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Effect of seedling grade standard on improving the quality of licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis F.): changes in the seven bioactive components and root biomass during two-year growth

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A Correction to this article was published on 12 June 2018

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Abstract

Licorice cultivated is one of the most popular herbal medicines, while its quality is unstable. The aim of present study is to investigate the effect of licorice seedling grade standard on improving its quality. One-year-old Glycyrrhiza uralensis seedlings were classified into three grades 1, 2, and 3 by weight per plant. The major root biomass indexes (root fresh weight, root dry weight and taproot diameter) and contents of 7 bioactive components (glycyrrhizin, liquiritin, liquiritin apioside, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritin, isoliquiritin apioside, and isoliquiritigenin) varied in different grades seedlings. Further, the contents of 7 investigated compounds of 3-year-old licorice produced by grade 1 seedlings were 1.5–2 times as much as those produced by grade 2 and 3. Additionally, the contents of liquiritin apioside and isoliquiritin apioside were positively correlated with licorice root biomass. These results indicated that establishing licorice seedling grade standard is an effective way to improve and control its quality.

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  • 12 June 2018

    In the original version of these 14 articles the reference list was unfortunately not represented according to the journal’s new bibliographical style, which should have been implemented from January 2018.

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Acknowledgement

This work is supported by National special research project of Chinese medicine industry “Base construction of national essential drugs required Chinese herbal medicine seeds and seedlings breeding” (2012-13) and General Scientific Research Project of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Gansu Province “Study on Reproduction Characteristics and Breeding Technique of Licorice” (GZK-2011-63).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chinese Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Quality and Standard of Gansu Province, Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, 730000, People’s Republic of China

    Jia Hou, Tao Du & Yanhong Zhang

  2. Key Laboratory of Chemistry of Northwestern Plant Resources and Key Laboratory for Natural Medicine of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, People’s Republic of China

    Shijun Shao

  3. College of Plant Protection, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, People’s Republic of China

    Hongru Guo

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  1. Jia Hou
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  2. Hongru Guo
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  3. Tao Du
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  4. Shijun Shao
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  5. Yanhong Zhang
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Correspondence to Tao Du.

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Hou, J., Guo, H., Du, T. et al. Effect of seedling grade standard on improving the quality of licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis F.): changes in the seven bioactive components and root biomass during two-year growth. Food Sci Biotechnol 27, 939–945 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-018-0333-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-018-0333-1

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