Phylogenic Analysis and Evaluation of Ephedra Plants and Aconites for Medicinal Use

Although Kampo medicine is now fully integrated into the modern Japanese healthcare system, most Kampo formulations depend on imported crude drugs from limited foreign areas. To prepare for possible shortages of crude drugs in the future, a wider scope for the supply of medicinal plants is necessary. We conducted field research and collaborated with international laboratories for phylogenic analysis and evaluation of medicinal plant resources. Our research on ephedra plants from a wide region of Eurasia has, for example, confirmed their phylogenic structure: based on DNA sequencing analysis of nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region 1 (ITS1) as well as the chloroplast intergenic spacer between trnL and trnF (trnL-F), the 8 major Chinese species and related plants grown on the continent could be divided into 3 groups. Additionally, Ephredra sinica was found to be synonymous with Ephredra dahurica and was reduced to a subspecies of Ephredra distachya. Furthermore, Ephredra likiangensis and Ephredra gerardiana, which are grouped in separate phylogenic trees, would be good candidates for medicinal material. Aconites from Hokkaido, as an example of domestic plants reviewed, were collected for phylogenic and aconitine alkaloid content analysis. The phylogenic analysis of nr ITSs revealed that the majority of specimens were genetically similar. However, the aconitine alkaloid content of the tuberous roots demonstrated that specimens from different habitats had varying alkaloid profiles. Environmental pressure of each habitat is presumed to have caused the morphology and aconitine alkaloid profiles of these genetically similar specimens to diversify.