[Contents and the Correlations of the Total Anthocyanins and Saponins of the Vegetative Organs of Panax notoginseng with Purple and Green Aerial Stems at Different Growth Stages].

Objective: To study the accumulation characteristics of total anthocyanins and saponins in the vegetative organ of Panax notoginseng with purple and green aerial stems at different growth stages.

Methods: The contents of the total anthocyanins and saponins of the leaves, aerial stems, rhizomes and the adventitious roots of one-, two- and three-year-old Panax notoginseng with purple and green aerial stems were determined by spectrophotometry.

Results: From one-year-old to three-year-old Panax notoginseng, the total anthocyanin contents (TACs) of the leaves, aerial stems and all vegetative organs and the percentages of the aerial stems TACs to those of all vegetative organs of purple aerial stemmed Panax notoginseng plants, the percentages of the total saponin contents (TSCs) of the leaves and aerial stems to those of all vegetative organs of the purple and green aerial stemmed plants and the percentages of the leaves TACs to those of vegetative organs of the green aerial stemmed plants all decreased. The TACs of the leaves and all vegetative organs of the green aerial stemmed plants, the TACs of the rhizomes and their adventitious roots, the vegetative organ TSCs and the percentages of the TSCs of the rhizomes and their adventitious roots to those of all vegetative organs of the purple and green aerial stemmed plants, and the percentages of the TACs of the rhizomes and their adventitious roots to those of all vegetative organs of the purple aerial stemmed plants were increased. The increasing rates of the TACs of the aerial stems and all vegetative organs and the TSCs of the aerial stems, rhizomes and their adventitious roots and all vegetative organs of the purple aerial stemmed plants were always higher than those of the green aeria stemmed plants, but the increasing rates of the leaves TSCs were lower than those of the green aerial stemmed plants, and the content changes of the vegetative organ TACs and TSCs of the purple and green aerial stemmed plants exhibited different correlations. Additionally, the three-years-old plants, the TSCs of the vegetative organs of the purple aerial stemmed plants were all higher than those of the green aerial stemmed plants, but the TACs of the leaves and rhizomes and their adventitious roots were lower than those of the green aerial stemmed plants.

Conclusion: The saponin-accumulating capacity of the vegetative organs of purple aerial stemmed Panax notoginseng plants is stronger than that of green aerial stemmed Panax notoginseng.