Genetic variation and metabolic pathway intricacy govern the active compound content and quality of the Chinese medicinal plant Lonicera japonica thunb.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Traditional Chinese medicine uses various herbs for the treatment of various diseases for thousands of years and it is now time to assess the characteristics and effectiveness of these medicinal plants based on modern genetic and molecular tools. The herb Flos Lonicerae Japonicae (FLJ or Lonicera japonica Thunb.) is used as an anti-inflammatory agent but the chemical quality of FLJ and its medicinal efficacy has not been consistent. Here, we analyzed the transcriptomes and metabolic pathways to evaluate the active medicinal compounds in FLJ and hope that this approach can be used for a variety of medicinal herbs in the future.

Results

We assess transcriptomic differences between FLJ and L. japonica Thunb. var. chinensis (Watts) (rFLJ), which may explain the variab

SUBMITTER: Yuan Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3443457 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature