Grade quality standard development of Lycium barbarum fruits from Ningxia genuine producing area
An integrated evaluation model based on the combination of traditional trait identification and modern chemical analysis was used for the identification of key indexes of grade classification and the establishment of grade quality standard of Lycium barbarum fruits(LBF)from Ningxia genuine producing area.Under the guidance of herbal examination and market survey,particle size,skin color and imperfection were taken as the external trait indicators;focusing on the comprehensiveness and validity of the quality evaluation,2-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-L-ascorbic acid(AA-2βG),zeaxanthin dipalmitate(ZD)and volatile ether extractives were used as important parameters involving in quality evaluation in addition to the pharmacopoeia test items and determination indicators such as moisture,ash,water-soluble extractives,Lycium barbarum polysaccharide(LBP)and betaine.The quality differences between different traits and grades of LBF as well as the relevance between character and quality were further investigated by mathematical and statistical means such as t-test analysis,correlation analysis and principal component analysis(PCA).Furthermore,the activities of extractives from different grades of LBF were compared at cellular level.The results showed that LBF were mainly preferred for large and red ones;except for betaine,the other index components were relatively high(moisture and ash were low)in the first-grade and samples with bright-red skin color.Besides,there was a significant correlation between skin color and moisture,water-soluble extractives,LBP,AA-2βG and ZD contents.Considering the results of the study and the market situation,the present study took the grain size and skin color of LBF as the core of evaluation,and at the same time introduced the multi-indicator components including LBP,AA-2βG,ZD,water-soluble extractives and moisture to further guide the grading,and established the quality standard of LBF grades combining the trait indexes and the chemical composition.More importantly,in vitro cell models both preliminarily confirmed that the first-grade LBF played a more significant"nourishing liver and kidney"effect,which provided an experimental basis for the quality control of LBF and promoted the realization of high quality and good price.
Lycium barbarum fruitgenuine producing areaappearance traitinner quality markergrade quality standard