Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine Ingredients in Golden Sunflower
Hibiseu manihot L. is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Malvaceae, belonging to the genus Okra. It uses flowers as medicine and has medicinal and edible properties, as well as health benefits. Its main functions are clearing heat, cooling blood, detoxification, clearing dampness and heat, reducing fever and inflammation, relieving pain, anti fatigue, anti-aging, lowering blood lipids, inhibiting tumor cells, enhancing immunity, antioxidation, etc. In addition, it can also help digestion, regulate qi, moisten intestines, whiten the skin, nourish yin and strengthen yang. Golden sunflower grows in the northern mountainous areas, with unique regional characteristics, and is praised by the biological community as the “plant giant panda” and “life-saving herb”. Due to a lack of protection for its resources, the golden sunflower is considered extinct. However, in August 2003, the considered extinct golden sunflower resource was discovered in Xingtai City, Hebei Province, and conservation measures were taken. It has now been widely planted.
The components of golden sunflower include natural flavonoids, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin C, protein, high polysaccharide gum, plant fiber, sex hormones, and various trace elements. Among them, flavonoids are the main bioactive substances of Solanum nigrum, and their content exceeds that of commonly used raw materials such as ginkgo and soybean in flavonoid production by dozens of times, making them the plants with the highest flavonoid content known today. Golden sunflower total flavonoids have significant antibacterial effects and can inhibit tyrosinase activity, affecting the biosynthesis of melanocytes and thus achieving whitening effects. They have potential application value in medical aesthetics. Hypericin is the main component of flavonoids in golden sunflowers. Hypericin can exert analgesic effects by preventing calcium ions from entering nerve cells, and the human body is not dependent on it. The content of sex hormones in golden sunflowers is also much higher than that in kidney tonifying plants. Its rich natural plant estrogen has a miraculous effect on prolonging female puberty and reducing menopausal syndrome in middle-aged and elderly people.
At present, the main components of golden sunflowers have been preliminarily analyzed, but there have been no reports on the evaluation of their medicinal value during different flowering periods. In recent years, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS) has been widely used in the chemical composition analysis of traditional Chinese medicine as a fast and effective multi-component analysis technique with high sensitivity, strong separation ability, and wide detection range. Therefore, this study analyzed three groups of golden sunflower samples using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry to identify the components of fresh flowers, dried flowers, and flower buds, in order to elucidate the changes in chemical composition before and after the golden sunflower period and provide reference for the medicinal substance basis of golden sunflower.

The whole plant of Golden Sunflower is rich in flavonoids, which can be used as an industrial raw material for the production of flavonoids in the plant extraction industry, and has a great market for development and utilization. The total flavonoid content of flowers in the five parts of golden sunflowers, including roots, peels, stems, and seeds, is significantly higher than that in other parts. Hypericin is the main component of flavonoids in golden sunflowers. Previous studies have shown that the distribution of hypericin content in different parts of golden sunflowers is: flowers>leaves>stems>roots>seeds. The main component of hyperoside is distributed in its flowers. In the three stages of golden sunflowers (bud, fresh flower, and fallen flower), the content of hyperoside is in the order of bud>fallen flower>fresh flower, and the content of fallen flower is about twice that of fresh flower. The content of hyperoside and isoquercitrin in the late stage flowers of golden sunflowers is about twice that of the early stage flowers. In addition, the total flavonoid content of dried flowers of golden sunflower ranks first. The results of this study showed that the content of endogenous substances in flower buds (such as isoleucine, tyramine, N-methyl-a-aminoisobutyric acid) was higher than that in fresh and dried flowers, while some flavonoids (such as quercetin-3-O – β – D-glucuronic acid, quercetin-3-O – (6 ′ – O-acetyl) – β – D-glucopyranose glucoside, luteolin-7-O-glucuronic acid glycoside, salidroside, kaempferol glucuronide, isohyperoside, hibiscus glycoside, quercetin, etc.) were lower than those in fresh and dried flowers (see Figure 4). The content of some flavonoids (such as myricetin, oleander, isoquercetin, vitexin glucoside, salidroside) and organic acid compounds (coumaric acid, citric acid, hydroxycitric acid) in fresh flowers is higher than that in dry flowers and flower buds. The content of some flavonoids in dried flowers (such as mulberry pigments, quercetin, myricetin-3-O – β – D glucoside, mulberry flavonoids, myricetin glucose rhamnoside, dihydrocherry flavonoids, hydroxy-methyl myricetin glucoside) is higher than that in fresh flowers and flower buds. Existing reports suggest that flavonoids are the main pharmacological components of Solanum nigrum. From the analysis of compound differences, it can be seen that fresh and dried flowers have more and higher levels of pharmacological components than flower buds, such as quercetin-3-O – β – D glucuronic acid, hibiscus glycoside, quercetin, 2,3- (S) – hexahydroxydiphenol-D-glucose, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-O – (6 ′ – O-acetyl) – β – D-glucopyranose, isohyperoside, etc.
This study established a rapid UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS analysis method for golden sunflowers and identified the main active ingredients in different forms of golden sunflowers. Two processes, database retrieval and identification of unknown substances, were used to identify the components of flowers. A total of 141 compounds were identified in both positive and negative ion modes, including 58 flavonoids, 27 organic acid compounds, 19 endogenous compounds such as amino acids, 11 lipid compounds, 9 nucleoside compounds, 3 unsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid, and other categories of compounds such as sugars, pentacyclic triterpenes, and cyclohexene ether terpenes. In addition, the compounds that show significant differences from other samples in fresh flowers are some flavonoids and organic acid compounds, with higher concentrations than those in dried flowers and flower buds. The compounds in dried flowers that show significant differences from other samples are some flavonoids, with higher concentrations than those in fresh flowers and flower buds. The compounds in flower buds that show significant differences from other samples are endogenous substances and some flavonoids, with higher levels of endogenous substances compared to fresh and dried flowers, and lower levels of some flavonoids compared to fresh and dried flowers. Based on the reported literature, it is believed that flavonoids are the main pharmacological components of Solanum nigrum. From the analysis of compound differences, it can be seen that fresh and dried flowers have more and higher levels of pharmacological components than flower buds. Further research is needed to determine whether this is consistent with the pharmacological results.
Jin Hua Kui has been favored by scholars in recent years, and the determination of its medicinal active ingredients has become a hot research topic. Goldenrod anemone has strong adaptability. It can be planted in both northern and southern regions of China. Its flowers not only have medicinal value, but also can be made into scented tea, or ground into powder, which can be added to Congee or food. The existence of flavonoids in golden sunflowers has been studied, but their presence in flowers is rarely disclosed. This study preliminarily compared the organic compounds in three different types of golden sunflowers, which have diverse components. In the later stage, these chemical components will be fully isolated, identified, and studied for pharmacological activity, further elaborating on the medicinal value of dried flowers, fresh flowers, and flower buds in golden sunflowers. We conducted a study on the main active ingredient content of golden sunflower, analyzed the differences in chemical component content at different stages of golden sunflower, laid the foundation for the research on medicinal use of golden sunflower at different flowering stages, and provided strong reference for elucidating the material basis of golden sunflower, which is helpful for the development of functional products and clinical research applications in the later stage of golden sunflower.