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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Panax notoginseng-steamed chicken (PNSC) is a medicinal food with ethnic characteristics developed by the Miao ethnic group in the southeast of Yunnan Province, China. PNSC has been eaten for hundreds of years, and its tonic effect has been widely recognized by the people. However, its cooking conditions and scientific connotation of its effect of toning blood and supplementing deficiency are also lack of in-depth analysis., Aim of the Study: To optimize the cooking conditions of Panax notoginseng-steamed chicken (PNSC) and to explore its anemia-improving effects., Materials and Methods: The ratio of P. notoginseng (PN) to chicken and the steaming time were systematically altered, and the PNSC cooking conditions was optimized with the response surface method. By establishing animal models of postpartum blood-deficiency anemia, acute hemorrhagic anemia and myelosuppressive anemia, the blood replenishing effect of PNSC was explored, and the blood replenishing mechanism of PNSC on myelosuppressive anemia was revealed by immunoblotting analyses and histopathological sectioning., Results: The optimal processing conditions included a ratio of chicken to P. notoginseng of 100:5 and a steaming time of 5.5 h. The amounts of P. notoginseng polysaccharides (PNPS), total protein and blood-enriching P. notoginseng saponins were 44.3 mg/g, 2.48% and 2.04%, respectively. Freeze-dried powder of P. notoginseng steamed chicken soup (FPSC) was found to promote the recovery of routine blood factors and organ indexes in the three models of anemia and to activate the JAK2-STAT5 signaling pathway, induce phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT5 and normalize the secretion of hematopoietic regulators EPO, IL-3, and TNF-α., Conclusion: FPSC improves the symptoms of anemia in mice, and it plays a role in tonifying blood by activating the JAK2-STAT5 signaling pathway and altering the expression of hematopoiesis-related factors., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The mechanism of how potassium (K) attenuates cadmium (Cd)-induced demethylation and anabolism of cell wall (CW) pectin through the brassinolide (BR) signaling pathway was verified in Panax notoginseng (Burk.). The P. notoginseng pectin methylesterase gene (PnPME1) was cloned and functionally verified in tobacco. Pectin and BR metabolism, Cd content and the pectin methylation degree (PMD) were detected in response to K, 2,4-epibrassinolide (EBL), and brassinazole treatments of P. notoginseng and tobacco under Cd stress. Activity of the main root pectin methylesterase enzyme (PME) was promoted by 22.29% under the EBL treatment, and Cd content increased by 29.03% under Cd stress. Potassium reduced PME activity and Cd content in main root pectin by 61.03% and 50.73%, respectively, under the EBL and Cd co-treatment. Potassium inhibited the promoting effects of Cd stress on the expression of PnPME1 by 57.04%. Potassium also inhibited expression of BR synthesis genes PnDET2, PnROT3, PnCYP90A1, and PnBR6OX1 by 65.61%, 52.02%, 47.36%, and 55.16%, respectively, and reduced the accumulation of Cd. The PnPME1 was located in the CW. The activity of transgenic tobacco root PME was higher than that of the wild-type, while the PMD was significantly lower. The regulatory effects of K and EBL on tobacco root pectin metabolism were consistent with those in P. notoginseng. In conclusion, K downregulated the expression of BR synthesis genes in P. notoginseng roots under Cd stress and reduced the production of BRs, which inhibited PnPME1 expression. The reduction in PME activity increased the PMD, which reduced the accumulation of Cd., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) are major secondary metabolite of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen. Previous studies identified that P. notoginseng planting soil usually with high content of Cd. However, the effects of Cd stress on the accumulation of PNS and the corresponding regulation mechanisms have yet to be reported. In the present study, the impact of Cd stress on the PNS accumulation of P. notoginseng was studied in pot culture experiments. The effect of Cd stress on antioxidant enzyme activity was studied using hydroponics. In addition, transcriptase sequencing analysis was used to study the effect of Cd stress on the expression of PNS metabolism transcripts in hydroponic experiments. Cd treatments significantly decreased the accumulation of PNS in the rhizome and main root. The sensitive concentration of antioxidant enzyme activity for both leaf and stem was 2.5μM, whereas the sensitive concentration for the root was 5.0μM. Transcriptome analysis showed that 5132 genes (2930 up- and 2202 downregulated) were regulated by 5.0μM Cd stress in the root of P. notoginseng. Among them, six upregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were related to the methylerythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway, whereas three of the downregulated DEGs were mevalonate kinase (MVK), phosphomevalonate kinase (PMK), and geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (type II, GGPS). Of the 15 transcripts selected for real-time quantitative-PCR, 13 were expressed in the same manner as identified using RNA-seq. In conclusion, Cd stress inhibited the accumulation of PNS in the root of P. notoginseng by reducing the expression of MVK, PMK, and GGPS in the terpenoid backbone biosynthesis pathway, and also caused by the removal of reactive oxygen species.

This study features a survey of the content of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, As, Hg and Cu) in root and cultivation soils of Panax notoginseng ( P. notoginseng ), carried out in China's Yunnan Province. The average contents of Pb, Cd, Cr, As, Hg, and Cu in the soil were 61.6, 0.4, 102.4, 57.1, 0.3, and 35.1 mg·kg -1 , respectively. The heavy metals' pollution indexes can be ranked as follows: As > Cd > Hg > Cu > Cr > Pb. The proportion of soil samples at slight, middle, strong, very strong, and extremely strong levels of potential environmental risk had values of 5.41%, 21.62%, 35.14%, 10.81%, and 27.03%, respectively. The potential environment risk index ( RI ) showed that 29.73% out of the total sample sites were above the level of strong and extremely strong. The ranges of Pb, Cd, Cr, As, Hg, and Cu content in tuber were 0.04-3.26, 0.04-0.33, 0.22-5.4, 0.10-1.8, 0.00-0.02, and 5.0-20.9 mg·kg -1 , respectively. In combination with P. notoginseng consumption data, the estimated heavy metal daily intakes (EDIs) were 0.08-0.23, 0.006-0.019, 0.17-0.52, 0.04-0.12, 0.001-0.002, and 0.59-1.77 μg·kg -1 ·bw/day. All target hazard quotients (THQs) of individual elements and hazard indexes ( HI ) were less than one. The present study indicates that most of the P. notoginseng cultivation soil in the province of Yunnan presented slight and moderate ecological risk. Thus, more attention should be given to the heavy metals As, Cd, and Hg when selecting planting areas for the cultivation of P. notoginseng . Health risks associated with the intake of a single element or consumption of the combined metals through P. notoginseng are absent., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rhizosphere and root-associated microbial communities are known to be related to soil-borne disease and plant health. In the present study, the microbial communities in rhizosphere soils and roots of both healthy and diseased Panax notoginseng were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA for bacteria and 18S rRNA internal transcribed spacer for fungi, to reveal the relationship of microbial community structure with plant health status. In total, 5593 bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and 963 fungal OTUs were identified in rhizosphere soils, while 1794 bacterial and 314 fungal OTUs were identified from root samples respectively. Principal coordinate analysis separated the microbial communities both in the rhizosphere soils and roots of diseased P. notoginseng from healthy plants. Compared to those of healthy P. notoginseng, microbial communities in rhizosphere soils and roots of diseased plants showed a decrease in alpha diversity. By contrast, bacterial community dissimilarity increased and fungal community dissimilarity decreased in rhizosphere soils of diseased plants, while both bacterial and fungal community dissimilarity in roots showed no significant difference between healthy and diseased plants. Redundancy analysis at the phylum level showed that mycorrhizal colonization and soil texture significantly affected microbial community composition in rhizosphere soils, whereas shoot nutrition status had a significant effect on microbial community composition in root samples. Our study provided strong evidence for the hypothesis that microbial diversity could potentially serve as an indicator for disease outbreak of medicinal plants, and supported the ecological significance of microbial communities in maintaining plant healthy and soil fertility.

Objective: To explore the solution of continuous cropping obstacle of Panax notoginseng., Method: The effects of balanced fertilization and soil amendment on the emergence rate, survival rate, growth and yield of P. notoginseng were studied with a pot culture experiment in 3-year-interval continuous cropping soil., Result: The result showed that the content of total N, total P, available N, available P and other available components in continuous cropping soil were higher than those in fresh soil while available K and the rate of K/N were declined, and available Cu and some other micro elements were lack. The way of balanced fertilization "low N + fused calcium-magnesium-phosphate fertilizer + high K + lime + micro elements" would significantly enhance the rate of survival, biomass and yield. It also promoted the growth of P. notoginseng in continuous cropping. The bagasse could relieve the continuous cropping obstacle obviously, the survival rate was improved for 31.6% and the yield of medicinal materials was 19.5%. The fly ash had also some effect in relieving the continuous cropping obstacle., Conclusion: The overall results suggested that the adequate fertilization plan is the applying lime, reducing N, applying calcium-magnesium-phosphate fertilizer, improving K and supplying mircoelement as well as applying bagasse to resolve the problem of continuous cropping obstacle of P. notoginseng.

Sanqi, Panax notoginseng, is a famous traditional Chinese herb, which has more than 400 years cultivation history in China. This paper has reviewed the studies on the suitable growing soil conditions for Sanqi, mineral nutrition effects on Sanqi, and the effects of nutrients uptake on the yield and quality of Sanqi by applying fertilizer. Thereafter, research needed to be put further efforts in the future has raised for discussion, and outlined the following topics for further research like the mechanism of mineral nutrition, methods of nutrients deficiency diagnosis on site, suitable cultivated soil grading special fertizer development, disease resistance, and fertilization recommended by soil testing.

Excessive nitrogen (N) application and potassium (K) supplement deficiency is a common problem in Panax notoginseng cultivation. However, synergistic effects of lowering N and increasing K application on yield and quality of P. notoginseng have not been reported. Field experiments in two locations with different N and K combined application were conducted to study the effects on yield and quality. Then, the saponin accumulation mechanisms were explored by pot and hydroponic culture with 2- or 3-year-old seedlings. The investigation showed that 70% of P. notoginseng cultivation fields reached abundant levels of total nitrogen (TN) but had deficient levels of total potassium (TK), which may be detrimental to balance the N/K uptake of P. notoginseng. Moreover, the average biomass was 18.9 g, and P. notoginseng saponin (PNS) content was 6.95%; both were influenced by the N/K values of P. notoginseng. The field experiments indicated that compared to the conventional N and K application (N:K = 2:1), lowering N and increasing K application (N:K = 1:2) decreased root rot rate by 36.4–46.1% and increased survival rate, root biomass, and yield, as well as PNS content by 17.9–18.3, 5.7–32.9, 27.8–57.1, and 5–10%, respectively. The mechanism of lowering N and increasing K application on the PNS content improving was due to the decreasing of N/K value, which promoted photosynthesis, sugar accumulation, and the expression of saponin biosynthesis genes. Therefore, lowering N and increasing K application to the ratio of 1:2 would have great potential to improve the synergistic effect on yield and quality of P. notoginseng cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high background value of cadmium (Cd) in the Panax notoginseng planting soil is the main reason for the Cd content in P. notoginseng exceeding the limit standards. The main goal of this study was to reveal the mechanism by which potassium (K) reduces Cd accumulation in P. notoginseng from the perspective of the influences of soil microbial communities on soil pH, total organic matter (TOM) and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Pot experiments were conducted to study the effects of different types and amounts of applied K on the Cd content in P. notoginseng , and on the soil pH, TOM, CEC, and bioavailable Cd (bio-Cd) content in soil. Field experiments were conducted to study the effects of K2SO4 fertilizer on the microbial community, and its correlations with the soil pH, TOM and CEC were analyzed. A moderate application of K2SO4 (0.6 g⋅kg–1) was found to be the most optimal treatment for the reduction of Cd in the pot experiments. The field experiments proved that K fertilizer (K2SO4) alleviated the decreases in pH, TOM and CEC, and reduced the content of bio-Cd in the soil. The application of K fertilizer inhibited the growth of Acidobacteria, but the abundances of Mortierellomycota, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were promoted. The relative abundances of Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria in the soil bacteria exhibited significant negative and positive correlations with pH and CEC, respectively. In contrast, the relative abundance of Mortierellomycota was found to be positively correlated with the pH, TOM and CEC. The bio-Cd content was also found to be positively correlated with the relative abundance of Acidobacteriia but negatively correlated with the relative abundances of Proteobacteria and Mortierellomycota. The application of K fertilizer inhibited the abundance of Acidobacteria, which alleviated the acidification of the soil pH and CEC, and promoted increase in the abundances of Mortierellomycota, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, which ultimately increased the soil TOM and CEC. Soil microorganisms were found to mitigated decreases in the soil pH, TOM, and CEC and reduced the bio-Cd content in the soil, which significantly reduced the accumulation of Cd in P. notoginseng. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) formula fertilization on cadmium (Cd) accumulation in P. notoginseng. Field investigations as well as formulated N and K fertilizers application experiments were conducted. Field investigations showed that Cd accumulation decreased PNS content in the main roots of P. notoginseng, while PNS content was promoted by soil available potassium (AK) and K in the main roots. The Cd content in P. notoginseng and the bioavailable Cd content in the soil decreased with the increasing of total K (TK) and AK in the soil. The increase of soil pH, total organic matter (TOM) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) values can reduce the bioavailable Cd content in soil, thus reducing the Cd accumulation in P. notoginseng. Under current fertilization in P. notoginseng cultivation, decreased N fertilization can alleviate the deterioration of soil physical and chemical properties. Under identical N fertilization, increasing K fertilization promoted the PNS accumulation (0.3–38.3%), also improved soil physical and chemical properties. Formulated N and K fertilizers application (1:2) experiments showed that reducing application of N and increasing K fertilization could reduce the bioavailable Cd content in soil, and the Cd content also decreased by 0.5–69.6% in P. notoginseng. Abbreviation: PNS: P. notoginseng saponins; F(EXC): Exchangeable fraction; F(Carb): Bound to carbonates fraction; F(Fe-MnOX): Bound to iron and manganese oxides fraction; F(OM): Bound to organic matter fraction; F(RES): Residual fraction; AK: Available potassium; TK: Total potassium; CEC: Cation exchange capacity; TOM: Total organic matter [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of organic and inorganic N combined application on P.notoginseng cultivation are poorly known. For this reason, we have carried out a pot culture experiment in 2010. The treatments respectively were (1) control (no N input, CK), (2) organic N (ON), (3) half organic N and half inorganic N (1/2ON+ 1/2IN), (4) inorganic N (IN). Plant growth, NPK and secondary metabolites concentration were assayed. Results showed that compared to CK, ON increased plant height, N, P concentration and accumulation and total saponins concentration, but reduce total flavonoids concentration. IN increased shoot and root biomass, N concentration and accumulation, K accumulation, but reduce total flavonoids and saponins concentration. 1/2ON+ 1/2IN had the highest hair root length, root diameter, biomass, N concentration and accumulation, K concentration in roots, total saponins concentration, but had the lowest K concentration in shoots, total flavonoids concentration in shoots and roots. Correlation analysis showed total flavonoids concentration was negative correlated with N concentration and accumulation, K concentration in shoots, but was positive correlated K concentration in roots. Total saponins concentration was negative correlated with K concentration in shoots whereas positive in roots, and was negative correlated with total flavonoids concentration. Totally, organic and inorganic N combined application with the ratio of 50/50 is the best way for growth and saponins of P.notoginseng. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Root-rot disease, the main catastrophic disease of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen, causes yield reduction and serious economic losses. However, knowledge of the relationship between rhizosphere microbial community and root-rot disease is limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in the rhizosphere microbial community following the occurrence of P. notoginseng root-rot disease using three different techniques: phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiling, 16S rRNA gene sequencing and functional-inference-based approaches (PICRUSt: phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states). With paired comparison design, we studied the rhizosphere microbial community structure of healthy and root-rot P. notoginseng plants in Wenshan region of Yunnan province, southwest China. Microbial PLFA profiles showed that the abundance of total microbes, bacteria, fungi and the proportion of gram-negative bacteria in the rhizosphere soil of diseased plants were significantly higher than those of healthy plants. Furthermore, the proportion of gram-positive bacterial, actinomycetal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal PLFAs were significantly lower in the rhizosphere soil of diseased plants, and Proteobacteria was identified to be the marker phylum in rhizosphere soil of diseased P. notoginseng . By PICRUSt analysis, bacterial community function was predicted based on 16S rRNA sequencing. It was found that the potential function of microbial community from rhizosphere soil of diseased P. notoginseng differed significantly from that of healthy plants. Moreover, soil variables including soil texture and soil organic carbon significantly correlated with PLFA profiles, and were identified as important abiotic factors in shaping microbial communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]