Growth and Accumulation of Five Main Bioactive Components in the Roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza at Different Growth Stages and Using Different Culture Systems

To Growth and accumulation of five main bioactive components in the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza at different growth stages and using different culture systems. We analyzed growth parameters and the accumulation of selected bioactive components in Salvia miltiorrhiza that was grown in quartz sand-pot (hydroponic culture), soil-pot, and field culture systems at 3 growth stages (flower, root swelling, and mature). The highest bioactive compound concentrations (danshensu (DSS), 0.618 mg·g-1; salvianolic acid B (SAB), 52.5 mg·g-1; cryptotanshinone (CTS), 0.617 mg·g-1; tanshinoneⅡA (TSⅡA), 1.11 mg·g-1; and total tanshinone (TTS), 2.5 mg·g-1, at the mature stage) were present in the roots of plants grown in the hydroponic culture system. These concentrations were significantly higher than those of plants grown in the field system. The highest values for root parameters ( longest root length (LRL), 46.72 cm; largest root diameter (LRD), 14.68 mm; and the number of roots per plant (RN), 9.56), plant biomass (shoot dry weight (SDW), 18.9 g·plant-1; root dry weight (RDW), 19.6 g·plant-1, at the mature stage), and yield (DSS, 8.36 mg·plant-1; SAB, 657 mg·plant-1; CTS, 7.95 mg·plant-1; TSⅡA, 15.2 mg·plant-1; and TTS, 30.7 mg·plant-1, at the mature stage) were obtained from plants grown in the field system. Plants grown in the field culture system had significantly greater plant biomass and higher yields of bioactive compounds than plants grown in the quartz sand-pot (hydroponic culture) and soil-pot systems. Greenhouse hydroponic culture provides sufficient bioactive compound accumulation in the roots, but does not stimulate plant growth and root production. Therefore, the field system could greatly improve plant growth and root production in S. miltiorrhiza