Dynamic variation of main active ingredients and phytohormones in Glycyrrhiza uralensis

Objective To study the dynamic variation of main active ingredients and phytohormones in Glycyrrhiza uralensis. Methods The levels of major active ingredieats( glycyrrhizic acid,liquiritin,liquiritigenin,isoliquiritigenin) and phytohormones,including gibberellic acid( GA3),abscisic acid( ABA),jasmonic acid( JA),indole-3-acetic acid( IAA),and salicylic acid( SA) in Glycyrrhiza uralensis grown from latter part of April to latter part of October were measured. The dynamic variation feature was summarized by analyzing trends of those data. Results The levels of glycyrrhizic acid and liquiritigenin increased along with plant growth. The level of liquiritin increased firstly then decreased while isoliquiritigenin decreased at first then increased afterwards. Both of them reached to a turning point on August 26 th. When it came to phytohormones,the content of GA3 was significantly influenced by the plant growth,while ABA showed a trend of plateau. SA and JA both reached the peak on August 26 th.Conclusion The main active ingredients were constantly accumulated with plant growth,but its content did not necessarily keep a rising trend. The content of endogenous hormonal ingredients was greatly influenced by time and environment. Further analysis of the results was helpful to implement the chemical regulation in medical research and production. It could also provide certain reference basis for improving the medical quality of Glycyrrhiza uralensis.