Maidong"(Radix Ophiopogonis), is a traditional Chinese drug. Chinese Pharmacopoeia (1990) recorded that the botanical origin of "Maidong" is Ophlopogon iaponicus(L.f.) kerGawl. (Liliaceae). A recent survey of
drug resources in Zhejiang, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan,Yunnan, Guizhou, jiangsu, Anhui and Fujian Provinces showed that
Plants under the general name "Maidong" involve 26
species and
varieties from Gen. Ophiopogon to Gen. Liriope.Among these, 16 species and varieties are used as "Maidong"in commerce, the most popular being O.japonicus, L.spicata var. Prolifera and L.muscari. The
steroid saponins and
homeisoflavonoids contained in the tuberous roots of 16 species and varieties mentioned above awere compared on the basis of HPTLC with 45 steroid saponins and 5 homeisoflavonoids as uthentic samples. The results showed that the plants belonging to Gen. Ophiopogon contain either steroid saponins composed of ruscogenin or diosgenin, or homeisoflavonoids; the plants belonging to Gen. Liriope contain only steroid saponins composed of 25(S)-ruscog-enin or yamogenin. It is easy to identify the varied species and varieties on TLC. The polysaccharide in the tuberous roots of the 16 species and vartieis was determined by visible spectrophotometry. Results indicated that the polysaccharide content in varied species is very different, and is also dependent on locations, cultivated years and the grade of crude drug.
More abstracts about the Studies on Resource Utilization of Chinese Drug Dwarf Lilyturf (Ophiopogon japonicus)