AUTHOR=Wang Xiaobo , Shen Cheng , Chen Tao , Zhou Xiaodan , Li Yulin 

TITLE=Geographical equations of Swertia mussotii bioactivities: evidence from the western Sichuan region of China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1112164

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2023.1112164

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=Swertia mussotii is the most authentic raw material used in Tibetan medicine in China. This natural medicine resource is at risk of being exhausted due to the double interference of climate change and anthropogenic over-collection. Little is known about habitat characteristics and the crucial environmental factors that influence the levels of active ingredients. The goal of this study is to understand the variability in the bioactive compound content of a wide range of wild S. mussotii as it adapts to changing environmental conditions. The target compound content of the whole plant material was analyzed with the environmental explanatory variables of the field sample sites using a constrained ordination method for their correlation analysis. The results show that 16.3 percent of the sampled wild S. mussotii populations with the highest bioactive content can be grouped into the elite type. The most prominent environmental variables affecting the content of major bioactive products include altitude, aspect, soil TK content, Fe content, C/N and N/P ratios. The effects of altitude and aspect are mediated by plant height and density, with the N/P ratio directly affecting, while the other variables take both two effects. In addition to the total negative effects of altitude and C/N ratio, the remaining factors play a driving role. The knowledge gained from this study can be used for environmental and plant physiology research, efficient collection of naturally active compounds, and conservation strategies for rare natural plant resources.