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  • Steam Distilled Organic Natural  Pure Tea Tree Essential Oil for skin care body care

    Steam Distilled Organic Natural Pure Tea Tree Essential Oil for skin care body care

    Tea Tree Essential Oil is extracted from Tea Tree (MelaleucaAlternifolia) leaves.  Tea Tree oil is manufactured using steam distillation. Pure Tea Tree essential oil has a fresh aromatic fragrance,  due to its antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. It can also be used to heal colds and coughs. The powerful antibacterial properties of this oil can be used for making homemade natural hand sanitizers. The essential oil obtained from Tea Tree leaves is used widely in cosmetic and skin care products due to its moisturizing and skin-friendly properties. It is effective against many skin issues, and you can also use it for making natural cleansers to clean and sanitize different surfaces of your home. Apart from skin care, Organic tea tree oil can even be used for treating hair care issues owing to its ability to nourish your scalp and hair. Due to all these benefits, this essential oil is one of the most popular multi-purpose oils.

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  • Organic Pure Peppermint Essential Oil Air fresh Mint  oil for aromatherapy skin care

    Organic Pure Peppermint Essential Oil Air fresh Mint oil for aromatherapy skin care

    Peppermint Oil is mainly used for its therapeutic benefits, but it is also widely used for making perfumes, candles, and other scented goods. It is also used in aromatherapy due to its uplifting fragrance that positively affects your mind and mood. Organic Peppermint Essential oil is best known for its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and astringent properties. As no chemical processes or additives are used for making this essential oil, it is pure and safe to use.

     

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  • Aromatherapy Pure Natural Eucalyptus leaf essential oil for skin body  care

    Aromatherapy Pure Natural Eucalyptus leaf essential oil for skin body care

    Extraction or Processing Method:steam distilled

    Distillation Extraction part:leaf

    Origin of country:China

    Application:Diffuse/aromatherapy/massage

    Shelf life:3 years

    Customized service:custom label and box or as your requirement

    Certification:GMPC/FDA/ISO9001/MSDS/COA

     

    Eucalyptus oil reacts with mucus and loosens it to provide instant relief from the shortage of breath and other respiratory issues. It is powerful enough to work as an insect repellent. When used in aromatherapy, it provides clarity of thoughts. Its therapeutic benefits are due to its antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiseptic, antispasmodic, and antiviral properties. Use eucalyptus oil against a variety of skin and health conditions, It contains eucalyptol which is also known as cineole. This compound will support your overall health and wellness.

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  • Natural Pure Organic Lavender Essential Oil for Aromatherapy skin care

    Natural Pure Organic Lavender Essential Oil for Aromatherapy skin care

    Extraction or Processing Method:Steam distilled

    Distillation Extraction part:Flower

    Origin of country:China

    Application:Diffuse/aromatherapy/massage

    Shelf life:3years

    Customized service:custom label and box or as your requirement

    Certification:GMPC/FDA/ISO9001/MSDS/COA

  • 100% Pure Natural Organic Magnoliae Officmalis Cortex Oil Essential Oil For Skin Care

    100% Pure Natural Organic Magnoliae Officmalis Cortex Oil Essential Oil For Skin Care

    Hou Po’s fragrance is immediately bitter and sharply pungent then gradually opens with a deep, syrupy sweetness and warmth.

    Hou Po’s affinity is to the Earth and Metal elements where it’s bitter warmth acts strongly to descend Qi and dry dampness. Because of these qualities, it is used in Chinese medicine to relieve stagnation and accumulation in the digestive tract as well as coughing and wheezing due to phlegm obstructing the lungs.

    Magnolia Officinials is a deciduous tree native to the mountains and valleys of Sichuan, Hubei and other provinces of China. The highly aromatic bark used in traditional Chinese medicine is stripped from the stems, branches and roots Collected during April to June. The thick, smooth bark, heavy with oil, has a purplish color on the inner side with a crystal like sheen.

    Practitioners may consider combining Hou Po with Qing Pi essential oil as a top note compliment in blends aimed at breaking up accumulations.

  • OEM Custom Package Natural Macrocephalae Rhizoma oil

    OEM Custom Package Natural Macrocephalae Rhizoma oil

    As an efficient chemotherapeutic agent, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is widely applied for treatment of malignant tumors in the gastrointestinal tract, head, neck, chest, and ovary. And 5-FU is the first-line drug for colorectal cancer in clinic. The action mechanism of 5-FU is to block the transformation of uracil nucleic acid into thymine nucleic acid in the tumor cells, then affect the synthesis and repairing of DNA and RNA to achieve its cytotoxic effect (Afzal et al., 2009; Ducreux et al., 2015; Longley et al., 2003). However, 5-FU also produces chemotherapy-induced diarrhea (CID), one of the most common adverse reactions that plagues many patients (Filho et al., 2016). The incidence of diarrhea in patients treated with 5-FU was up to 50%–80%, which seriously affected the progress and efficacy of chemotherapy (Iacovelli et al., 2014; Rosenoff et al., 2006). Consequently, it is of significant importance to find effective therapy for 5-FU induced CID.

    At present, non-drug interventions and drug interventions have been imported into the clinical treatment of CID. Non-drug interventions include reasonable diet, and supplement with salt, sugar and other nutrients. Drugs such as loperamide and octreotide are commonly used in anti-diarrhea therapy of CID (Benson et al., 2004). In addition, ethnomedicines are also adopted to treat CID with their own unique therapy in various countries. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one typical ethnomedicine that has been practiced for more than 2000 years in East Asian countries including China, Japan and Korea (Qi et al., 2010). TCM holds that chemotherapeutic drugs would trigger Qi consumption, spleen deficiency, stomach disharmony and endophytic dampness, resulting in conductive dysfunction of intestines. In TCM theory, the treatment strategy of CID should be mainly depended on supplementing Qi and strengthening spleen (Wang et al., 1994).

    The dried roots of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. (AM) and Panax ginseng C. A. Mey. (PG) are the typical herbal medicines in TCM with same effects of supplementing Qi and strengthening spleen (Li et al., 2014). AM and PG are usually used as herb pair (the simplest form of Chinese herbal compatibility) with the effects of supplementing Qi and strengthening spleen to treat diarrhea. For example, AM and PG were documented in classical anti-diarrheal formulae such as Shen Ling Bai Zhu San, Si Jun Zi Tang from Taiping Huimin Heji Ju Fang (Song dynasty, China) and Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang from Pi Wei Lun (Yuan dynasty, China) (Fig. 1). Several previous studies had reported that all the three formulae possess the ability of alleviating CID (Bai et al., 2017; Chen et al., 2019; Gou et al., 2016). In addition, our previous study showed that Shenzhu Capsule which only contains AM and PG have potential effects on the treatments of diarrhea, colitis (xiexie syndrome), and other gastrointestinal diseases (Feng et al., 2018). However, no study has discussed the effect and mechanism of AM and PG in treating CID, whether in combination or alone.

    Now gut microbiota is deemed to be a potential factor in understanding the therapeutic mechanism of TCM (Feng et al., 2019). Modern studies indicate that gut microbiota plays a crucial role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis. Healthy gut microbiota contributes to the intestinal mucosal protection, metabolism, immune homeostasis and response, and pathogen suppression (Thursby and Juge, 2017; Pickard et al., 2017). Disordered gut microbiota impairs the physiological and immune functions of the human body directly or indirectly, inducing side reactions like diarrhea (Patel et al., 2016; Zhao and Shen, 2010). Researches had shown that 5-FU remarkably shifted the structure of gut microbiota in diarrheic mice (Li et al., 2017). Therefore, the effects of AM and PM on 5-FU induced diarrhea may be mediated by gut microbiota. However, whether AM and PG alone and in combination could prevent 5-FU induced diarrhea by modulating gut microbiota is still unknown.

    In order to investigate anti-diarrhea effects and underlying mechanism of AM and PG, we used 5-FU to simulate a diarrheal model in mice. Here, we focused on the potential effects of the single and combined administration (AP) of Atractylodes macrocephala essential oil (AMO) and Panax ginseng total saponins (PGS), the active components respectively extracted from AM and PG, on diarrhea, intestinal pathology and microbial structure after 5-FU chemotherapy.

  • 100% Pure Natural Eucommiae Foliuml Oil Essential Oil For Skin Care

    100% Pure Natural Eucommiae Foliuml Oil Essential Oil For Skin Care

    Eucommia ulmoides (EU) (commonly called “Du Zhong” in Chinese language) belong to the family of Eucommiaceae, a genus of the small tree native to Central China [1]. This plant is widely cultivated in China on a large scale because of its medicinal importance. About 112 compounds have been isolated from EU which include lignans, iridoids, phenolics, steroids, and other compounds. Complementary herbs formula of this plant (such as delicious tea) has shown some medicinal properties. The leaf of EU has higher activity related to cortex, flower, and fruit [23]. The leaves of EU have been reported to enhance bones strength and body muscles [4], thus leading to longevity and promoting fertility in humans [5]. Delicious tea formula made from the leaf of EU was reported to reduce fattiness and enhance energy metabolism. Flavonoid compounds (such as rutin, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, and caffeic acid) have been reported to exhibit antioxidants activity in the leaves of EU [6].

    Although there has been enough literature on phytochemical properties of EU, few studies however existed on the pharmacological properties of the various compounds extracted from the barks, seeds, stems, and leaves of EU. This review paper will elucidate detailed information regarding different compounds extracted from the various parts (barks, seeds, stem, and leaf) of EU and the prospective uses of these compounds in health-promoting properties with scientific lines of evidence and thus provide a reference material for the application of EU.

  • Pure Natural Houttuynia cordata oil Houttuynia Cordata Oil Lchthammolum Oil

    Pure Natural Houttuynia cordata oil Houttuynia Cordata Oil Lchthammolum Oil

    In most of the developing countries, 70-95% of the population rely on traditional medicines for primary health-care and out of these 85% of people use plants or their extracts as the active substance.[1] The search for new biologically active compounds from plants usually depends on the specific ethnic and folk information obtained from local practitioners and is still regarded as an important source for drug discovery. In India, approximately 2000 drugs are of plant origin.[2] In view of the widespread interest on using medicinal plants, the present review on Houttuynia cordata Thunb. provides up-to-date information with reference to botanical, commercial, ethnopharmacological, phytochemical and pharmacological studies that appears in the literature. H. cordata Thunb. belongs to the family Saururaceae and is commonly known as Chinese lizard tail. It is a perennial herb with stoloniferous rhizome having two distinct chemotypes.[3,4] The Chinese chemotype of the species is found in wild and semi-wild conditions in the North-East of India from April to September.[5,6,7H. cordata is available in India, especially in Brahmaputra valley of Assam and is utilized by various tribes of Assam in the form of vegetable as well as in various medicinal purposes traditionally.

  • 100% PureArctium lappa oil Manufacturer – Natural Lime Arctium lappa oil with Quality Assurance Certificates

    100% PureArctium lappa oil Manufacturer – Natural Lime Arctium lappa oil with Quality Assurance Certificates

    Health Benefits

    Burdock root is often eaten, yet, can also be dried and steeped into tea. It works well as a source of inulin, a prebiotic fiber that aids digestion and improves gut health. Additionally, this root contains flavonoids (plant nutrients), phytochemicals, and antioxidants that are known to have health benefits. 

    In addition, burdock root can provide other benefits like:

    Reduce Chronic Inflammation

    Burdock root contains a number of antioxidants, such as quercetin, phenolic acids, and luteolin, which can help protect your cells from free radicals. These antioxidants help reduce inflammation throughout the body.

    Health Risks

    Burdock root is considered safe to eat or drink as tea. However, this plant closely resembles belladonna nightshade plants, which are toxic. It’s recommended to only buy burdock root from trusted sellers and to refrain from collecting it on your own. Additionally, there is minimal information on its effects in children or pregnant women. Talk with your doctor before using burdock root with children or if you are pregnant.

    Here are some other possible health risks to consider if using burdock root:

    Increased Dehydration

    Burdock root acts like a natural diuretic, which can lead to dehydration. If you take water pills or other diuretics, you should not take burdock root. If you take these medications, it is important to be aware of other drugs, herbs, and ingredients that may lead to dehydration.

    Allergic Reaction

    If you are sensitive or have a history of allergic reactions to daisies, ragweed, or chrysanthemums, you are at increased risk for an allergic reaction to burdock root.

     

  • Wholesale bulk price 100% Pure AsariRadix Et Rhizoma oil Relax Aromatherapy Eucalyptus globulus

    Wholesale bulk price 100% Pure AsariRadix Et Rhizoma oil Relax Aromatherapy Eucalyptus globulus

    Animal and in vitro studies have investigated the potential antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and cardiovascular effects of sassafras and its components. However, clinical trials are lacking, and sassafras is not considered safe for use. Safrole, the main constituent of sassafras root bark and oil, has been banned by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including for use as a flavoring or fragrance, and should not be used internally or externally, as it is potentially carcinogenic. Safrole has been used in the illegal production of 3,4-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), also known by the street names “ecstasy” or “Molly,” and the sale of safrole and sassafras oil is monitored by the US Drug Enforcement Administration

  • Wholesale bulk price 100% Pure Stellariae Radix essential oil (new) Relax Aromatherapy Eucalyptus globulus

    Wholesale bulk price 100% Pure Stellariae Radix essential oil (new) Relax Aromatherapy Eucalyptus globulus

    The Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 edition) requires that the methanol extract of YCH should not be less than 20.0% [2], with no other quality evaluation indicators specified. The results of this study show that the contents of the methanol extracts of the wild and cultivated samples both met the pharmacopoeia standard, and there was no significant difference among them. Therefore, there was no apparent quality difference between wild and cultivated samples, according to that index. However, the contents of total sterols and total flavonoids in the wild samples were significantly higher than those in the cultivated samples. Further metabolomic analysis revealed abundant metabolite diversity between the wild and cultivated samples. Additionally, 97 significantly different metabolites were screened out, which are listed in the Supplementary Table S2. Among these significantly different metabolites are β-sitosterol (ID is M397T42) and quercetin derivatives (M447T204_2), which have been reported to be active ingredients. Previously unreported constituents, such as trigonelline (M138T291_2), betaine (M118T277_2), fustin (M269T36), rotenone (M241T189), arctiin (M557T165) and loganic acid (M399T284_2), were also included among the differential metabolites. These components play various roles in anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, scavenging free radicals, anti-cancer and treating atherosclerosis and, therefore, might constitute putative novel active components in YCH. The content of active ingredients determines the efficacy and quality of the medicinal materials [7]. In summary, methanol extract as the only YCH quality evaluation index has some limitations, and more specific quality markers need to be further explored. There were significant differences in total sterols, total flavonoids and the contents of many other differential metabolites between the wild and cultivated YCH; so, there were potentially some quality differences between them. At the same time, the newly discovered potential active ingredients in YCH might have an important reference value for the study of the functional basis of YCH and the further development of YCH resources.

    The importance of genuine medicinal materials has long been recognized in the specific region of origin for producing Chinese herbal medicines of excellent quality [8]. High quality is an essential attribute of genuine medicinal materials, and habitat is an important factor affecting the quality of such materials. Ever since YCH began to be used as medicine, it has long been dominated by wild YCH. Following the successful introduction and domestication of YCH in Ningxia in the 1980s, the source of Yinchaihu medicinal materials gradually shifted from wild to cultivated YCH. According to a previous investigation into YCH sources [9] and the field investigation of our research group, there are significant differences in the distribution areas of the cultivated and wild medicinal materials. The wild YCH is mainly distributed in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of the Shaanxi Province, adjacent to the arid zone of Inner Mongolia and central Ningxia. In particular, the desert steppe in these areas is the most suitable habitat for YCH growth. In contrast, the cultivated YCH is mainly distributed to the south of the wild distribution area, such as Tongxin County (Cultivated I) and its surrounding areas, which has become the largest cultivation and production base in China, and Pengyang County (Cultivated II), which is located in a more southern area and is another producing area for cultivated YCH. Moreover, the habitats of the above two cultivated areas are not desert steppe. Therefore, in addition to the mode of production, there are also significant differences in the habitat of the wild and cultivated YCH. Habitat is an important factor affecting the quality of herbal medicinal materials. Different habitats will affect the formation and accumulation of secondary metabolites in the plants, thereby affecting the quality of medicinal products [10,11]. Therefore, the significant differences in the contents of total flavonoids and total sterols and the expression of the 53 metabolites that we found in this study might be the result of field management and habitat differences.
    One of the main ways that the environment influences the quality of medicinal materials is by exerting stress on the source plants. Moderate environmental stress tends to stimulate the accumulation of secondary metabolites [12,13]. The growth/differentiation balance hypothesis states that, when nutrients are in sufficient supply, plants primarily grow, whereas when nutrients are deficient, plants mainly differentiate and produce more secondary metabolites [14]. Drought stress caused by water deficiency is the main environmental stress faced by plants in arid areas. In this study, the water condition of the cultivated YCH is more abundant, with annual precipitation levels significantly higher than those for the wild YCH (water supply for Cultivated I was about 2 times that of Wild; Cultivated II was about 3.5 times that of Wild). In addition, the soil in the wild environment is sandy soil, but the soil in the farmland is clay soil. Compared with clay, sandy soil has a poor water retention capacity and is more likely to aggravate drought stress. At the same time, the cultivation process was often accompanied by watering, so the degree of drought stress was low. Wild YCH grows in harsh natural arid habitats, and therefore it may suffer more serious drought stress.
    Osmoregulation is an important physiological mechanism by which plants cope with drought stress, and alkaloids are important osmotic regulators in higher plants [15]. Betaines are water-soluble alkaloid quaternary ammonium compounds and can act as osmoprotectants. Drought stress can reduce the osmotic potential of cells, while osmoprotectants preserve and maintain the structure and integrity of biological macromolecules, and effectively alleviate the damage caused by drought stress to plants [16]. For example, under drought stress, the betaine content of sugar beet and Lycium barbarum increased significantly [17,18]. Trigonelline is a regulator of cell growth, and under drought stress, it can extend the length of the plant cell cycle, inhibit cell growth and lead to cell volume shrinkage. The relative increase in solute concentration in the cell enables the plant to achieve osmotic regulation and enhance its ability to resist drought stress [19]. JIA X [20] found that, with an increase in drought stress, Astragalus membranaceus (a source of traditional Chinese medicine) produced more trigonelline, which acts to regulate osmotic potential and improve the ability to resist drought stress. Flavonoids have also been shown to play an important role in plant resistance to drought stress [21,22]. A large number of studies have confirmed that moderate drought stress was conducive to the accumulation of flavonoids. Lang Duo-Yong et al. [23] compared the effects of drought stress on YCH by controlling water-holding capacity in the field. It was found that drought stress inhibited the growth of roots to a certain extent, but in moderate and severe drought stress (40% field water holding capacity), the total flavonoid content in YCH increased. Meanwhile, under drought stress, phytosterols can act to regulate cell membrane fluidity and permeability, inhibit water loss and improve stress resistance [24,25]. Therefore, the increased accumulation of total flavonoids, total sterols, betaine, trigonelline and other secondary metabolites in wild YCH might be related to high-intensity drought stress.
    In this study, KEGG pathway enrichment analysis was performed on the metabolites that were found to be significantly different between the wild and cultivated YCH. The enriched metabolites included those involved in the pathways of ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, histidine metabolism and beta-alanine metabolism. These metabolic pathways are closely related to plant stress resistance mechanisms. Among them, ascorbate metabolism plays an important role in plant antioxidant production, carbon and nitrogen metabolism, stress resistance and other physiological functions [26]; aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis is an important pathway for protein formation [27,28], which is involved in the synthesis of stress-resistant proteins. Both histidine and β-alanine pathways can enhance plant tolerance to environmental stress [29,30]. This further indicates that the differences in metabolites between the wild and cultivated YCH was closely related to the processes of stress resistance.
    Soil is the material basis for the growth and development of medicinal plants. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in soil are important nutrient elements for the growth and development of plants. Soil organic matter also contains N, P, K, Zn, Ca, Mg and other macroelements and trace elements required for medicinal plants. Excessive or deficient nutrients, or unbalanced nutrient ratios, will affect the growth and development and the quality of medicinal materials, and different plants have different nutrient requirements [31,32,33]. For example, a low N stress promoted the synthesis of alkaloids in Isatis indigotica, and was beneficial to the accumulation of flavonoids in plants such as Tetrastigma hemsleyanum, Crataegus pinnatifida Bunge and Dichondra repens Forst. In contrast, too much N inhibited the accumulation of flavonoids in species such as Erigeron breviscapus, Abrus cantoniensis and Ginkgo biloba, and affected the quality of medicinal materials [34]. The application of P fertilizer was effective in increasing the content of glycyrrhizic acid and dihydroacetone in Ural licorice [35]. When the application amount exceeded 0·12 kg·m−2, the total flavonoid content in Tussilago farfara decreased [36]. The application of a P fertilizer had a negative effect on the content of polysaccharides in the traditional Chinese medicine rhizoma polygonati [37], but a K fertilizer was effective in increasing its content of saponins [38]. Applying 450 kg·hm−2 K fertilizer was the best for the growth and saponin accumulation of two-year-old Panax notoginseng [39]. Under the ratio of N:P:K = 2:2:1, the total amounts of hydrothermal extract, harpagide and harpagoside were the highest [40]. The high ratio of N, P and K was beneficial to promote the growth of Pogostemon cablin and increase the content of volatile oil. A low ratio of N, P and K increased the content of the main effective components of Pogostemon cablin stem leaf oil [41]. YCH is a barren-soil-tolerant plant, and it might have specific requirements for nutrients such as N, P and K. In this study, compared with the cultivated YCH, the soil of the wild YCH plants was relatively barren: the soil contents of organic matter, total N, total P and total K were about 1/10, 1/2, 1/3 and 1/3 those of the cultivated plants, respectively. Therefore, the differences in soil nutrients might be another reason for the differences between the metabolites detected in the cultivated and wild YCH. Weibao Ma et al. [42] found that the application of a certain amount of N fertilizer and P fertilizer significantly improved the yield and quality of seeds. However, the effect of nutrient elements on the quality of YCH is not clear, and fertilization measures to improve the quality of medicinal materials need further study.
    Chinese herbal medicines have the characteristics of “Favorable habitats promote yield, and unfavorable habitats improve quality” [43]. In the process of a gradual shift from wild to cultivated YCH, the habitat of the plants changed from the arid and barren desert steppe to fertile farmland with more abundant water. The habitat of the cultivated YCH is superior and the yield is higher, which is helpful to meet the market demand. However, this superior habitat led to significant changes in the metabolites of YCH; whether this is conducive to improving the quality of YCH and how to achieve a high-quality production of YCH through science-based cultivation measures will require further research.
    Simulative habitat cultivation is a method of simulating the habitat and environmental conditions of wild medicinal plants, based on knowledge of the long-term adaptation of the plants to specific environmental stresses [43]. By simulating various environmental factors that affect the wild plants, especially the original habitat of plants used as sources of authentic medicinal materials, the approach uses scientific design and innovative human intervention to balance the growth and secondary metabolism of Chinese medicinal plants [43]. The methods aims to achieve the optimal arrangements for the development of high-quality medicinal materials. Simulative habitat cultivation should provide an effective way for the high-quality production of YCH even when the pharmacodynamic basis, quality markers and response mechanisms to environmental factors are unclear. Accordingly, we suggest that scientific design and field management measures in the cultivation and production of YCH should be carried out with reference to the environmental characteristics of wild YCH, such as arid, barren and sandy soil conditions. At the same time, it is also hoped that researchers will conduct more in-depth research on the functional material basis and quality markers of YCH. These studies can provide more effective evaluation criteria for YCH, and promote the high-quality production and sustainable development of the industry.
  • Herbal Fructus Amomi oil Natural massage Diffusers 1kg Bulk Amomum villosum Essential oil

    Herbal Fructus Amomi oil Natural massage Diffusers 1kg Bulk Amomum villosum Essential oil

    The Zingiberaceae family has attracted increasing attention in allelopathic research because of the rich volatile oils and the aromaticity of its member species. Previous research had shown that the chemicals from Curcuma zedoaria (zedoary) [40], Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) B.L.Burtt & R.M.Sm. [41] and Zingiber officinale Rosc. [42] of the ginger family have allelopathic effects on seed germination and seedling growth of maize, lettuce and tomato. Our current study is the first report on the allelopathic activity of volatiles from stems, leaves, and young fruits of A. villosum (a member of Zingiberaceae family). The oil yield of stems, leaves, and young fruits was 0.15%, 0.40%, and 0.50%, respectively, indicating that fruits produced a larger quantity of volatile oils than stems and leaves. The main components of volatile oils from stems were β-pinene, β-phellandrene and α-pinene, which was a pattern similar to that of the major chemicals of leaf oil, β-pinene and α-pinene (monoterpene hydrocarbons). On the other hand, the oil in young fruits was rich in bornyl acetate and camphor (oxygenated monoterpenes). The results were supported by the findings of Do N Dai [30,32] and Hui Ao [31] who had identified the oils from different organs of A. villosum.

    There have been several reports on the plant growth inhibitory activities of these main compounds in other species. Shalinder Kaur found that α-pinene from eucalyptus prominently suppressed root length and shoot height of Amaranthus viridis L. at 1.0 μL concentration [43], and another study showed that α-pinene inhibited early root growth and caused oxidative damage in root tissue through increased generation of reactive oxygen species [44]. Some reports have argued that β-pinene inhibited germination and seedling growth of test weeds in a dose-dependent response manner by disrupting membrane integrity [45], altering the plant biochemistry and enhancing the activities of peroxidases and polyphenol oxidases [46]. β-Phellandrene exhibited maximum inhibition to the germination and growth of Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp at a concentration of 600 ppm [47], whereas, at a concentration of 250 mg/m3, camphor suppressed the radicle and shoot growth of Lepidium sativum L. [48]. However, research reporting the allelopathic effect of bornyl acetate is scanty. In our study, the allelopathic effects of β-pinene, bornyl acetate and camphor on root length was weaker than for the volatile oils except for α-pinene, whereas leaf oil, rich in α-pinene, was also more phytotoxic than the corresponding volatile oils from the stems and fruits of A. villosum, both findings indicating that α-pinene might the important chemical for allelopathy by this species. At the same time, the results also implied that some compounds in the fruit oil that were not abundant might contribute to the production of the phytotoxic effect, a finding which needs further research in the future.
    Under normal conditions, the allelopathic effect of allelochemicals is species-specific. Jiang et al. found that essential oil produced by Artemisia sieversiana exerted a more potent effect on Amaranthus retroflexus L. than on Medicago sativa L., Poa annua L., and Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng. [49]. In another study, the volatile oil of Lavandula angustifolia Mill. produced different degrees of phytotoxic effects on different plant species. Lolium multiflorum Lam. was the most sensitive acceptor species, hypocotyl and radicle growth being inhibited by 87.8% and 76.7%, respectively, at a dose of 1 μL/mL oils, but hypocotyl growth of cucumber seedlings was barely affected [20]. Our results also showed that there was a difference in sensitivity to A. villosum volatiles between L. sativa and L. perenne.
    The volatile compounds and essential oils of the same species can vary quantitatively and/or qualitatively because of growth conditions, plant parts and detection methods. For example, a report demonstrated that pyranoid (10.3%) and β-caryophyllene (6.6%) were the major compounds of the volatiles emitted from leaves of Sambucus nigra, whereas benzaldehyde (17.8%), α-bulnesene (16.6%) and tetracosane (11.5%) were abundant in the oils extracted from leaves [50]. In our study, volatile compounds released by the fresh plant materials had stronger allelopathic effects on the test plants than the extracted volatile oils, the differences in response being closely related to the differences in the allelochemicals present in the two preparations. The exact differences between volatile compounds and oils need to be further investigated in subsequent experiments.
    Differences in microbial diversity and microbial community structure in soil samples to which volatile oils had been added were related to competition among microorganisms as well as to any toxic effects and the duration of volatile oils in the soil. Vokou and Liotiri [51] found that the respective application of four essential oils (0.1 mL) to cultivated soil (150 g) activated respiration of the soil samples, even the oils differed in their chemical composition, suggesting that plant oils are used as a carbon and energy source by occurring soil microorganisms. Data obtained from the current study confirmed that the oils from the whole plant of A. villosum contributed to the obvious increase in the number of the soil fungal species by the 14th day after oil addition, indicating that the oil may provide the carbon source for more soil fungi. Another study reported a finding: soil microorganisms recovered their initial function and biomass after a temporary period of variation induced by the addition of Thymbra capitata L. (Cav) oil, but the oil at the highest dose (0.93 µL oil per gram of soil) did not allow soil microorganisms to recover the initial functionality [52]. In the current study, based on the microbiological analysis of the soil after being treated with different days and concentrations, we speculated that the soil bacterial community would recover after more days. In contrast, the fungal microbiota cannot return to its original state. The following results confirm this hypothesis: the distinct effect of high-concentration of the oil on the composition of soil fungal microbiome was revealed by principal co-ordinates analysis (PCoA), and the heatmap presentations confirmed again that the fungal community composition of the soil treated with 3.0 mg/mL oil (namely 0.375 mg oil per gram of soil) at the genus level differed considerably from the other treatments. Presently, the research about the effects of the addition of monoterpene hydrocarbons or oxygenated monoterpenes on soil microbial diversity and community structure is still scarce. A few studies reported that α-pinene increased soil microbial activity and relative abundance of Methylophilaceae (a group of methylotrophs, Proteobacteria) under low moisture content, playing an important role as a carbon source in drier soils [53]. Similarly, volatile oil of A. villosum whole plant, containing 15.03% α-pinene (Supplementary Table S1), obviously increased the relative abundance of Proteobacteria at 1.5 mg/mL and 3.0 mg/mL, which suggested that α-pinene possibly act as one of the carbon sources for soil microorganisms.
    The volatile compounds produced by different organs of A. villosum had various degrees of allelopathic effects on L. sativa and L. perenne, which was closely related to the chemical constituents that A. villosum plant parts contained. Although the chemical composition of the volatile oil was confirmed, the volatile compounds released by A. villosum at room temperature are unknown, which need the further investigation. Moreover, the synergistic effect between different allelochemicals is also worthy of consideration. In terms of soil microorganisms, to explore the effect of the volatile oil on soil microorganisms comprehensively, we still need to conduct more in-depth research: extend the treatment time of volatile oil and discern variations in chemical composition of the volatile oil in the soil on different days.
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