Diterpene lactones mainly exist in the aerial parts of Andrographis paniculata, and the content in leaves is significantly higher than that in stems and roots; among them, andrographolide is distributed in roots, stems, leaves and fruits. The order of content is leaf>stem>fruit>root. However, dehydroandrographolide was only distributed in leaves and fruits, and could not be detected in roots and stems.
The content of flavonoids is second only to diterpene lactones in Andrographis paniculata, mainly in the roots of the medicinal material, and less in the aboveground parts. So far, more than 70 kinds of flavonoids have been isolated and identified, mainly flavonoids, flavonols, dihydroflavones and chalcones, etc., most of which exist in the form of free flavonoid aglycones. Including Andrographis paniculata flavonoids, luteolin, apigenin, quercetin and so on. Only a small part exists in the form of glycosides. The flavonoids of Andrographis paniculata have the functions of anti-oxidation, lowering blood pressure, anti-myocardial atherosclerosis and protecting the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system.
There are significant differences in the total lactone content of Andrographis paniculata in different origins, different collection methods and different parts. The more south you go, the higher the content of dehydroandrographolide, and the more you go north, the lower the content of dehydroandrographolide. Andrographis likes warm and humid climate and is afraid of drought, so it is suitable for growing in tropical and subtropical regions. The optimum temperature is 25-30°C or a higher temperature. From the geographical point of view. Andrographis paniculata in Guangxi, Hainan and other places have higher andrographolide content and better antibacterial effect.
Harvesting time: In order to ensure the quality and yield, Andrographis paniculata should be harvested from the stamen stage to the early flowering stage, when the lactone content is high. According to decades of experience in actual production, the content of andrographolide and dehydroandrographolide in Andrographis paniculata fell significantly when exposed to water or damp. Andrographis paniculata should also be harvested on sunny days and dried in time, while protecting against rain and moisture.
Harvest parts: the content of andrographolide is the highest in the leaves, and the content in other parts is lower. Therefore, the total lactone content of Andrographis paniculata is related to the proportion of stems and leaves contained in the medicinal material. Therefore, during the harvesting and processing of Andrographis paniculata, the leaves should be recovered well.
Processing and storage: HerboMate has compared the effects of different drying methods on the content of andrographolide and dehydroandrographolide in medicinal materials. The test results show that the content of lactone components in samples dried at 105°C (1 hour) is equivalent to that of fresh samples. However, after natural drying (7 d), the content of andrographolide in leaves, stems and roots decreased significantly, and the content of andrographolide in fruits increased significantly. The content of dehydroandrographolide in the leaves and fruits all decreased by more than half.
After harvesting andrographis paniculata, drying is beneficial to prevent the loss of andrographolide components. However, for the large-scale planting and processing of Andrographis paniculata, it is more in line with the production practice to directly dry it in the place of production, and it is more resource-saving. Andrographolide and dehydroandrographolide are unstable. During storage, the content of andrographolide decreased gradually, and when the leaves were old, it dropped to more than 50%. In addition, the content of andrographolide will also decrease significantly under high temperature, high humidity or acidic conditions. Therefore, it is best to use new medicinal materials produced in the current year for the extraction raw materials and decoction pieces, preferably those with more leaves and less stems and less green color.
