Recent trends of machine learning applied to multi-source data of medicinal plants

In traditional medicine and ethnomedicine,medicinal plants have long been recognized as the basis for materials in therapeutic applications worldwide.In particular,the remarkable curative effect of traditional Chinese medicine during corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has attracted extensive attention globally.Medicinal plants have,therefore,become increasingly popular among the public.However,with increasing demand for and profit with medicinal plants,commercial fraudulent events such as adulteration or counterfeits sometimes occur,which poses a serious threat to the clinical outcomes and interests of consumers.With rapid advances in artificial intelligence,machine learning can be used to mine information on various medicinal plants to establish an ideal resource database.We herein present a review that mainly introduces common machine learning algorithms and discusses their application in multi-source data analysis of medicinal plants.The combination of machine learning algorithms and multi-source data analysis facilitates a comprehensive analysis and aids in the effective evaluation of the quality of medicinal plants.The findings of this review provide new possibilities for promoting the development and utilization of medicinal plants.

Different strategies in biomass allocation across elevation in two Gentiana plants on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, China

Patterns of biomass allocation among organs in plants are important because they influence many growth processes.The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau(YGP)is considered to be one of the most sensitive areas in China to climate changes,but we know little about how current climatic gradients on the plateau influence plant biomass allocation.Gentiana rigescens and G.rhodantha,on the YGP,are important species because they are used in traditional Chinese medicines.We therefore analyzed the biomass allocation patterns of the two species across an elevation gradient(1000–2810 m a.s.l.)on the YGP to understand and predict the impact of climate change on these plant species.We found that the total biomass,reproductive biomass,vegetative biomass,aboveground biomass,and belowground biomass in G.rigescens were all significantly larger than those in G.rhodantha(p<0.05).However,for both species the aboveground biomass was nearly isometrically related to belowground biomass,regardless of elevation,mean annual temperature(MAT)ranging from 8.4℃t to 18.8℃t,and mean annual precipitation(MAP)ranging from 681 to 1327 mm,while the reproductive biomass was allometrically related to vegetative biomass.Intriguingly,there was a significant positive relationship(p<0.05)between the slope of the allometric scaling of reproductive and vegetative biomass and elevation among G.rigescens populations,i.e.plants growing at high elevationsallocate proportionately more biomass to reproduction at larger sizes and less at smaller sizes than plants growing at lower elevations.However,for G.rhodantha the reproductive allocation was negatively correlated with latitude.The results suggested different strategies in reproductive allocation in the two Gentiana plants on the YGP.Further studies are needed to investigate other environmental factors,such as nutrients and light,and genetic factors,in order to understand the trend of reproductive allometry along the environmental gradients.Our study has implications for the management and conservation practices of the two Gentiana species.

Effects of LaCl_3 on photosynthesis and the accumulation of tanshinones and salvianolic acids in Salvia miltiorrhiza seedlings

The effects of LaCl3 on the growth,photosynthetic gas-exchange characteristics,chlorophyll fluorescence,and the accumulation of tanshinones and salvianolic acids in Salvia miltiorrhiza seedlings were investigated. The results showed that the increase in photosynthesis induced by LaCl3 might be attributed to the enhanced stomatal conductance of the leaves and the increased level of the photochemical efficiency of PS II. The accumulation of tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone was markedly increased with the application of LaCl3 at 20 and 60 mg/L,while tanshinone I was only slightly increased. The content of salvianolic acid B was,however,decreased with the treatment of LaCl3 at 200 mg/L.