Effect of Transplantation on Growth and Oxymatrine Content of Sophora flavescens

Objective: To study the effect of transplantation on the growth and oxymatrine content of Sophora flavescens and provide foundation for popularization and cultivation of Sophora flavescens in South China. Methods: Sophora flavescens which was usually planted in North China and Northwest China was planted in a non-traditional location,Zhongshan city,Guangdong Province in South China to test its adaptability. The growth characters,such as plant height,leaf area,dry weight of root,diameter and length of root and so on were measured from 2010 to 2012. The oxymatrine content of one-year old and two-year old root of Sophora flavescens were determined by HPLC. Nine major growth indexes for one-year old Sophora flavescens were comprehensively analyzed and evaluated by the methods of weighted gray relational and hierarchy evaluation of fuzzy mathematics. Results: The weighted relevancy of introduced and reference cultivars was 0. 8545. The introduced cultivar was rather adaptable to the geography environment in Zhongshan. Its quality was very close to the reference cultivars. Oxymatrine content of root of one-year old and two-year old Sophora flavescens was 13. 2784 mg / g( as much as origin) and 16. 4779 mg / g( less than origin 28. 67%),respectively. These were 10. 65% and 37. 32% higher than the quality standard which were set up in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia( 2010 edition). Conclusion: Sophora flavescens performs quite well in the newly introducing region. It is suitable to be cultivated and extended in South China.