (Carthamus tinctorius) contain many natural substances with a wide range of economic uses. The most famous dye isolated from flower petals is hydroxysafflor A (HSYA), which has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. This review is aimed at updating the state of knowledge about their applicability in oncology, pulmonology, cardiology, gynecology, dermatology, gastrology, immunology, and suitability in the treatment of obesity and diabetes and its consequences with information published mainly in 2018-2020. They were also effective in treating obesity and diabetes and its consequences. The issues related to the possibilities of using HSYA in the production of health-promoting food were also analyzed.

Assessment of Metabolic Profiles in Florets of Carthamus Species Using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

The genus Carthamus is a diverse group of plants belonging to the family Compositae. Florets of Carthamus species exhibit various colors, including white, yellow, orange, and red, which are related to their metabolite compositions. We aimed to investigate the metabolites accumulated in florets of three wild (C. lanatus, C. palaestinus, and C. turkestanicus) and one cultivated (C. tinctorius) species of safflower at three developmental stages. Metabolites were extracted from freeze-dried florets using 70% methanol; qualification and quantification were carried out using liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry in positive and negative ion modes followed by extraction of the peaks. Fifty-six metabolites, including phenylpropanoids, chalcones, isoflavonoids, flavanones, flavonols, flavones, and other primary metabolites, were identified for the first time in safflower wild species. The orange florets contained high abundances of safflomin A, anhydrosafflor yellow B, and baimaside, whereas white/cream and light-yellow pigmented florets had high abundances of 1,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, luteolin 7-O-glucuronide, and apigenin 7-O-β-D-glucuronide. The principal component analysis clearly distinguished the samples based on their pigment types, indicating that color is a dominant factor dictating the identity and amount of the metabolites. Pearson correlation data based on levels of metabolites showed that orange and yellow florets were significantly correlated to each other. White and cream pigmented species were also highly correlated. Comparison between three developmental stages of safflower wild species based on their metabolite profile showed inconsistent. The findings of this study broaden the current knowledge of safflower metabolism. The wide diversity of metabolites in safflower materials also helps in efforts to improve crop quality and agronomic traits.

Treatment Efficacy of Chuang Ling Ye, a Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine Compound, on Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective

To explore whether Chuang Ling Ye (CLY), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine compound, could improve the treatment of idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) via decreasing inflammatory response.

Methods

Herein, 40 patients with IGM who had wounds requiring dressing change were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups: the CLY group and the control group. The size of the neoplasm and pain score of patients were followed-up for 4 weeks. Local tissues were taken during dressing change and examined by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. The levels of inflammatory markers, including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-2, IL-6, interferon gamma (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured.

Results

After treatment, the size of the neoplasm in the CLY group was significantly smaller than that in the control group (14.28 cm ± 8.96 cm vs. 21.14 cm ± 0.12 cm, P=0.038), and the pain scores were markedly reduced (P=0.004). Besides, CLY downregulated the expression levels of IL-1β, IFN-γ, and TNF-α.

Conclusion

External use of CLY could reduce the neoplasm of IGM by inhibiting local inflammation. This trial is registered with ChiCTR1800017744.